September: The long Migration

 The journey down to the ice remains extra complicated due to the pandemic. After four days and two COVID tests in San Francisco we boarded the  charter flight to Punta Arenas, wit ha stop in Dallas for refueling. 

Four days with a fun view of the runway from the airport hotel pictured above.

The social distanced flight 14ish hour charter flight is an airline which was showing it's age (my seat recliner broke and wouldn't come back up to it full and upright position). 

Nice views over the Chile and Argentina's Southern Ice field, it will be fun one day to get back to traveling. Hopefully soon. 

A terrible zoomed in photo of a large group of flamingos getting ready for summer in the southern hemisphere.

An old ship wreck on approach to the Punta Arenas airport. 

After another COVID test in the airport upon arrival we boarded a bus for a three hour ride to Puerto Natales for our two week Chilean mandated quarantine.  

The hotel was fairly new. There was a field for wandering about and interesting birds to watch. We saw condors, ibis, lawings, several types of cara cara, an owl, and lots of song birds. 

The internet was slow, if you could connect to it, but the clouds were always fun to watch. 

After two weeks and two more COVID tests and a lot more paperwork we got back on the bus and drove the three hours back to Punta Arenas to get on board the LMG. The LMG is 210 feet long and is nearing the end of it's contract serving Palmer. Once the new pier has been built the NBP, the larger of the programs science vessels will be able to dock at Palmer. This may be our last trip across the Drake on the LMG. We are still in port, waiting on delayed cargo before we can head south. We 

The NBP is 282 feet long, 30 years old, and will be going into dry dock this year to be retrofitted with a fuel system addition to be able to fuel Palmer Station. This will be the future resupplying vessel for Palmer Station.

This year on station will be much different than past seasons. The 50+ year old (temporary) pier that was built by the SeaBees is going to be replaced with a new and larger pier. This means that there will be no scientists on station, just me maintaining the long term land based science while the rest of the station will be in low personal maintenance mode supporting the 20-30 pier builders that will be on station working 12 hours days, 7 days a week, starting in a couple months. It is going to be a busy, crazy, exciting year to be on station. Sadly there will be less science, less boating, and less opportunities for wildlife viewing but that is the price of progress that is sorely needed.