from Chile to Shirreff

After finally settling (sort of) into life at Palmer Station, i have some catching up to do in how i got here.

Thursday, November 9th, i flew out of Denver to Santiago, Chile- a long overnight flight. We changed planes after going through customs, flew along the Andes mountains and arrived in Punta Arenas, a harbor on the southern tip of South America.

There, we enjoyed the city life- eating out, markets in the park, and strolling the streets. Their trees were hedged really nice, one restaurant served Beaver (an invasive species in the area and yes, i ordered it and it was delicious), and my friend Steve bought slippers made from baby alpaca that looked like he was wearing pomeranians on his feet.

Our second night in Punta Arenas, we slept on the boat- the Research Vessel Laurence M. Gould. This was to be our accomodations and mode of transport for the next 4-5 days.

Our trip was uncommonly smoothe. I have heard horrendous stories attesting to the notoriously rough waters of the Drake Passage, but i'm sure i'll get my fun on the way back in April (imagine suffering sea-sickness for days on end and never being able to sleep since you get tossed from your bed in the rough seas). But this trip was a gift from Mother Nature. We had clear skies, calm winds and waters, and we were able to get out on the deck everyday to enjoy the fresh air and commerson's dolphins riding in the wake of the boat.

Since there wasn't a lot to do on board, we mostly ate, watched movies, and enjoyed the sunsets. Everynight i was gently rocked to sleep in my bed.

We sailed on to Cape Shirreff...