on my way again...
Finally it is time to pack the bags, find the travel toothbrush and head for some underwater action again!
It is now more than half a year ago that I left my boots, flotation suit, guide jacket, spare dry suit, BCD and fins on the "Grigoriy Mikheev" while she was still cruising around the Arctic waters of Svalbard.
If all goes well, I will unpack all of it this Saturday about this time as I rendezvous with the ship in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
So while I was busy in my little office doing little office tasks, my gear had been moved from one end of the world to the other ;-)
The idea is usually to leave enough stuff behind on the boat to be able to "travel light" next time you return and have to endure multiple airport check-ins, baggage excess arguments, taxi drivers who freeze into a solid block behind the wheel once they see you approach... but it never quite seems to work out that way.
True, I have "only" one dry suit to pack, and "only" three regulator systems (two are mandatory, one is backup for screw-ups and forgetful customers) and my clothes bag contains no working clothes, just some light "dining room wear" and underwear, but somehow the seams and zippers seem close to burst as always.
Alas, I will try to leave even more stuff behind onboard the good ship this time, as I count on needing it the next time in the Arctic again, so getting it all carted there by the company (even though I will work for 'science' this summer again and not for them) is quite convenient.
So look forward to some fresh reports on the state of the Drake Passage, the extent of sea ice along the Peninsula and the quality of the home-made vodka at Vernadsky Station as soon as I return. If some fellow customers or colleagues are willing to let me have some of their digital pics, I might also post some around here (or finally get in gear with JAlbum for my all-too-static website?) since I am again cursing my indecisiveness - and packing my rolls of film again instead.
It is now more than half a year ago that I left my boots, flotation suit, guide jacket, spare dry suit, BCD and fins on the "Grigoriy Mikheev" while she was still cruising around the Arctic waters of Svalbard.
If all goes well, I will unpack all of it this Saturday about this time as I rendezvous with the ship in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
So while I was busy in my little office doing little office tasks, my gear had been moved from one end of the world to the other ;-)
The idea is usually to leave enough stuff behind on the boat to be able to "travel light" next time you return and have to endure multiple airport check-ins, baggage excess arguments, taxi drivers who freeze into a solid block behind the wheel once they see you approach... but it never quite seems to work out that way.
True, I have "only" one dry suit to pack, and "only" three regulator systems (two are mandatory, one is backup for screw-ups and forgetful customers) and my clothes bag contains no working clothes, just some light "dining room wear" and underwear, but somehow the seams and zippers seem close to burst as always.
Alas, I will try to leave even more stuff behind onboard the good ship this time, as I count on needing it the next time in the Arctic again, so getting it all carted there by the company (even though I will work for 'science' this summer again and not for them) is quite convenient.
So look forward to some fresh reports on the state of the Drake Passage, the extent of sea ice along the Peninsula and the quality of the home-made vodka at Vernadsky Station as soon as I return. If some fellow customers or colleagues are willing to let me have some of their digital pics, I might also post some around here (or finally get in gear with JAlbum for my all-too-static website?) since I am again cursing my indecisiveness - and packing my rolls of film again instead.
Labels: News
posted by leptonyx at 18:31
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