First Stop, Santiago, Chile

Departing San Diego is always difficult because it means leaving America´s Finest City and the best climate just about anywhere...especially when expecting a temperature shift from the comfortable 80 degrees F at Mission Bay to the late winter sub-sub-sub-freezing temperatures of the Antarctic. I arrived in Santiago, Chile early morning on 31st August to typical sister city weather and was met by the terrific NSF representatives at AGUNSA who shuffled me through passport control and onto their office for coffee and snacks. Departure to Punta Arenas in a couple of hours and then will join the rest of the crew and research team, led by the principal investigator Steve Ackley, on the NSF Icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer this afternoon. Some last minute efforts to get some supplies and equipment to the ship with me were partly successful. A few valves and filters for scientific equipment reached San Diego by Federal Express about a half hour before I struck off for the airport in San Diego. Some other supplies and chemical stains got delayed when the Federal Express plane that they were scheduled on broke down. We are hoping that they may be quickly redirected to Punta Arenas in time to reach the ship before departure. More from Punta Arenas. Hasta pronto. -bs