Punta Arenas is a windy city and what an amazing whirlwind it's been! After spending a couple of anxious hours in the U.S. Antarctic Program office in Santiago, I was happy to catch a later connection to Punta Arenas and arrived here at about 5:30 yesterday evening. My bags were temporarily lost; I was relieved when I got a phone call last night at 11:15 from the concierge. “Miss Nell, your bags are here!” I ran down to the lobby, grabbed my bags and promptly fell asleep. Whew.

    Flying into Santiago
    The view flying into Santiago
    U.S. Antarctic Program Office
    U.S. Antarctic Program Office in the Santiago Airport

    Model of the Laurence M. Gould
    Model of the Laurence M. Gould in the USAP Office

    This morning Dr. Amsler and his wife Maggie took me to the warehouse at the dock where I tried on all my ECW(abbreviation) Extreme Cold Weather clothing gear. I caught a glimpse of the Laurence M. Gould (LMG), the ship I’ll be boarding later today. Tomorrow we’ll get under way! I also made a point to stop in the square and rub the toe of the Fuegen Indian at the base of the Magellan statue for good luck crossing the Drake PassageStrait, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between Tierra del Fuego and the South Shetland Islands. Located about 100 mi (160 km) north of the Antarctic Peninsula, it is 600 mi (1,000 km) wide..

    Laurence M. Gould
    The yellow and orange ship on the left is the Laurence M. Gould

    Dr. Amsler outside the AGUNSA warehouse
    Dr. Amsler outside the warehouse holding the ECW Gear

    Nell at the Magellan Statue
    Rubbing the lucky to at the Magellan statue In Punta Arenas

    Next I’m off to board the LMG and things should slow down a bit. I can't wait to get underway!

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