Tuesday & Wednesday February 27-28th, 2017
The time had come for us to leave Antarctica, to disembark from the Polar Pioneer on the zodiacs for the last time, land on King George Island, walk a kilometre to the Frei (a Chilean base) airfield and fly to Punta Arenas for the night, and onwards to wherever. There would also be a “Changing of the Guard” at Frei as the plane that takes us homeward brings in another 54 expeditioners who will reverse our trip along the Peninsula and then across the Drake Passage to Ushuai.
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However, the weather changed these plans. Not only where we unable to make any landings on our last day, especially on Deception Island, but the arrival of the plane at Frei station was twice delayed, and the Polar Pioneer cruised in holding patterns off Deception Island and then overnight in Collins Harbour, King George Island. So our mid-day flight became early the following morning, which then became late afternoon!
That last day, now the day after we were due to leave, dawned cloudy with a very cold wind. With the cancelling of the morning flight we had an opportunity to make an additional landing on King George Island to visit Trinity Church, the Russian Orthodox Church attached to Russia’s Bellingshausen Station at Collins Harbour, and a neighbour of Frei Station. We landed on a gravelly beach dotted with small grounded clear ice and a little sea weed, then walked along an icy road and path leading to the church located on a small outcrop.
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Trinity Church is an attractive, traditional wooden Orthodox church. It’s painted a dark grey that stands out against its snowy backdrop but really suited the dull and bitter conditions we were experiencing. The church was designed and built in Russia, dismantled and shipped to King George Island on a Russian supply ship. There are one or two year-round resident priests who also assist with maintenance of the station. The church also serves the needs of residents of other nearby stations, and is open to visitors. A lone chinstrap penguin paralleled our march to the church, a few metres to our left, but neglected to turn right up the slope to the church. The door was closed but unlocked, and we had a quick look inside. It was decorated by some quite beautiful icons. I understood the church was not permanently heated, but it was very warm inside by comparison with the windy conditions outside!
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Our visit was curtailed by an urgent order to return immediately to the shore and make our zodiac trip back to the Polar Pioneer as the wind was picking up again and a squall was approaching. We could see it out there, and the wind was blowing strongly, directly into us as we zodiaced back to the ship. This trip was the most hair-raising we’d had, and if we weren’t already aware of it, it fully established the skill of our expedition staff and the Russian crew who help with the zodiacs. By the time we reached the Polar Pioneer the swell was probably 2 metres. Disembarking from the zodiac was an interesting exercise, and a matter of exquisite timing!
By mid-afternoon we had confirmation that a plane was on its way and would arrive late in the afternoon. So, for the third time, we packed our bags to leave the Polar Pioneer! By mid-afternoon the clouds were clearing and the wind abating, and with the remaining wind now behind us we had a much smoother trip to terra firma. Our bags were separately taken by zodiac and then by truck to the airport. We were dressed in our full warm and waterproof gear, including our gumboots, but had regular shoes and extra clothes in our day pack.
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We walked in bright sunlight about 1 km along a somewhat icy road from our Collins Bay landing to the airport, enjoying both the exercise and the vibrant, snowy scenery. The airport was very basic indeed. There is a small building with a control tower, some other small buildings, and a large hangar – no terminal building, certainly no café, nor air-bridge! We simply stood outside, but thankfully it was brilliant sunshine. We removed our gumboots (yes, we did put on other shoes!) and lined them up in order of size for the new group of expeditioners to find a size to fit them. The wind was cold and we huddled in the lee of the buildings and snow drifts, and then penguin like in a huddle after we’d walked a little further to the boarding area.
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The scenery really was vibrant, a far cry from the grey cloudy conditions we’d had over the past 10 days. I could now see it was possible to get all those travel brochure photos!
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Our penguin-coloured plane landed. The new expeditioners disembarked and walked in single file along the runway to their gumboots, and then to Collins Bay and their first Antarctic Adventure: taking the zodiacs out to the Polar Pioneer moored in the bay. We gave them a rousing cheer, and then waited in the dying hour of the day while the plane was prepared for us and we boarded our flight to Punta Arenas.
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The Changing of the Guard was complete. In due course we boarded our flight to Punta Arenas. Our Antarctic Adventure was over.
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