Saturday September 25 – Boomerang and Back Again

First class Seating - Flying in Style
Number 39 - That's my military boarding pass after I was weighed and allowed to travel
Antarctica View from the Window
And another view . . .
and another . . .

Today was flight day. Shuttles arrived at the hotel at 6am to pick us up and we were at the ECW by 6:20 suiting up and doing final weighing of our gear. We were allowed one carry on that fit into a wooden box the size of an Amazon postal package, one boomerang bag that could weigh no more than 25lbs and then our checked luggage. Big Red has over 23 pockets so veterans suggested if we couldn’t fit it in, we could probably stuff it into one of the pockets. Geared up in bunny boots, snow pants, with goggles, gloves and beanie stuffed into big Red we waited outside the terminal dedicated to Antarctic travel as the military geared up for our departure. Drug dogs sniffed our luggage and our legs as we weighed our items, having been strictly warned that weight limits would be enforced. First our boomerang bag was placed on a scale much like the ones you’d see in the grocery store and then when it passed we were moved to the next point where all our checked luggage was weighted. I got nervous here because I thought with the ECW gear I’d be over weight, but the attendant didn’t even bat an eyelash. I smuggled out a sigh of relief. Next I was weighed with my carryon. I’ve never been weighed as cargo before, but luckily it was in kilos so I couldn’t get too upset not knowing the conversion.

Given a boarding pass we wore around our necks like security clearance badges we moon leapt over to the Arctic Center which is a tourist attraction where we got to eat breakfast and then head back to the briefing room where we watched a short video and then boarded white school buses.

Giddy with excitement and fully suited up we saw the white non-descriptive plane sitting on the runway and then spilled out as the strong wind blew. Handed brown bag lunches and bottled water, we boarded the plan via ladder one at a time, careful of the moon boots and tripping. A wonderful surprise awaited me as I turned into the main body of the plane. Business class was empty and I quickly grabbed the next open seat. A full 4 and a ½ hour trip in Business class. Oh the luxury. Full leg room, wide isles, you name it. Once we were settled in we took off and were sailing over the water at cursing altitude.

Time flew by as we read, chatted, even were invited up to the cockpit for a pilots view. The flight team soon became family as we chatted and hung out standing in the isle. The cockpit door was left open I would occasionally peek in to see what was going on and wonder what each dial and button did on the control board. Soon the first peeking of white mountains appeared and we all ran for the windows to snap shots of the natural formations. Such pure white snow, a blank canvas of sharp peaks spread out below us and I felt like we were seeing the world from outer space.

When the captain announced we’d be landing in 30 minutes, you could feel the excitement in the cabin as we all geared up, putting on parkas, lacing up boots, adjusting goggles. As we started to drop in elevation I kept looking out the window and then suddenly there was a shift and I saw blue sky.

“I’ve just been informed there is fog that has rolled over the runway on the Ice and we will not be able to land.” Utter shock filled the cabin filled with disbelief. Surly he was joking. The sky from here was clear and we could see the Ice. Everyone waited, hoping it was a joke, a prank but when the captain came back on we knew. “Well everyone, it looks like we’ll be doing a boomerang.” Groans from the veterans mixed with muffled murmurs from the newbies as we headed back to Christchurch.

Well folks they always warn us that it is possible, but I didn’t think it would happen. Disembarking after a nine hour flight, we got our boomerang bags, thankfully I’d packed well for once, were given travel funds, returned to our hotels with instructions that we’d try again tomorrow.

So as of tonight I’ve seen Antarctica but not actually been to it. Perhaps tomorrow. Tonight we went out to this place called Dux Lux and while we were dining outside, three large aftershocks shook the patio in less then twenty minutes. Everyone felt them and some of the locals even cheered like it was ride. The ground trembles here and people cheer. I must say this place feels more and more like home every day.