Flying Over the Drake ~ The Departure of the Antarctic Expedition

I made up my mind to take this trip, of course, to go to Antarctica.

When I went to Europe ten years ago, a kid from the same group invited me to go to Antarctica with me. I refused without thinking. At that time, Antarctica was too far away for me. I had just started going to Europe at that time. Europe is still full of infinite attraction for me. In the past ten years, I have insisted on going to Europe every year, sometimes even twice a year, and finally I have traveled almost all over Europe.

The decision to go to Antarctica is inseparable from the team leader Xiao Lu. Xiao Lu is the European team leader full-time, but every winter he works part-time as the Antarctic team leader. By this season, he has been doing it all four seasons (Antarctic trips are usually in 11 month to 2 month of the next year, so called a season) has been to Antarctica. Even though he has been there so many times, every time I hear him talk about Antarctica, I am still full of excitement and excitement. More and more, I also started to want to go to Antarctica.

But I am still very worried about my health, especially when I have to pass through the Drake Strait, which extends between the South American continent (Cape Horn) and the South Shetland Islands. It is the junction of the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans. The average depth is 3400 meters, and the deepest depth can reach 4800 meters; the Drake Strait is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world, with huge waves, and the average wave can be as high as 4 meters. The strong winds caused by the local 50 knot roar can form a westerly belt. The storm further intensifies the self-circulating ocean currents in the Southern Ocean, but this is the shortest distance between Antarctica and other continents. So if you want to go to Antarctica, you have to take a boat through the Drake Passage. The one-way trip takes 36-48 hours, and the round trip takes 4 days. If I catch a storm and get seasick when I go, , then I’m afraid I won’t be able to see anything when I get to Antarctica.

 

But this year, there was a group on the Antarctic expedition that took the Drake Passage, which happened to not require a boat ride. This undoubtedly greatly increased my determination to go. When classmate Xiao Lu was basically sure that he would lead this group, I finally I made up my mind to go, because it is difficult to find a companion for such a long and beautiful trip, so I need someone I know who can at least give me some peace of mind.

After four days of traveling in Peru, we flew from Lima to Santiago. At this time, my body had not fully recovered from the airsickness caused by watching the paintings, and I also had a slight fever. In the evening, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Santiago. The tour leader and The tour guide specially asked the restaurant to prepare a sick meal for us, white porridge and pickles. I originally just drank the porridge and it was fine, but now Zha Zhahui found out that the owner of the restaurant was his fellow Fuqing fellow, and he was extremely excited. , there was someone in a far away country who could speak his hometown dialect to him. He was very excited and asked me what I wanted to eat. I said something like fried rice noodles, and he actually ordered two portions (170 each) RMB, it’s really not expensive), the rice noodles are really authentic, I couldn’t help but eat them again, and the result can be imagined.

 

We flew from Santiago to Punta Arenas early the next morning. If we wanted to fly over Drake, this was the only route; Quark Adventures had booked the entire Dreams Hotel.

 

The first thing we did when we arrived at the hotel was to go to the multi-purpose hall on the second floor to complete four tasks.

1. Lead landing boots;

 

2. Sign the declaration;

 

3. Disinfect all coats and bags that will be worn when landing in Antarctica. New ones do not need to be disinfected;

 

4. Baggage is weighed. Checked baggage must be less than 15 kg, and carry-on baggage must be less than 5 kg;

 

The weighed luggage is already marked with your room number on the ship, and then you don’t have to worry about it.

After the four things were completed, a briefing session was held. Only then did I realize that going to Antarctica was such a tedious task. The briefing session covered some basic knowledge about Antarctica, most importantly the precautions for flying and boarding the ship.

The dinner was quite sumptuous. Going to Antarctica is really a luxurious trip. The hotel room and restaurant are very good.

 

There is also a small casino on the first floor of the hotel for guests to play games, but Zha Zhahui said it only has slot machines and is not fun.

The scenery outside the hotel is also beautiful, but we didn't have time to enjoy it.

As mentioned above, the Drake Passage is dangerous, so even flying over it is risky. Takeoff and landing can only be done in suitable weather conditions, which requires the local meteorological department to provide a window period of at least four hours. In fact, each team is required to prepare in advance. 24-48 We arrived in Punta in the evening, but we received news that we would take off in the early morning. 4 12:00 to take off, which requires us to 2 Click to start assembling.

I don’t know how long I slept, but I was already ready for departure at 2 in the morning. This was a flight with no flight number and no seat number. It felt like I was going to the battlefield.

 

Well, we will arrive in Antarctica tomorrow!