Punta Arenas

We made it to Punta Arenas, Chile! This is a port town at the southern tip of Chile, along the Strait of Magellan. This is where we get on the research vessel to head down to Antarctica. You can see our boat, the Lawrence M. Gould, there at the dock. It's the orange one, which is far less fancy than the cruise ship that it's next to. You can also see some shags and gulls on the beach:

All five of our team members are finally together! Here in Punta Arenas, we get all of our gear and load everything onto the vessel. Then, we have a little bit of time to explore the town. In the town square, there is a statue of Magellan. It is traditional to rub his toe for good luck before beginning a journey. Now that the group is all together, here we are rubbing the toe. Certainly, this will help us have a smooth journey across the Drake Passage and down to Antarctica!

So this is our team! In the photo there is Uffe, me, Connor, Kelli, and Dave. We're ready to set sail tomorrow!