RWSE Day 28: 5,489.6 NM Later …

All good things must come to an end!

And so it has for the first-ever Remote Weddell Sea Explorer expedition … in Ushuaia … where we started 28 days ago.

We were up well before EL Sara’s wake up call at 7:15a. Last minute items placed in the bags; zippers pulled and locked; weights verified … all under the airline limit of 15 kg. We placed the bags in the hallway outside our cabin and went up to the bar to get out of the way of the staff and crew rushing to move bags into the reception foyer … the staging area until the conveyor belt could be extended to start offloading everything.

Breakfast was announced at 7:30a. It was a hurried affair. Now that the expedition was truly at an end, everyone was anxious to get going. At 8:10a, EL Sara made the first call for disembarkation.

Captain Remmert was at reception, shaking hands and bidding everyone safe travels. We reciprocated … wishing godspeed to him and the ship’s complement on their return to the Antarctic. All indications are that Ortelius is in for a rough crossing back down to the peninsula.

Finding our bags in the line up on the pier, we took them to the truck that would be transferring them to Avenida Maipú 1210 for storage. Satisfied that the bags were loaded, we then went around, bidding farewell to shipmates and the expedition team before heading off on the long walk from the ship’s berth to the port gate.

The wind was blowing strong. It was downright cold. For a minute, it felt like we were back in Antarctica. We really could have used another layer of clothing in Ushuaia today.Read more