Sunday, February 20
This morning, the weather is too bad so Dominique and I have decided to rest one more day at “Pointe basse”. I will treat some blisters on my feet, the scars of yesterday’s grueling hike. After that, I will fix the antenna that the wind tore down during the last storm.
Monday, February 21
We set off at 8 this morning despite the heavy rain that has been washing the paths we are supposed to take on our way back. It took us 5 hours to reach the base, which is not too bad regarding the poor weather we have had so far. We were soaked to the skin and the shower was appreciated when we took it.
Tuesday, February 22
The “Marion Dufresne” dropped anchor at 6 am in “Sailor Bay”. As usual everyone was impatiently waiting for the mail. I got two parcels and some letters, enough to keep reading all night but given the delivery delay, the news is not very fresh.
This time the ship will stay put for at least 3 weeks. Indeed, some important work got started early in the morning and the beach is now bristling with engineers and technicians. The work consists of laying underwater cables equipped with probes which detect and record micro earthquakes resulting from underwater nuclear tests. These tests are prohibited according to the Geneva agreement but despite that a lot of countries infringe upon them.
We can hear English conversations on the radio all day. Our radio station which is usually so quiet is now incredibly noisy. Sometimes, when the ship hoists anchor to sail on the open sea, we can appreciate the radio staying mute for hours.
Thank you so much, your recording sounds very good.