"Our expedition went very well. We were very
lucky with both weather and ice conditions. We had a very well attended press
conference at the Swedish embassy in Buenos Aires on the 22nd of January which gave a lot
of press and TV coverage concerning the Nordenskjöld anniversary. Then we had a big
dinner at the Maritime Museum in Ushuaia with representatives from the Tierra del Fuego
Government and the Admiral of the Navy. There were 120 Swedish participants of which 20
were grand- and greatgrandchildren to Otto Nordenskjöld.
This evening
was also the issuing date of the Swedish Nordenskjöld stamps. The participants were able
to buy the new stamps and were informed about the big surprise, namely that the Swedish
Post will open a post office at Snow Hill on the 29th of Jan during the celebration there.
I was before leaving Stockholm appointed postmaster at a special ceremony arranged to
present to the new Nordenskjöld stamps at the National Maritime Museum where there is a
special Nordenskjöld exhibition.
On the 28th of
January we were able to land at Paulet Island and a joint Argentine-Swedish research team
started to investigate and document the stone hut remains from Captain Larsen in 1903. In
the afternoon we arrived at Hope Bay were we also measured the hut and documented it
photographically. Here we also had a special ceremony together with the base personnel
celebrating the Nordenskjöld centenary. During the night we sailed South and we were very
lucky to find very little pack ice. We zigzagged between huge icebergs through the Weddell
Sea and when we came close to the hut on Snow Hill Island we saw a majestic emperor
pengvin standing in front of the house. It all seemed very magic and as if Otto himself
were standing waiting for us. During our stay here the post office opened outside the hut
using the original table and all passenger and collectors mail was handled. All
passengers had a chance to take a brief look inside the hut before it was time to
continue." |
