2014-08-18 15:30 Alaska, Barrow-time

End of cruise dinner was a fabulous night. We are all tired, many mixed feelings about leaving, but it was a grand night. At least at my table. I had lovely company and the food was nice. We moved into the mingle area and chatted away during a long night.

I am in a way getting used to the thought now. To leave this life to the other. Mentally preparing for the logistical and mental challenge of getting back into “normal” life. Let alone the recovery to my local Swedish time.

We met yesterday in the ITM constellation, meaning – the people that work at the department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM) at Stockholm University on board here at leg1 of the SWERUS C3 expedition. What happens time wise when we get back? Who will take vacation directly after the cruise, and how long? Reminders of the dates when Oden arrives back in Sweden for demobilisation. What are the main logistics of demobilisation and retrieving the samples? Sample storage back at the department has to be ready – we have several new freezers arranged up by colleagues ashore.

Then we took a group picture on the Helicopter deck. The feeling of us being a group was strong. For me, a lot stronger than when I stepped onto Oden in Tromsö.



I have now put a bag of personal belongings in the storage container on the aft deck. This is a bag I will get back when Oden comes back to Sweden in October. Everything I want to bring home to have accessible before this I need to bring when I rotate and get off in Barrow. I am now packed, almost to the last bits. I have a couple of clothes garments hanging in the drying room, and my computer, camera and binoculars left to pack. I paid my bill at the kiosk downstairs at Odenplan (the meeting place/announcement board area) after lunch. My bill consisted of t-shirts and hats with icebreaker Oden logos on that were available for sale in the “Oden shop – probably the best shop at sea”, a few mineral waters and one phone call on the satellite telephone.

I am doing backup of data now. Both our log sheets, sample lists, notes as well as hip log data, with the ship position at an exact time but also photos and videos taken during the cruise. We have shared photos on a common server on board so I have downloaded quite few photos from other people. I have to get my own photo bank sorted a little more and then post my photos there too. I just packed the printer that I brought for our group and all the little IT-bits that we had into a safe warm place in the large heli-deck storage room. It will sit tight there until leg2 is finished and we can demobilise.

I am tired. It has been tough to change the time, even though I might have been better off than some people since I have gone on the night shift for very long, and we shifted the time 10 hours back. Tired is only the first name I guess. It has been intense. Ha.

We can now see land on the ice maps that show our cruise track and current position. We will soon spot Barrow I guess. Feels good now. I have come to terms with soon getting ashore.

Actually... I looked out just now. I can see Alaska. Land again. Strange. Nice.