18th December
The Antarctic Great Escape is in progress. The Ilyushin jet left Punta Arenas 18 minutes ago and is due here in a little over four hours.
However, the snow machines are still clearing, the wind is picking up and out of the window I can see the weather system, which could ruin visibility, heading our way. It’s going to be tight – can the plane get down onto the ice and off again before the wind, snow or visibility shuts us down?
A couple of days ago frustrations at the delay seemed to be boiling over, with some people trying to find someone to complain at. Tension in camp is still high. It will be interesting to see what happens if this plane gets turned around before landing (very possible at the moment due to the wind speed).
What’s ridiculous is that currently I’m keen to get home, but in a week or so I’ll be wanting to come back!