Day 1, 11th March – Wednesday morning, 06:00.
On the West Coast of Scotland, alarms go off and a few groggy Master’s (currently studying in Oban) wake themselves up for the start of a long day of travelling. Though we know that this is the beginning of what is likely to be one of the most life-changing experiences of our lives, excitement is still rather muted – the enormity of our undertaking hasn’t hit home yet. A few hours later and we arrive in St Andrews, and things start to feel a bit more real – catching-up with the rest of the team we’ve not seen in several months, the 5-times a minute passport shuffle-check, and the final farewell/bragging Facebook status (which usually amounts to the same thing). The first flight is a quick hop over the channel to Paris, followed by the long-haul to Buenos Aires – students diligently took the time to read up on their Antarctic wildlife during this period and quizzed each other meticulously with exam -style questions such as “What’s your favourite species of penguin?” and “Going from A to Z, can you name 26 species of Antarctic animal?” Having done this, we felt very confident in our now finely-honed identification skills.
James Rimmer, MSc EMMS
