The lobby of Hotel Albatross was a beehive of activity when we arrived this morning. Those returning from Antarctica had just learned of the strike and were scrambling for new flights and competing for hotel rooms. We were feeling pretty smug; the strike meant nothing to us. We just had to wait around for our boarding time along with another group booked on our sister ship, Ioffe, which happily included most of the American contingent.
Around noon our luggage was loaded onto trucks to be transferred to the ship. Finally at four the group gathered and our luggage was removed from the truck, which couldn’t pass the picket line. We were told to hand-carry it across the street to the ship, being careful when we crossed by the strikers. The union wouldn’t allow the crew of the Vavilov to help us until our gear was onboard.
The bad news came at the onboard briefing. The strike would be over either at 8:00 or midnight. Probably. This was to be the first trip of the season for the Vavilov and we didn’t have enough food for the trip. Our food truck wasn’t allowed to the pier so the strike is affecting us and we won’t sail until morning at the earliest. Oh, well. Ioffe, on the other hand, still has food left from its last trip and was able to leave as scheduled. We will carry the rest of their food and deliver it in the Malvinas, aka the Falkland Islands.
