Today we woke to a glorious sunny morning with the cove as calm as a mill pond. We were confident we would be leaving on such a perfect day but after a fruit salad, semolina and sausage roll breakfast we heard via radio with Jubany that sea ice is still blocking any transport from their end. It seems incredible the weather can be so different but, within a few hours, we were also experiencing a return of sea ice once more, and the weather had changed into snow, sleet and driving rain by the afternoon. It is true that the weather is unpredictable and can change extremely quickly here, it can really be deceptive but I am getting used to the ever changing conditions.

We trudged through the knee high snow to visit the local school. Carlos and Priscilla are the two Chilean teachers and there are 13 students in total, ranging from 6-14 years old. Today we met 9 of the children, aged 7-14 (one was ill and the other three belong to the afternoon nursery school). The children are predominantly from the Chilean military families at Frei Marsh and live here from March to November, travelling back to Chile for the rest of the year. They mostly come from the north of Chile from Villa del Mar to as far north as Arica and will be heading back soon, either when school finishes in three weeks time, or after Christmas.

Carlos and Priscilla have been teaching here for one year and will teach for two more but after that the future of the school is in question. With few pupils and few families here (thirteen in total) there are concerns over costs and even talk of closing the town. The children areall happy here though, in particular enjoying lessons of mathematics and physical education, enjoying the snow, sports (especially sledging) and seeing the penguins in their free time (though one eleven year old boy said is favourite hobby was his x-box).The winters can be hard here though and they do miss the sun and warmth of continental Chile, shops, and the rest of their friends and family. The children were all charming and we had a question-answer session in varying degrees of Spanish and English, explaining where we are from, and what we will be doing on Jubany once the weather settles enough for us to get there.

After a lunch of chicken and noodle soup and roast beef Steve and I went by skidoo to the lake where Bellingshausen and Artiga draw their water from in the summer. We had walked up earlier to have a look but the bleak white landscape means it is very difficult to pick out any features, only a few rock ridges are exposed. Bulat was very keen for us to sample his lake but first we said we would need some holes drilled through the 1m thick ice. This was no problem the Russians would help us but it must be done quickly before the afternoon Olympic volleyball semi-finals took place. The holes were drilled and Bulat tested the water chemistry with a handheld meter (no gloves but it was freezing!) but by the time Steve and I had returned to our kit the weather had got so bad (think wet and windy and not even possible fieldwork weather in the UK, let alone in Antarctica) so we couldn’t go back to the lake. Instead we went back to dry off and also were allowed into the generator building after dinner (chicken, instant mash, cinnamon buns) for a very much appreciated Antarctic shower (there is only one on the base) and the first dose of hot water since being here. Bliss.