This morning we all got up at 7.30am to see Dirk off. The caleta was full of sea ice we thought maybe this would be a second leaving-turn-welcome back. But the Castillo zodiac managed to find an ice free patch of water along at the end of the base so we all trudged through the snow to see him off. Dirk we will all miss you!

Later, Steve, Tamara and I tried out the (now defrosted) gravity corer with all the weights that can possibly be fitted on. But even with all weights attached the sediment is still too hard to penetrate. This lake is a real challenge! It was very cold today (again!) so we had to keep jumping up and down or running around to keep warm. It can be hard work to keep warm, especially when you are already tired from fieldwork. Hot tea and chocolate helps of course and our snow wall around our core holes provides a nice (though chilly) seating area.