Wednesday, February 9 I did not sleep a wink all night, having listened to the rain that had been falling with a deafening staccato noise on the roof of our rustic cabin. Luckily, it stopped raining at the end of the night, and in the wee hours, the level of the river had already gone down when we got out of our beds. Despite the unpredictable weather, we set off on the road of the « Hébé » valley, hoping to see the important colony of seals that is used to settling in this wild valley, protected on all its sides by steep cliffs. We played with the young, the only ones which put up with human beings. These usually scared animals, possibly aggressive when they feel danger, had fun playfully biting our fingers, which were well-protected by thick gloves. Even the young are able to tear into shreds someone's fingers with their razor sharp teeth. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will finalize our schedule for the return home.
Thursday, February 10 We finally took the road with the crests, the longest but most beautiful route. We crossed the snowy mountain range which stretched from west to east. At the end of the afternoon, the base was in sight.
Friday, February 11 Sadly, we are back at work. Hiking through the island is such an exhilarating adventure! Unfortunately, we cannot plan anything for several weeks. Indeed, the ship « Marion Dufresne » is expected to arrive around February 20th, and all the outings are postponed. The ship will stay put for at least three weeks, in order to carry out an ambitious plan. After dinner, scientists debated on basic and applied science, and how it improves our lives. Anyway, all of that was beyond us, and everyone left without any definitive answers. At least, this debate helped us fall asleep and I personally had a very good night.
Saturday, February 12 This morning, I worked with Erick who gave me a detailed explanation of how things go. I will be alone during his last hike before the ship arrives. Later on, we had to cancel the party we had planned to have after dinner, because of serious disruptions in the power plant. I was scared to death about my radio transmitters that cannot function during a power cut. At midnight, all was in order. I finally had no reason to worry about.
Sunday, February 13 For the fourth Sunday in a row, it is raining cats and dogs, but the temperature is incredibly mild! This morning, according to the thermometer, it's 17° Celsius. All the outings have been postponed until tomorrow because of the abundant rainfall. In addition, the wind that increased during the night made hiking even more dangerous. The power plant has been working badly again. I'm scared to death about the satellite station and the radio transmitters. This time, I am one hundred percent certain to face severe disruptions very soon.
Monday, February 14 The last time I was alone at work, I encountered a lot of technical problems. I hope things will go well for the next few days while Erick is out for a three-day hike. Luckily, I had nothing to complain about, and my workday was fairly quiet. After dinner, I went to our teeny movie theater to kill time until midnight, the best time to call my family – we are four hours ahead of France.
Tuesday, February 15 The weather is still wonderful; hikers are really lucky! According to the more recent news, a cyclone is supposed to hit Reunion Island. The ship could be postponed. The fishing-boat « Cap Kersaint » radioed the base for help. The captain would like to stop at Crozet, because there is a wounded sailor on board who needs medical attention. At the end of the day, the weather suddenly turned really bad. A strong wind arose and a downpour swept across the base. What a sad evening!
Wednesday, February 16 During the night, the weather worsened to such a point that we were worrying sick about the fishing-boat. Would she manage to anchor in the bay? Yesterday I deplored being stuck in the station, and today I do appreciate the gentle heat of my office. The « Cap Kersaint » finally arrived; the sick sailor was carried ashore, diagnosed, treated and returned to the ship. In all, it lasted only two hours, but for the boat this day was lost. During fishing trips, boats cannot afford to waste time, so there are neither weekends nor days off for crew members. At the end of the afternoon the wind died down, and the rain almost stopped falling while the first hikers were in sight, on their way back home. Everybody gathered in the movie theater after dinner, where the hikers told us about their trip, in great detail.
