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Part 2: The Team Has AssembledPosted: Saturday, August 29, 2015
About half the group (the rest of the team) arrived late last night and some team members got very little sleep. Some of them unexpectedly had a midnight tour of a few of the various hotels around town before finding the one with their reservations. At least there was the midnight sun, so they did not have to do this all in the dark. Those who did get sleep awoke to cloudy skies and falling snow, resulting in a sky that was darker at 6:30 a.m. than it was at midnight. GPS Coordinates to the expedition's launch point in Longyearbyen, Norway: 78.225333, 15.4178506
The first order of business this morning was to assemble the group — and all of our luggage — in one hotel, where we had our first of many expedition briefings. We met our expedition leaders who talked about polar bear safety and the expected behavior and etiquette out in the Arctic wilderness. After the briefing, we loaded hundreds of bags of luggage on a truck to be delivered to the ship, while we ate lunch. Ernie Brooks offered a toast to Michael and the trip ahead. As we sit here at lunch, there is a lot of conversation of people catching up with old friends and getting to know their new teammates. There is an abundance of enthusiasm about the adventure that awaits us. The excitement is building…
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