April 16 - My cruise, aborted

I do not know if anybody read this blog at all but in any case it is coming to an end. It was assessed that some of the engine mechanical problems that the ship had during the previous cruise needed to be thoroughly check for safety. A technical team is flying in from the USA to Montevideo and the ship will stay in port at least until April 26th. As such, the science work is being cut down, including the CTD line, which is the work I was supposed to be doing. My presence on board, as well as some other scientists and technicians is not needed so I am flying back to Miami tomorrow! I am not sad but disappointed because I love going at sea and have not been in 4 years. Oh well.

April 15 - The ship in Puerto Montevideo

While I slept in my cabin last night or this morning, the RV Brown got moved from the dock to being tagged right next to a Korean fishing ship; I am not sure exactly if I can get to shore today or if anybody from shore can get on the ship ... 

It may looks like I have no idea exactly what is going on and that is kind of true. However, I expect things to fall into place as all scientists get onboard and people get a bit more acquainted.

April 14th - Arriving in Montevideo

I arrived today in Montevideo. Uneventful 8h35 minutes flight from Miami to Buenos Aires (I slept the whole time) and then short flight of 50 minutes to Montevideo. On the same flights from Miami was Claudia Schmidt, oceanographer at AOML and chief scientist of the cruise. We took a cab from the airport to Cuidad Vieja, or the old downtown of Montevideo, where the R/V Ronald H. Brown, the ship of the cruise, is docked. The ride in the taxi cab was very interesting, I believe we drove along along the southeastern coast from the airport, passing resort style neighborhoods. The Atlantic Ocean was brown, almost red. I do not know yet if this is seasonal, alluvia from Rio de la Plata or other biochemistry phenomena. 

The docks are in a restricted area so that there is quite a bit of security to reach the boat; I am waiting to get an official pass to be able to circulate in and out of the port; it would be nice to get this very soon: it is 7:30 pm and I am starving and would like to be able to look for a restaurant! Indeed, food is not provided for the scientific crew until the day of departure! More blogging about science soon!