June 17, 2010

Hey everyone!

So we're scheduled to finally make it back to land by 3 o'clock tonight, but we're still not sure when we'll be able to get off the ship. We spent most of today finishing up packing and cleaning the ship in preparation for unloading everything tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll be docked at Puerta Caldera, but we're not sure for how long. Everything has to be offloaded and stored temporarily until the next cruise is finished. When the next cruise is over, our equipment, rock samples, etc. will be picked up and taken back to San Diego where it will be shipped to wherever its final destination may be. There's a chance we can go to shore tomorrow in Puntarenas, but it all depends on how long it takes our equipment to be offloaded and the next science crew's equpment to be loaded onto the ship.

In other news, the last of the map sections were presented today by Cait, Will C, Ally, and Will S. There were some really interesting debates on specific aspects of the maps and many questions still remained that will have to be sorted out as time goes on. In a meeting with Karen and Dan, some other students also worked on finalizing the projects they will be working on for the remainder of the summer and beyond. They also discussed some students potentially spending time at Woods Hole working with Dan and Adam Soule on specific aspects of their projects. Krista, Ally, Cait, Will C, and Gretchen are still diligently working on putting together the Flamingo Cruise t-shirts and began distributing them to people today.

All in all, despite all the fun we've had on the ship and everything we've learned, most people are ready to get back to land and return to family and friends.