Page 118 - 2003 - Atlantic Islands

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GRYTVIKEN

Woke up at 5:15 AM after a restful night without even any nightmares or anxiety

dreams. Read until Kay woke up at 6 and then we opened the door and found the

long awaited email from Kathy telling us that Johnny had come through his surgery

well and that she was at home. Now we are awaiting an update, which she said she

would try to send today.

We were steaming along towards South Georgia when we got up into the Leda

Lounge and our projected anchoring time in Grytviken was 7 AM. We pretty much

made it on time too. The authorities came aboard and began processing the ship and

passengers promptly. From the decks, we could see some amazing changes. King

Edward Point appeared to have some more buildings though we couldn’t really say

how many. King Edward Point (also known as KEP) is a promontory and settlement

with port facilities (wharf) on the northeastern coast of the island of South Georgia. It

is located at 54°17′S 36°30′W in Cumberland East Bay. It is just below Grytviken at the

head of King Edward Cove.

There was a large T-shaped modular building next to the whaling station tanks, which

had certainly not been there before. It houses the workers who are involved in the

asbestos abatement program, anywhere from 30-45 at the time. They are apparently

stripping the asbestos from the derelict buildings but they also seem to be trying to

remove big piles of earth as well - whether they are turning it over or actually

removing it, we couldn’t tell. Turns out that they are not removing earth, but are

digging enormous trenches to bury the metal debris that will be left over. But lots of

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