Last arrangements in Cape Town

We have now been in Capetown for 3 days and were able to sort through and repack all Air Cargo which had been sent to South Africa well in advance. This means that our starting weight will be about 120 kg per person. In addition we will be resupplying another 80 kg of fuel and food at our only depot, which is located at 83 degrees south (after about 1300km) The russian cargo plane, the Iljushin, will be arriving in Capetown today from Minsk. The plane was delayed for a little bit due to russian government officials being verzy concerned about the number of military parachutes on board for Cargo airdrops. Antarctica is free of military presence. There are some additional problems with the DC-3 planes, which are currently on their way from Canada to the british Antarctic Research station �Halle�. These are the planes that handle all transport in the interior of Antarctica and will bring us from the russian station to the Ekstroem shelfice. To date the news are that only one of the three planes has made it to Antarctica. Due to weather delays the other two have not yet been able to complete their flights. As of today our preparations are finished and the weather has changed from the 30�+ at our arrival to a more moderate 15-18�s. It is nice having somewhat cooler weather to help our bodies prepare for the acclimatisation. However it is still very odd and strange to be sunning ourselves beneath palm trees on the beach. To be in Antarctica at -20� in only 2 days from now seems like a very distant reality right now. Still, we are both in good health and spirits, although we both feel a little fragile and somewhat anxious. Everything is somewhat surreal right now and feels more like being in a movie