Port Lockroy, Antarctica
During the next five months and in extreme weather conditions, Portuguese Tiago Figueiredo will work at the most remote post office on the planet, in Port Lockroy, in Antarctica. Leaves this Monday.
It’s not out of mere ‘madness’, defiance or a taste for extreme cold. Tiago Figueiredo goes on a scientific mission.
The Portuguese, 47 years old, is part of a team of six people from the organization ‘UK Antarctic Heritage Trust’ (UKAHT) who will live and work in the Goudier Islandwhose area is equivalent to a football field.
For Tiago Figueiredo, this will be a completely new experience and very different from the profession of business consultant.
“Obviously, there is always a degree of apprehension, but it is one of those unique opportunities. I am very excited and counting the days. I consider myself extremely lucky”, he admitted to the Lusa agency.
Fascinated by explorations
Born in Lisbon, Figueiredo has lived in the United Kingdom since 2012, where his fascination with the era of Portuguese discoveries, in the 14th and 15th centuries, led him to become interested in the achievements of British explorers from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott.
“I never learned about any of this at school. I started reading a lot about the subject, researching and developing a distant desire to go there one day”, he said.
The opportunity arose after his wife, Raquel, forwarded him an unusual job advertisement.
Departure to one of the most special places on the planet
UKAHT is a British charity responsible for several sites in Antarctica, including Port Lockroya former military base established in 1944, during World War II.
Every year, a new team is sent to inventory the colony of more than a thousand gentoo penguins on the island, especially the eggs and new chicks.
The mission coincides with the period of the southern summer and natural melting ice, used by birds for the reproduction process.
O study aims to evaluate the quality of life and survival of penguins.
The southernmost post office on the planet
The southernmost post office on the planet and the museum are mainly visited by limited number of tourists transported by cruise ships and allowed to enter the island.
Still, tens of thousands of letters and postcards are sent from Port Lockroy.
UKAHT team members are also responsible for going on board ships to give talks about the island’s history, its mission and raising awareness of the importance of Antarctic conservation work.
Taking into account that access to water, energy and communications will be limited, Figueiredo hopes to take advantage of those occasions “to take a hot shower, because there is no running water on the island, and to have a meal that isn’t from a can”.
The Portuguese had training in survival, in the case of an accident or bad weather, and first aid, including resuscitation, injections or catheterization.
He also learned how to operate the post office and how to handle historical artefacts kept in the museum, namely objects used by the occupants over eight decades.
“Women” let him make his dream come true
Leaving his family behind, from which he will be away during the Christmas season, will be difficult for Figueiredo, who only accepted after being “authorized” by his wife and two daughters.
The work will be paid and travel and expenses will be paid, but, for Lisbon residents, this is, above all, the “realization of a dream”.
In addition to many photographs of penguins and the inhospitable landscape, upon his return, Tiago Figueiredo is prepared to make up for his absence. “I am perfectly aware that when I return, I’ll have to do what I’m told and that’s it“, he jokes.
First Portuguese to join the mission
Figueiredo will be the first Portuguese to join a UKAHT mission, which this year includes several repeat members and Amanda Barry, whose father was posted there in 1948. Three of the members will be replaced at the end of December, but Figueiredo will remain for the entire season.
“I preferred to stay, since the 14,000 kilometer journey is long. I thought, since I’m going, I might as well stay the whole time. I hope I don’t regret it”, he said.
Pack warm clothes and shoes to withstand the negative temperatures, some books, chocolates, “good coffee”, family photographs and material to make Christmas gifts for your adventure companions.
At the beginning of January, three carpenters will come together to carry out work to repair the structure of wooden buildings due to water and snow. Interventions in the electrical and communications infrastructure are also planned.
