The Diaries
 
October 27th 2008
:: 2008 :: 10/27 - 10/28 - 10/29 - 10/30 - 10/31
11/01 - 11/02 & 11/03 - 11/04 - 11/05- 11/06 - 11/07 - 11/08 & 11/09 - 11/10 - 11/11 - 11/12 - 11/13 - 11/14 - 11/15 - 11/16 - 11/17 - 11/18 - 11/19 - 11/20 - 11/21 - 11/22 - 11/23 - 11/25 - 11/26 - 11/27 - 11/28
11/29 - 11/30
12/01 - 12/02
- Discovery after discovery -  

The Transall, waiting, soon on the departure
Photo : Max GUEROUT

After two days of clouds hiding the heights of the Reunion by eye, this morning, the moment of the departure, the sky is radiant.

After embarkation of the baggage’s, the verifications of the papers, the Transall quits towards the lane the air base 181 then dash forward in direction to the Tromelin Island.

Behind the palettes of cargo the passengers are sitting down on their spartiates seats, as comfortable as those on the AIR France; at least the big guys have the possibility to spread their legs like they want. There are, besides the crew on the plane, the personal of relay of the station weather forecast, technicians come to install a converter, the personal of TAAF (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises),   and the nine members of the GRAN team,  of which a good half of them were already present in 2006.

In the plane, the visibility is reduced, the sound of the motors don’t permit conversations, each person occupy’s as he can, drowse or dream. Jean Boggio, our cameraman, found a place in the cockpit at the carriage of the slightest picture to be grabbed.
measures.

The team tent is finally built up
Photo : Max GUEROUT

After 90 minutes of flight, the regime of the motors goes down and we begin to descent. A choc on the lane, motor brakes, the plane stops in the parking. The back door opens on the team of the weather forecast which waits for us in the levers machines of handling.
The equipments off-loaded, each person finds a place to rest while waiting for lunch.

The whole team gets down to the assemblage of the army tent, then the automatic pump having broken down, to install showers open-air.
In a dusty cloud and scared birds, the Transall takes off in the late afternoon, leaving the island again in the state where we like to find it, the newcomers, in their turn, taking all the