The Trip to Palmer – Step 4: Denver (again) and a Series of Flights

After the aforementioned training trips I was fortunate to have about ten days off before returning to Denver for a two-day deployment orientation and flying to my point of embarkation. During this ten-day stretch I was able to spend a final few days with Marsha in Austin, TX and a fun-filled weekend of skiing with my kids in Jackson Hole before saying some final goodbyes to family and grabbing a few last minute necessities.

Deployment orientation was a great opportunity to meet (most) of the rest of the winter crew. The first day was filled with safety and job training which wasn’t terribly excruciating but none to fun either. The second day was at least shorter. On the afternoon of the second day we all boarded shuttle vans to the airport and started what seemed like endless hours of flights. The flight itinerary took us from Denver to Dallas-Ft. Worth, Santiago Chile (where we processed through Chilean customs) and finally on to Punta Arenas, Chile where we would sail from.