Last sunset at Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–F. van den Berg

Last sunset at Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–F. van den Berg

Twin towers of Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA-E. Kaimakamis

Twin towers of Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA-E. Kaimakamis

350 nights – one bed (well, actually two since I switched rooms) and recently I have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor since the French/Italian bed size is not suitable to my Dutch 1.90 cm height.

350 nights –one view, and just a single sunset left to see. It feels like the polar night just ended, yet we are already entering the season of around the clock sun. Halfway through the winter I moved from room 2 to room 12 to avoid a noisy neighbour. So it is now my responsibility to get my old room ready for the summer crew.

Cleaning is a daily duty, but as I clean my old room, I am reminded that in only a few days the first plane will arrive. After so many nights with just the 12 person overwinter crew, it is hard to imagine that in less than three weeks we will have 65 people back in Concordia. 53 more faces, all in the space that we have made into our home. Our prison.

Now it is Hotel Concordia. As I finish making the bed, the base for the first time feels a bit empty. It is strange. Back in my room, I prepare my bag for the overland transport and think of what to take with me on my flight home. I listen to the Eagles and wander off deep in reflection about all the days already spent in this frozen place.

Why? So many times I asked myself that question, and now it seems not to matter as much anymore. In only six weeks the whole world opens up for me again, and within two months I can be back home.

“You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave!”

Will Hotel Concordia really let me go? The post-mission MRI scan when I leave Antarctica will tell me what a year living with hypoxia did to my brain, but what about my mind?

Only two more months to go to find out…

Sunrise at Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–F. van den Berg

Sunrise at Concordia. Credits: ESA/IPEV/PNRA–F. van den Berg