Arrived in São Tomé

Stopping on the larger of the two islands for a few days to install the exhibition and attend conferences. The plaque has been shipped on ahead with the governor, who is an absolute star for schmoozing out 75kilos of excess luggage, and the Scientists In The World team. They will be doing outreach in schools on príncipe, and staying in Roça Sundy itself. Can't wait to join them!

A blur of airports

Conference in Lisbon today was a huge success. The SdG has just discovered a cache of letters from the RAS, asking permission and help for an expedition... written as early as 1914. These expeditions take some planning!

Standing at the monument in Lisbon harbour to the Portguese explorers who left from this point to discover the world. As much as I am currently fed up with waiting lounge after waiting lounge after waiting lounge, I have to say that the modern way of travelling to Sao Tome is convenient. Comparatatively. :)

Start of official celebrations

The anniversary celebrations kick off today, at the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa in Portugal. The full programme includes an address by José Cassandra, President of Príncipe and Prof. José Mariano Gago, Portuguese Minister for Science.

A plan comes together

Phew! I have my fingers crossed as I type (and am still sat on the edge of my seat), but the plan seems to be coming together. I love it.

The plaque has arrived safe and sound in Lisbon. The team will rendezvous there tomorrow for the start of the official anniversary celebrations, then carry it the rest of the way as hand luggage (yikes). The press release is fleshing out nicely, and my shiny new iPhone is charged up to send back photos of the various ceremonies. Hmm, I hope that works - I kind of used this excuse to myself to justify the expense. And finally, my visa to travel into Sao Tome was granted this morning. Kind of last minute, but hey: all's well.

Sky at Night

There's now just under a week before we leave, and the pressure is rising. There are last-minute preparations for the exhibition in Sao Tome, and making sure the plaque actually arrives with us. DHL report the parcel as having "irregular delays", whatever that means. Unfortunately, while the UK service desk is open at weekends, the parcel is currently half-way through France: and they're closed. Draw your own conclusions about European working rights.

In brighter news, the expedition's first UK press coverage arrived in this month's BBC's Sky at Night magazine. Best of all, they sent me a copy of the whole magazine, so I get to relax for an hour this afternoon with a cup of tea and a read.

The plaque is ready to go

The manufacture of the commemorative plaque has been completed, and it's looking beautiful! The design is engraved into brushed stainless steel, and describes the personalities and scientific excitement of the eclipse in diagrams and Portuguese/English text. This is being shipped out and will be unveiled at Roça Sundy on 29th May.

The tickets are booked...

We have booked our plane tickets to São Tomé e Príncipe. True to our attempt to turn this into a journey that will promote not simply astronomy but also the local economy and tourism potential, we are going with STP Airways, the country’s only airline that operates a single flight between Lisbon and S.Tomé once a week. Fingers crossed, STP Airways will continue to be in business until May. We’ve heard good things about it, but it had to stop its flights intermittently once before. (By the way, for the ordinary traveller a cheaper option during the summer holiday season may be the Portuguese Pestana group, which offers a package tour that includes charter flight and accommodation).

Before heading out to STP, we will spend two days in Lisbon where we’ve been invited to participate in a celebration of the 1919 Eclipse Expedition organised by the Portuguese Geographical Society. Their enthusiasm and effort is really quite impressive. The celebration will include an opening ceremony on Thursday, 21^st of May, and on the following day, a symposium with several speakers including the President of Príncipe (José Cassandra) which is an autonomous region of this small island state, the Portuguese Minister of Science and, from our team, Pedro Gil Ferreira. A truly grand opening to this exciting trip!