Working under a blazing sun, we rolled up our sweaty sleeves to lift, haul and pull 70 tons of equipment on to the Knorr. Throughout the afternoon, chairs and computers, test tubes and thermometers found homes in various labs throughout the ship.

The long-anticipated science shipment was the last to hit the deck in mid-afternoon. Team efforts helped to fill the empty decks with boxes, and once-lonely lab tables with stacks of metal suitcases and plastic shipping containers. Electric screw drivers buzzed as equipment came together and inside the ship, ceilings thumped as the cranes plunked delivery-truck sized metal containers on the decks.

“It’s a zoo out there,” confirmed Lori Dolby, cruising through the main lab with a cardboard box on her way downstairs to the geology and map making lab.

We will spend this evening and tomorrow unwrapping equipment in a sort-of science supplies celebration. It’s the first time any of us have seen the materials since the shipments left three months ago from the United States and Europe. Long checklists itemizing the materials were hauled out to sort supplies among the dozens of boxes in each lab.

Despite a hot and hurried afternoon on the ship, the morning allowed for a relaxed start. With supplies arriving at noon, we explored Port Louis, where the Knorr is docked for the next three days. Small groups took the water taxi across the harbor to town to browse the market for spices and silks, then wander with legions of European tourists through Port Louis’ new waterfront development.

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