This way to my village!

@ValentínCarrera, King George Island.

From today, my village of Bembibre, the capital of the Alto Bierzo, and King George Island, which is the largest island of the South Shetland archipelago, will be linked by a signpost with the equestrian image of the “Señor de Bembibre” on it and the number 12,523 km, which is the actual distance in a straight line between these two places.

I got this signpost last November, on the eve of setting sail from the port of Vigo as reporter of the Spanish scientific expedition to the Antarctica, when the Mayor of Bembibre, Manuel Otero gave me the special task of setting it up in the appropriate place. He had brought under his arm this metal signpost and told me that the town Councillor, Federico Martínez had been in charge of making it. And in fact the signpost was “rather neat” as it came with screws for both wood and metal; as who knows where it can be affix to, and it was carefully wrapped, with the flavor of things made with love.

“Put up this signpost in the Antarctica, in the name of Bembibre and its people,” the Mayor said, “as a greeting from El Bierzo to the Antarctica, to its explorers and scientists, and also as a message of our support for their valuable research work. From Bembibre we take part and support this scientific adventure.”

He also gave me a copy of the novel the “Señor de Bembibre” by Enrique Gil y Carrasco, and said to me with a huge hug: “good luck and a safe journey.”

I accepted this task as the highest honour, as a son and a grandson of people from Bembribe, with living relatives in San Roman, Rodanillo, Noceda, Vinales. This trip is dedicated to my father, Tomas Gonzalez Cubero, who just turned 91 years old, and to the many happy memories of my childhood spent in my the house of my grandparents, Samuel and Teresa.

The signpost, which is oriented to the Northeast, conveys the distance from Bembibre (lat. 42º.64 N, Lon. 6 ° 43 W) to King George Island (62° 02 S, 58 °, 21 °W), a distance of 6762.6 nautical miles, or 12.523.86 km.

As soon as I disembarked on King George Island, I went straight to the commander of the Antarctic air base Frei, Sergio Cubillos Alvarado. I explained to him my task and he asked me to meet him the next day at the totem pole of the Chilean base. I went along with the captain of the research vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa, my countryman Pablo Fernández from Argovejo, and the expedition chief Luis Ansorena from Vigo.

The morning was a truly Antarctic one, with a thick fog and very high winds. But an officer had already prepared the spot for affixing the signpost, and since the sign was “rather neat”, it was enough to tighten a few screws and that was it; the stamp of the “Señor de Bembibre” on the signpost was fixed to the totem pole. I then presented to Commander Cubillos as a gift the novel by Enrique Gil, and we left with a rather emotional farewell. I hope that the “Señor de Bembibre” accustomed to the rigor and the privations of a Templar’s life and the harsh winters in the Aquiana hermitage, will be able to withstand the Antarctic winters in King George Island.