The Post Office is Open

The US Post Office, McMurdo, Antarctica opened last week for package mailing. I sent three boxes that take 3-4 weeks for delivery. 

The cost was $58. Much easier than carrying it all back.

I like their motto.

The Three Amigos (or Emperor penguins!). We have shared many meals and conversations this winter. John (left) is leaving today. Going home to Alaska - from the cold to the cold.

At breakfast this morning - it's been almost 5 months since we had a banana. I was a fruit hog and took two.

Post card assortment.

The official McMurdo Winter 2012 decal.

 The winfly (winter fly in) period is complete with six successful C-17 flights of people and cargo. There are now about 400 people on station and it seems so crowded everywhere I go. The dorms  now have a college dorm atmosphere with a much younger crowd. I fall asleep with ear plugs. The summer crowd will increase to around 1200 once main body starts arriving on October 1. I moved my "off the ice" date up to October 5th from the 8th just in case there are weather delays as I want to make sure to be in Christchurch on October 10 when my daughter Jocelyn arrives. I made reservations at a backpacker (hostel) in Brighton Beach outside of Christchurch. I am looking forward to the New Zealand sun and beach for the week before our South Island bicycle ride.

Point Break Backpacker is about 400 feet from this pier. Looks like some surf in the near future!

On the plus side the food quality has increased with the fresh food arrivals. The last two days I have enjoyed stir fried shrimp with fresh vegetables, and encrusted mahi with fresh lemon. Along with that we have had fresh spinach salads and all kinds of fresh fruit. I will never walk into a grocery again without thinking of these months on the ice eating frozen and canned foods. What a treat now! A friend of mine gave me a bag of fresh baby carrots as she received three bags from incoming friends. There are also bowls of fresh kiwis in the galley now.

On the work front the storms and power surges of a week ago caused a failure in another one of the antennas I work on. We received the needed replacement parts (flown in from California) yesterday and am now working on the recovery of that antenna. My winter co-worker has left and the two summer people are now on station. 

We are now into almost 6 hours of sunlight and that is increasing by about 30 minutes each day. The sun peaked over the hill for the first time yesterday. Along with that the temperature is almost up to a balmy 0 degF! I am told however that September sometimes brings the worst weather to the continent. About half of the winterovers are still on station until early October. We pass each other in the galley and dorms with friendly greetings and smiles as we are a pretty tight group now that the population has "exploded". Good times were experienced.

Mail Call!! It seems like my old navy days. Thanks Andee.

My first mail in 7 months and what is it?....

Can't get away from it... even at the bottom of the world!

Saturday September 1, 2012 noon. A pretty day at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Still digging out from recent storms.

A Visit to Scott Base Pub and More Nacreous Clouds

Some friends and I thought it would be a good idea to visit Scott Base for a final American Night (Thursdays) winter evening since many changes are coming. We had fun.

American vs. Kiwi drinking game.

Enjoying a Guinness at the pub.

More fun with the Shot Ski.

Attempting to pick up a matchbox on your knees without using your arms.

"Simple minds...simple pleasures!" Yeah...winter is almost over. Too bad we will have to start acting like grownups again...NOT.

More Antarctic Fun Facts

The Antarctic continent wasn't even actually seen until 1820. No man set foot in Antarctica until 1895. The first human landing there is claimed by Henryk Bull, with a party from a whaling ship. They landed at Cape Adare . It was 1935 before the first woman set foot there. Her name was Catherine Mikkelson, and she was the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain. The South Pole was first reached by a Norwegian named Roald Amundsen in 1911, and shortly after by British explorer Robert Scott.

Most tourists who visit Antarctica visit the Antarctic Peninsula, which is accessible from Chile. There the climate is mild in comparison with the rest of the continent, and is teaming with wildlife. This part of Antarctica is sometimes called the "Banana Belt."

Probably one of the most interesting facts about Antarctica is its government - or lack of government.  Antarctic has no government and is owned by no country, making it truly one of the most unique places on the planet (few other places have no government!).   Although many countries have tried to claim the land, there is a treaty in place that prevents this. 

• Time stands still - there are no time zones.
• 10% of Earth's land is Antarctica and yet no one lives here.
• Majority of Meteorites are found in Antarctica.
• Biggest dessert in the world (it never rains!)
• Lowest temperature was -129 in 1983

Did I say I really like Nacreous clouds? Photo credit to Paul.

August 29th update:

It was blowing and snowing Sunday and therefore another Sunday without a hike - that makes it three Sundays in a row now. Today the third Winfly C-17 landed with three more scheduled. After nine days of storms the weather has settled down nicely. And I have a roommate now who moved in at 11:45 Monday night. 

Winfly #1: the Arrival of the C-17 Globemaster and it is Still Storming

The first winfly flight arrived Thursday night August 23rd. 120 passengers arrived and 20 left. Before the flight left Christchurch eight people were removed because they exhibited flu symptoms. Yesterday medical gave flu shots to those that wanted one. I always get a flu shot and glad I got this one as I heard this morning two people arrived with the flu. It will be interesting to see how it passes through the town. The two have been confined to their rooms. When I first arrived in February I along with most others came down with the McMurdo Crud. 

The day after the new people arrived was very strange as us winterovers just kind of stared at them. Most were loud and full of energy and we were told to have extreme patience with them and to accept them into the community. Since I am pretty easy going with everyone I have no problem but I can tell others were not so accepting.  A lot of the winterovers are now taking their food to their rooms because of this and also to avoid any illnesses. I have talked with several people who are trying to get sick right away so that their off the ice plans are not disturbed. All and all it is a pretty interesting experience.

We continue to get literally pummeled by another storm. I was caught out in a condition 1 this morning leaving the galley. It is funny hearing several of the new people exclaiming at breakfast this morning "What in the heck did I come here for?". It is so awesome to experience these Antarctic storms that I have just read about. It makes me even more in awe of the old Antarctic explorers and how they survived. I love Antarctica!

C-17 landing on the ice shelf. All photos by Justin.

C-17 Globemaster

Winter-overs heading home.

Unloading cargo of 991 pounds of food along with mail.

Runway operations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCS_C7yU3R0&feature=youtu.be

A YouTube link walking to work Saturday morning during condition 1.

Overnight there were several power outages/fluctuations. We were paged to work several times. As soon as there was a break in the weather we traveled to our work sites up the hill. It is indeed an adventurous job. Here are three short videos.

It's off to work we go.

More freshies!