EJ's Travels

My alarm rang at 4:30am, Saturday, October 8, 2005. I caught a shuttle with a few other folks from my hostel to CDC where we began our preparations to board our plane en route to Antarctica. We were required to dress in our parkas, wind pants and bunny boots in order to board the plane. At check-in they weighed our baggage as well as our selves along with our carry-on (we were allowed one). My baggage: 70 pounds. Me and my carry-on: 192 pounds. Another video and safety lecture was required before we were allowed to board the aircraft, specifically a C-17. The Department of Defense provides military logistics for the Antarctic Program, reimbursed by the National Science Foundation. One of the logistics they provide is transporting people and cargo to McMurdo from Christchurch. The crew that flew us over does so once a month and then returns to Afghanistan and Iraq were they have been serving for the last few years. Craig, a Reservist who was volunteering his time before being placed on active duty, shared some photos with me from his time in Afghanistan, Iraq and surrounding areas while I was waiting in line for the lavatory. They were intense. Craig also allowed me to visit the crew in the cockpit which was a treat. All of them agreed that their time spent serving the Antarctic Program was a vacation in comparison.

It was our lucky day, we were able to land. Although deafening, the landing was smoother than most airplanes I have been on. The back door opened and first the cargo was unloaded. We all stood anxiously on our seats looking out the back of the plane and waiting for our first glimpses of Antarctica. Brilliant white and blue awaited us. My first thought and impression was simply “wow.” The air was cold, -8 degrees Farenheit, but certainly bearable and at the time quite welcome. We were directed to the shuttles (which I will soon be driving) which took us to Building 155 (which is now my home) for yet another orientation briefing, afterwards we were given our room assignments. I found my room and met my roommate, Lou Ann. For now it is just the 2 of us, however, there are 4 beds in our room and odds are good we will get at least one more roommate shortly. I can’t complain about my accommodations. Apparently not everyone faired as well, some rooms are smaller than others. I am lucky enough to be in the same building as the dining hall and the sauna. It doesn’t get much better than that as far as I’m concerned. Now we just need to work on some decorations.

see more of my photos at: http://ej.smugmug.com

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2005 at 6:00 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.