Answering some Questions
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
5
Trip End
Mar 29, 2008
McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Thursday, January 17, 2008
So this was really my first blog.
The job is really cool I am enjoying it very much....Its basic plumbing mostly..Go snake out this drain its backing up...Dorm room 203 is complaining that there toilet is leaking etc.
Honestly I think it might be warmer here on average then it is at home..Today it was about 35Degrees and sunny...Since I have been here I have only seen one really cold day where the wind chill was up to 40mph...very chilli...
Today I was in the Galley a place where we eat...and someone said the Ice cutter out in the bay saw a family of killer whales...I am headed out shortly to see if I can get lucking and photograph any of them...I guess when the ice cutter comes up it breaks all the ice loose and the seals get attracted to the open water...They like to come out and bake in the sun this time of year. That in turn attracts the whales to come up and dive above the ice to grab the seals and throw them back in the water to eat.
So far though the only animals that I have seen are these Seagull type birds called Skua...
They looks like Seagulls on Steroids back home we would be saying "Holy Crap did you see the size of that bird!"...But here there one of the smaller creatures that inhabit the area...
Needless to say they have very seagull type tendencies....They love to dive for your food if your carrying it from the galley to your dorm room.
That leads me to dorm life.....
Man I lucked out! I have a nice big room, No roommate at all. Sometimes makes me feel bad as alot of the other folks here are bunked up 3 or 4 to a room.Army and Navy have there own dorms...Also so do the KiWi's (New Zealand Army).
Honestly its really cool the community as a whole has this awesome vibe to it...very trade friendly and no one really doesnt socialize whith anyone else.
The town itself feels odd you know its the last stop before the end of the world....literally.
Excursions go out all the time to the dry lakes or the seal beds etc...for the scientists and they pack up there gear and head out...setting up little ice camps out there to do tests etc.
Anyway I have talked everyones ear off ....I will try in the next few days to get some new photos up....I am planning on hiking out to Hut Point this weekend.(not much of a hike to be honest)..Its one of the first explorers sites here close to base...The entire camp is still set up graves and all....they tell me theres still can goods on the shelves in the hut...and a mummified seal carcase on the steps. I plan on taking a ton of photos so look for them maybe sunday night.
Hope this helps more then just the pictures....Sorry for any spelling errors or the 5 periods in a row...I am typing this on the fly and really didnt have time to run through and edit it.
My time on the net is very limited.
Thanks to all of you that write back honestly its really cool to check my email right now.
Love you all.
Tom
