Life in Antartica

Well, I've had few days in Antarctica now to adjust, and really it's not as bad as I expected. I get up early in the morning at about 5:15am, go to the computer lab and start looking at the weather, eat breakfast and then go to work. We work at Willy Field, one of the airfields near McMurdo Station. It is about a 20 minute drive to work, but the scenery is awesome. We work from 8am to about 5:45pm, then head back into town. Since we work so far out of town, we have our own chef to cook us lunch - he is fantastic, and the food is great. By the time I get back to town, it is time to eat dinner. After dinner, it is almost 7:00, so really there is only about 3 hours until I am ready to go to sleep. Below are a couple of pictures I took out at work.

Mt Discovery in the distant, with the Willy Field tower in the foreground

Our "bathroom" out at work (actually a hole in the ice with an out house on top). Mt Erebus, an active volcano, is in the background.

So far, I think the strangest thing about being down here is the 24hrs of daylight. It just is a very weird feeling to wake up at 5:15 in the morning and go to bed at 10pm and have to wear sunglasses outside at both times. I really don't know how to describe it. It's just a weird feeling, kind of unsettling in a way.

To pass the time, I have been trying to get out as much as possible. There are several hiking trails around town that you can take at any time (weather permitting). I am going to try and hike all of these, and at least walk somewhere everyday, both to get excercise and just to have something to do. Also, there is a bar here with a pool table, and there is a basketball league that I am going to try and get into. There really is a lot to do. If I want to just stay in my room, there is a library where I can get books, and also you can rent movies.

Yesterday, I hiked up to the top of Observation Hill (or just Ob Hill down here). This "hill" is actually more like a small mountain, at least it felt like it when I was climbing it. It is only 750ft tall, but the hike is very steep, and the hill is covered with snow, ice and very loose volcanic rock, so it is a little tricky. Below are some pictures from the top. It was a very tough trip up, but it was well worth it.