MacTown Arrival
McMurdo Station, Antarctica 10.8.06
Just so you are all aware, the date and time displayed by this blog site is still set on that of the states. I'm putting my own date in each entry so that you'll know what day I'M on!
So we finally made it to MacTown yesterday afternoon around 2pm. My day started at about 3am in order to make it over to the CDC (clothing distribution center) by 4:30am. There, we changed into our ECW gear (extreme cold weather), re-weighed our checked baggage, ate some breakfast and were briefed on what would happen in the next 7 hours. Our flight aboard the Airforce C-17 cargo plane took off at 7:30.
Inside the C-17
Being inside the plane reminded me of how Pinnocio and Gipeto must of felt when they were stuck inside the belly of a whale! No windows to look out of except two tiny peak holes which were accessable once we were in the air. The flight took about 5 hours including one pass over the runway before actually landing. It's difficult for me to describe the feelings I had when I walked off that huge aircraft into what still seems like another world. Before yesterday I pictured Antarctica as being a big, frozen Nebraska but it's quite the opposite. The Royal Society Mountains, part of the Trans-Antarctic Range, were enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Because of the temperatures they kept the aircraft running while we exited. Once off the plane we were quickly herded onto huge snowcat-type vehicles which took us from the ice runway, into McMurdo.
Piling onto the shuttle from Pegasus to McMurdo
Outside the C-17 on the ice runway
Luckily, we got here on a Saturday so after a quick briefing we were given our room key and set free until Monday morning when I will happily dive into the practice of custodial arts! Surprisingly, there seems to be more going on here between swing dancing, cyber bowling, science lectures, 2 bars, a coffee house, movie theater, 2 gyms ect. than there is in a normal community. I am thrilled to call MacTown home for the next 4 1/2 month!
McMurdo Station from the window of the shuttle. Observation Hill is to the right
View of the Royal Society Mountain from the shuttle window
MacTown Saturday October, 7 at 2am
Just so you are all aware, the date and time displayed by this blog site is still set on that of the states. I'm putting my own date in each entry so that you'll know what day I'M on!
So we finally made it to MacTown yesterday afternoon around 2pm. My day started at about 3am in order to make it over to the CDC (clothing distribution center) by 4:30am. There, we changed into our ECW gear (extreme cold weather), re-weighed our checked baggage, ate some breakfast and were briefed on what would happen in the next 7 hours. Our flight aboard the Airforce C-17 cargo plane took off at 7:30.
Inside the C-17
Being inside the plane reminded me of how Pinnocio and Gipeto must of felt when they were stuck inside the belly of a whale! No windows to look out of except two tiny peak holes which were accessable once we were in the air. The flight took about 5 hours including one pass over the runway before actually landing. It's difficult for me to describe the feelings I had when I walked off that huge aircraft into what still seems like another world. Before yesterday I pictured Antarctica as being a big, frozen Nebraska but it's quite the opposite. The Royal Society Mountains, part of the Trans-Antarctic Range, were enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Because of the temperatures they kept the aircraft running while we exited. Once off the plane we were quickly herded onto huge snowcat-type vehicles which took us from the ice runway, into McMurdo.
Piling onto the shuttle from Pegasus to McMurdo
Outside the C-17 on the ice runway
Luckily, we got here on a Saturday so after a quick briefing we were given our room key and set free until Monday morning when I will happily dive into the practice of custodial arts! Surprisingly, there seems to be more going on here between swing dancing, cyber bowling, science lectures, 2 bars, a coffee house, movie theater, 2 gyms ect. than there is in a normal community. I am thrilled to call MacTown home for the next 4 1/2 month!
McMurdo Station from the window of the shuttle. Observation Hill is to the right
View of the Royal Society Mountain from the shuttle window
MacTown Saturday October, 7 at 2am
posted by PolarSweep at 1:47 PM
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