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Today was the day we forgot almost everything...it is amazing how one gets into a routine and then when it is changed, you forget what your old routine was. Today, we started diving around town again. Of course, the logistics of diving here in town are much simpler than those at New Harbor. Regardless, we all forgot at least one vital item to complete our tasks today. Jonna and I dove at Dayton's wall this morning and we made one trip back to the locker to retrieve Jonna's hoods and gloves. Simultaneously, Dan and Craig went diving at Outfall South A and they made two trips back to the dive locker; once for a light and a second time for the remote control for the camera they were deploying.
In the afternoon, Stacy, Jim, and I went to Cinder Cones. Upon arrival at the hut, Stacy realized that she didn't have her drysuit underwear. After we all gave her the clothes off our backs, she proceeded to complete a short dive without freezing too too much. In the meantime, Craig, Jonna, and Dan went to deploy the CTD and S4 at the new hole that was loaded with brash ice the day before. When they arrived, they found a seal had cached a few fish in the hole. They accidentally dipped the fish out of the hole and proceeded to feed them to the skuas.
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On a different note, I would like to show you a few pictures of McMurdo and tell you a little more about this place. Jim talked about our living conditions and I will touch more on the activities of the place. First off, there are ample social opportunities and activities to keep you occupied. As an example, below I have listed some of the activities that are available on a weekly basis:
Monday: Belly Dancing, Volleyball League
Tuesday: Butts and Guts (aerobic work out session), Tango Lessons, Movies at the Coffee House
Wednesday: Science Lecture, Knitting, Bowling League
Thursday: American night at the Kiwi base (Americans welcome), Soccer, more dance lessons
Friday: Takraw (volleyball with your feet), Tap Dancing
Saturday: Karaoke, Punk Night, various parties at multiple locations
Sunday: Sunday Brunch!, Recreation trip to Cape Evans, Science Lecture
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The bulletin board on Highway 1 (the dining hall area) displaying weekly activities |
In addition to the organized activities there are 2 work out rooms, a gym, ceramics room, bowling alley, 2 climbing walls, 2 bars, a coffee house, sauna rooms, library, and a church (to name a few).
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| There is a lot packed into these three non-descript brown buildings. The building on the far left houses a workout room, ceramics room, and craft room; the middle building is the Coffee House where you can enjoy designer coffees or wine while playing a game or watching a movie; the far right building is the bowling alley and another workout room and you can see the church overlooking McMurdo Sound in the distance. |
In addition to these indoor type activities, there is a recreation center where you can rent x-country and skate skis, snowboards, CD's, costumes, musical instruments, and the like. There are 30 miles of ski track and 10 miles of hiking tracks.
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A display in the dining hall on the history of beer drinking in McMurdo |
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| The chow line . | The 'salad' line |
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| The consumption area |
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| The Crary Science Lab where the scientists live. | The sorting bins outside Crary where we sort our trash that will eventually all be shipped back to Washington state |
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The seawater tables across from our lab on the bottom floor of Crary |
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| The Chalet where the NSF representatives live |
Until Next Time...