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Heading Home

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I can hardly believe that my Antarctica doctoring stint is over and I’m headed back to the States in a few short hours.  And I even got to explore New Zealand for 3 weeks on the tail end, amazing! My last couple weeks on the ice were spent helping to orient the new summer doctor.  I hardly saw a patient as there were suddenly 6 of us in the clinic and all the new folk were eager to step in.  2 were returners from last summer so know their stuff.  I feel like the new team has a good grasp on the needs of the community and I expect they'll do fine for the coming season. Helping put lights out on the runway for one of our last WinFly (Winter Flight) planes in September Group of McMurdo-ites for a gathering at Scott Base a few days before we all were set to depart the ice On my last weekend, I climbed up Observation Hill for the amazing view of the surrounding area including all of McMurdo Station.  I intended to stay and sit up top to contemplate my season and time...
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Special things

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Working on the ice can be monotonous.  Especially in the winter with seemingly endless night.  Kinda like the movie Groundhog Day.  It takes some creativity to get out of the rut and thankfully, we have some brilliantly talented people here this season. When I first arrived in February, there was an icebreaker ship called the Nathaniel B Palmer that came to town a couple of times.  We had an ice pier, so access to the ship was fairly straight forward when they were anchored.  However, the pier is released (cut free to float out into the ocean) every year or so and another built to maintain structural integrity, etc.  This year, the ice pier was scheduled to be released in March.  We had a medevac of one of the grantees on the ship so prepared to retrieve her.  However, the pier was released the day before the NBP came in.  So we had to get creative and ended up getting the patient off via a basket and a crane.  It was fun to witness and ...
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Free Time

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There are a variety of things to do here at McMurdo after hours.  We all work long hours, typically 54 hours/week.  Most are standard shifts though some work nights (called mid-rats) or other shift work.  In Medical, we're open 7:30a-5:30p Mon-Sat with Sundays off.  Even though it hasn't been busy, it's still a long work week. McMurdo from above, taken from the NASA Dome Besides the cafeteria and dorms, there are several rec buildings on station.  There are 3 gyms: the gerbil gym (treadmills, stair climbers, stationary bikes, etc), the weight room that includes a larger room for classes like yoga and the "big gym" (basketball, volleyball, rock climbing).  None of these gyms are wonderfully equipped but they have enough, especially for our smaller population over winter.  I go to the weight gym more than anywhere.  Before the very delayed flight in April, one of the girls waiting to leave offered to teach me how to hula hoop.  So I've been enj...
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Penguins!

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And now for the main event... Penguins! I can't say that I was obsessed with penguins prior to coming down here.  I've always enjoyed them at the zoo or aquarium.  But to see them in real life, AMAZING! Snow penguins There are 2 main types of penguins down here, Adelie and Emperor.  Adelie penguins are named after a french explorer's wife and are only found in Antarctica.  They are the smaller of the two, measuring 70-73cm (28-29") and weighing 4-8 kg (8-18 lbs).  They breed from Oct-Feb, typically lay 2 eggs in a rock nest that the parents take turns lying on until the eggs hatch 32-34 days later.  The adults we see are molting at the moment and tend to group together though I've seen a few solo Adelies about.  I see Adelies more consistently near McMurdo, sometimes even waddling through town. Molting and pooping... Fun footprints My friend Adelle The Emperors are the most majestic of creatures.  They can stand up to 4 feet tall (120cm) and are a...
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