15 January 2011 Flexibility, Rescheduling, and Freshies!

Everyone told me that "flexibility" and "rescheduled" are two key words to travel in Antarctica, but I never realized how true this would be! People who know me will all agree that I am ultra-organized, and a planner who lives by her calendars. Well, I am learning that there are some things that cannot be planned for and are truly beyond my control. As you can see, we did not fly home on the 15th! The Oden is still at least a day out from McMurdo Station, so this morning when the snow and fog lifted, our United States Antarctic Program logistics coordinator Addie flew out by helicopter and met with us to share the "new" plan for disembarking the Oden. The new plan is that tomorrow morning (Sunday, Jan 16) we will dock next to the NB Palmer and transfer some cargo as well as myself and 2 other staff who are not flying out with the rest of the group. We will go ashore and stay in the dorms at McMurdo Station for 1 -2 nights while the other scientists and support staff fly home. I will get to tour the facilities at McMurdo and share the experiences with you through this journal.

On board, we are "living" out of our already packed bags, trying not to mess up our cabins, which we thoroughly cleaned in anticipation of our planned departure on January 13! The labs are cleaned out and all the science supplies are boxed and stacked on deck. Some of the supplies will be shipped home from McMurdo, some will be transferred to the Palmer, and some will remain on the Oden for the long trip home to Sweden. Remember, besides supplies, all the samples of water, ice, snow, phytoplankton, zooplankton, seal blood, tissue, skin, and hair samples must be transported home too. The science technicians in charge of these samples have been very busy with the logistics and paperwork necessary to get such valuable cargo home to their respective labs in the United Sates and Sweden.

We have been hoping for a delivery, originally scheduled to arrive on January 13 - a delivery of FRESHIES! Freshies are fresh fruits and vegetables, flown in to McMurdo from New Zealand. We have had no deliveries or restocking of anything since we left Punta Arenas on December 8. By mid December some of the fresh produce was gone - lettuce, tomatoes, berries. We had shredded cabbage for the salad bar and we started to see more canned or jarred vegetables, and our fruit supply was down to oranges, apples, and some sad-looking bananas. By early January, the cabbage was gone and our salad bar was now shredded carrots, pickles, marinated artichoke hearts, pickled carrots and cauliflower, and canned green beans!

What appeared today, carried out to the Oden in the helicopters cargo net sling? Boxes of freshies - bananas, grapes, watermelon, cherries, plums, kiwi, lettuce, tomatoes, and more!!! Remember, it is summer in New Zealand so there is a great assortment of produce available now. The dining mess was abuzz with energy and happy diners as we filled our plates. You forget how much you miss something as simple as fresh vegetables and fruit until you don't have them for a while.

Lesson Learned: Sometimes, small things that you take for granted can really be missed when you don't have them.