Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Skua - Skua - Doo
















Skuas are like giant seagulls, but brown and have no qualms about soaring in and snatching food from your hand ( signs warn to not go outside with exposed food ). Because they are scavengers and will take anything they can get their talons on all the trash is covered at all times.
For the people that live here they have Skua piles ( for scavenging people LOL, it's like a free thrift store where all the leftovers that people don't want when they leave McMurdo ) also known as Skua Central.. you can pick up anything you may need there from clothes to shoes to books, videos, and toiletries ( since there is a weight limit on the airplane to leave here many people just discard anything they don't need and leave it for the next group coming in).
"Ivan the Terra-bus" the towns main transit for people coming in from the airfield, it is massive and can be a fairly bumpy ride as it was for us coming in on the sea ice.
The bathtub grotto is actually a memorial for a service man who's tractor fell through the sea ice while bringing supplies in during the stations initial construction, it is situated on a hill over looking the station.
No, those seals haven't been beaten into submission.. they are just lazy and spend their days napping on the ice, hopefully sometime soon I'll get the chance to go out to see the penguins.. I'm really looking forward to them.
Other than those bits of info, I'm doing well.. work is busy with the holidays coming up and all the different departments having thier Christmas parties. I just got keys to my new room and plan on moving my stuff over on my day off tomorrow. It's not huge but I will only have one roomy instead of four and the place has a window ( I have already laid claim to the bed next to it LOL ).. it's a short walk across the compound from the building where I lived and worked before but still close enough that I don't really need a coat to get to work in the morning.
I also plan on doing my Christmas shopping tomorrow so don't anyone be surprised by the Antarctica T-shirts when they arrive mid-January.. the mail tends to move slowly out of here.
Hope everyone is well and having a Holiday Season even though it is colder in Michigan than it is here. :-)
I plan on going to Scott Base tomorrow for American Night ( where the New Zealanders welcome people for McMurdo ) Maybe I'll get some great pictures to post, if so plan on em' being here soon.
-B

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