The Whole Wide World

Hi Friends!

I’m writing from my hotel room in Christchurch-I’m a lucky gal to be here too!

WinFly Flights

Let me start by saying that trying to land a plane in Antarctica in August is one of the worst times to try. It’s the tail end of winter and things are warming up, which means storms be blowing through and weather be yuck.

There were four flights scheduled for WinFly this season; August 18th, 20th, 22nd and 25th. I was slated to leave on the second flight. The first flight was this past Monday and I knew going to bed on Sunday that the five-day weather forecast was doo-doo. I had my bags packed & ready, and went to sleep thinking about waking up and asking to leave on the first flight rather than the second. That meant waking up, asking to leave, and then promptly leaving the same day. Talk about whirlwind.

stay or leave

Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you should
It was good as good goes
Stay or leave
I want you not to go
But you did

I broke into song in my head when I typed ‘stay or leave’ …it’s a Dave Matthews song and I can’t control when that hits.

When I woke up on Monday morning, the five-day forecast had changed for the better. So what seemed like an easy(ish) decision the night before, became a ping-pong match in my head. I didn’t want to leave so quickly-saying bye to Thomas for the next three-and-a-half months, two-days early made me sad. I also knew it meant a week of being lazy in Christchurch, spending money rather than making it. On the other hand, I’d spent the past six-months working nine-hour days, six-days a week and was headed straight to my next contract where I’d also be working six-days a week (but at least this next contact is a forty-eight hour work week). A week of being lazy in-between contracts would probably be good for me. A little R&R.

My friends and Thomas were adamant that getting on the first flight was the right move. Jess (my boss) reached out first thing to see what the plan was and I told her I was struggling to make a decision. It was a gamble, the forecast showed the weather had cleared up a bit later in the week, but my friend Karen reminded me that the planes break all the time. That was a good reminder and tilted the scales. Even better, was Jess’ message giving me her blessing to leave. As soon as she sent those words, I asked to be bumped up.

Plans be changing

Until about a month ago, I wouldn’t have minded being on the last flight of WinFly. I was actually looking forward to a no-stress departure. No time crunch, no worries. I’d intentionally given myself a month’s buffer between leaving McMurdo/Antarctica and my next adventure-a month long yoga teacher training course in India. An email from The Nature Conservancy changed all of that though.

Dark, cold Ice-Life winter to the hot humid tropics

I originally applied for a seasonal gig (more deets on that soon!) with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) at Palmyra Atoll, two-years ago during my first winter on the ice. They’ve reached out whenever they have upcoming openings, but I’ve always had plans and the timing just hasn’t been right. So when the email came through about a month ago, and I had plans for India and yoga training, I let them know the time still wasn’t right, but that I was interested in the following winter season (two winters from now) and was hoping that Thomas could score the maintenance position.

At the same time this conversation was happening, Thomas was offered a contract (October-December) at Palmer station, the third US research station in Antarctica-and a dream contract. He suggested I put yoga training off until after our next Antarctic winter (yes, we are going back!) and do Palmyra while he is at Palmer. It made sense and that was it-interview with TNC scheduled.

winfly or winnofly

We are past a spoiler alert-I got the contact. The only caveat was timing. I needed to be in Honolulu, HI on August 25th and I was slated to leave McMurdo on August 22nd. It was laughable honestly. I was shocked TNC offered me the job with that tight of a turnaround. They are familiar with the Antarctic program and they know that delays getting out are a very real thing.

The angst to get out of McMurdo on time became a thing, but I knew that it was out of my control and I did my best (honestly, I am proud of how well I did) to not stress and just enjoy the rest of my ice time. Still, no more laid back departure, but, as you already know, I am writing this from my hotel in Christchurch. This entry would be very different if I was writing from McMurdo!

The first flight arrived on time and departed within an hour-and-a-half of landing on the ice with me on board. Lucky duck. The flight I was supposed to be on two-days later also took off on time, but thirty-minutes from landing on the ice it boomeranged for a mechanical issue-which still hasn’t been fixed.

That was four-days ago and they aren’t slated to try to fly South again until the 25th and that’s only if the part needed arrives in time, which is a big if. I’m sad for all my friends stuck down there (who I was hoping to share some non McMurdo food with). I’m happy for all my friends stuck here in Christchurch, collecting per diem, living their best lives before their summer on ice. And I am not going to lie, it is super validating knowing I made the right choice to leave on that first flight. I am grateful for the push from my friends, support from Thomas and grace from Jess. It’s all gravy baby!

R&R

So, yeah, I’ve spent the past five-days living my best hotel life and lounging in Christchurch. I’ve had my haircut, a massage, done some op-shopping (that’s what the Kiwi’s call thrifting) for warm-weather clothes, placed an Amazon order for an underwater camera and a handful of other items that’ll make life more comfortable at Palmyra Atoll. Tomorrow, I’ll get a pedicure and eat a yummy brunch with my south-bound pals, Lyndsey and Harper.

Next up: Palmyra Atoll

On Monday, I’ll spend 15-hours time-traveling backwards to Honolulu. Tuesday is a training day at TNC office in Honolulu and then Wednesday I fly 1000 miles south, this time to the (almost) equator (5°53′N) where I’ll live and work for the next 3.5 months!

Adventure time continues! More on all thing Palmyra soon friends!

Annemarie xo

P.S.

Okay, circling back here folks, I looked the lyrics up to that Dave song to make sure I had them right…Here is a link to give them a read if you feel so inclined. It’s a beautiful song. Read it first. Straight poetry. Then give it a listen...now I wanna go to a Dave show!