The Whole Wide World

Please.slow.down.time. 

Agh! It’s been two weeks since my last post. My goal is to make weekly posts, but it’s no easy feat. I thought writing would be a rainy day activity, but the rain has been mostly at night, so that doesn’t work!

Today marks a month since I arrived in paradise. A whole month already! 

I repeat, please slow down time!

Q: Okay where were we? A: Landing at Palmyra Atoll

The crushed coral landing was a wet one. An unpredicted bout of rain prevented us from getting the iconic aerial shot of the atoll I was hoping for. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed for good weather for my return flight day in December though and then I can get the shot on my way out. Speaking of good weather, that’s pretty much all it’s been since I arrived three weeks ago. But, the first day was a real wet one for sure. 

We landed, the doors opened and the crew were waiting with umbrellas in hand. Well some of them, others knew that there was no staying dry and went sans umbrellas. I attempted to stand under an umbrella because I was carrying my laptop in my backpack and was worried about that, but it was heavy rain and there were a few of us under the umbrella so I got all the wets. Zan, a fellow winterover from my first winter at McMurdo was there to greet me. It was so nice to see a familiar face even if our time together was set to be brief-five days to be exact. 

Familiar Faces: Ice friends in tropical paradise

Zan spent the summer season in the same role as me here and I was set to be her replacement, so we had a little overlap for crew change so she could show me the ropes. Her cohort for the season was also a fellow McMurdan, James, who was also a familiar face. They both shared heaps of knowledge and I was and am super grateful for all their patience and time through crew change! 

all things hospitality & other roles

Speaking of replacement, you are probably asking, replacement to what? What are you even doing there Annemarie?! My official title is Hospitality Specialist. I am one of two ‘hospo specialists’, who meal plan, cook and do all things galley related for the staff, science teams, and conservation volunteers on the atoll. At present, it’s Chris (Preserve Manager), Marty (Chief Marine Officer), Jon & Steven (Maintenance Technicians), me and Marsha (Hospitality Specialists). 

Then there’s Rose and Erika, the Science Conservation Volunteers. Kayla and Jett, part of TNC California and specific to the Sihek project. Promise more about all things science in future posts. 

Last but not least there are two US Fish & Wildlife reps, Paige and Andrew. 

That’s the core crew. 12 of us. 

population fluctuation

Station population varies throughout the season though. Right now we have eight additional people on station. Grad and post grad researchers from Scripps and UCSD. They are here until October 1st at which point they will leave and more new people will show up. October is busy busy with flights, which is a big yay for everyone-more food deliveries! 

For 2.5 weeks in mid-October, the population will be 28 people, which is slightly stressful sounding. With a population of 19 right now, I increase my recipes to feed 30 as we have to make sure there are leftovers for lunchtime and our day off on Sundays. So when there are actually 30 people on station, I’ll have to cook for 50 people. I’ve been told the people who make up that big group are big burly men who eat. And eat. And eat. Oofa! 

I am going to be exhausted by the end of that 2.5 weeks. On top of being extra busy for that period, camp will be at max population which means we will all have a second person in our cabins. Some have that cabin mates now, but I’ve been lucky enough to have my own cabin so far. I forwent an ‘on the water cabin’ intentionally in an effort to keep my solo status, which is priority for me. The only roomie I want is ma boo thang, Thomas and he isn’t here (this time). 

I derailed, kind of. All pertinent info to life on station. More on all things Palmyra soon! 

life of a hospo specialist

Anywho, back on track, the main duties of the hospitality specialist are providing lunch and dinner 6 days a week, keeping the galley clean between meals, washing up the mess we make from cooking, keeping the fridge stocked and doing the station laundry. All of it. Yes, undies for everyone, too. We average 3-4 loads a day, which between the two of us is easy enough. It takes time though and it is honestly hotter than cooking with the heat from the dryer.

Well, that’s a short but sweet overview…more to come soon. Let’s see if I can get back on track to my weekly post goal! 

In the meantime, for photos of paradise and me in paradise, hop on over to Instagram and remember to click ‘follow’! I post photos at least every other day…and don’t forget to subscribe to this blog to get new posts delivered to your inbox. 🙂

Annemarie xo