Well, this morning we were due to fly to Antarctica, but were foiled again! Our flight was scheduled for 9 a.m. and I had my alarm set for 5:45 a.m. At about 4:30 a.m. there was a knock at my door, and I woke with a start thinking that I'd overslept! Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, that wasn't the case. It was the B&B owner telling us that the flight had been canceled again due to weather. You could almost hear a collective groan go up throughout the hallway. There are 5 of us with rooms all in a row who are anxious to get to the "Ice". There is Perry Spector, a Ph.D. student on my expedition; Derrick Lampkin, a scientist from Penn State who will be working in the Dry Valleys; Jessie Fudge, one of the physicians at McMurdo; Jean Pennycook, a researcher with penguins at Cape Royd; and myself.
We went back to sleep determined to make the best of it. Once we were all up, we convened over breakfast to decide what to do with our day. Several of us all had certain things that we needed or wanted to do in the morning, so we met up again at noon. Four of us decided to rent a car and drive north of the city to see some of the countryside. We drove about 45 km north of Christchurch to the Waipara Valley. We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant where I had to try the braised lamb shanks since sheep are one of the things New Zealand is famous for. They were fantastic.
The delectable lamb shanks I had for lunch in the Waipara Valley north of Christchurch.
Lunch with a View! My traveling companions: (left to right) Jean Pennycook, Derrick Lampkin, and Jessie Fudge.)
On the way home, we stopped at the beach and walked along the edge of the water looking for shells left behind when the tide went out. Although the day was sunny and warm with only a slight breeze, the beach was almost deserted.
Rocks on the beach create interesting patterns in the sand when the tide goes out.
All in all, it was a very nice, relaxing day. There are so many variables that make traveling to and working in Antarctica unpredictable that it's important to remember the need to be flexible. It doesn't do any good to be upset over weather events that are out of our control. Instead, we were thankful that the people who are responsible for our safety took the necessary precautions, and we decided to make the best of our time here.
We will have one more day here in Christchurch because the military doesn't fly on Sundays. (Sundays are the ONLY day off that anyone in McMurdo has. Most people have an eight hour day, six days a week.) I'm looking forward to what may be my last chance to sleep in for a few weeks. Around noon we'll all get together and decide what to do with another afternoon in Christchurch.