Penguins are cute and cuddly

They make fun of people here wearing their extreme cold weather gear when it’s 20 degrees above zero. They don't like hearing McMurdoites say it's cold when it's usually 60 degrees colder at the Pole. They don’t like people bragging about being to Antarctica, when they are only on an island several miles off the coast of the continent at the bottom of the globe. They don’t like all the people and lines, etc. On the flip side, many of my new co-workers were very curious about my experiences at the Pole. First break at work on day one, resulted in a question and answer session. They were more interested in what I did than many people back home.

The Pole has a certain status here. Some who have been to Antarctica for over four years still can’t get there. I’m surprised I was even hired from the sounds of it. Others would like to go for one to three weeks, but not a whole season. The conditions are too extreme, temperatures too cold, and living conditions second class for those with a lack of ice time.

Polies have an ego, especially the construction workers who are outside for eight hours a day: they are the toughest workers on the planet. Perhaps it's true, but I guess if you’re not smart you at least better be tough. I was one of the five oldest guys on my crew. Most were young bad asses who could endure the intensity and even embrace it. I can picture them now in New Zealand, cruising around on motorcycles listening to hard rock music belted by an angry singer that sounds like Cookie Monster rudely awoken from a nap and then discovering all of his coookies eaten. Here, I am one of the three youngest guys on my crew and everyone is downright small-town nice. Just don't be an illegal alien breaking into their home. Then, they will shoot you in the face so you can't sue them.

I have found most to be quite pleasant and unpretentious. While I haven’t been bothered by lines at dinner or the bathroom at all, unlike my experience at the Pole, I was shocked when I went to a bar for a tape delayed broadcast of the Super Bowl, and had to squeeze my way through the sheer volumes of humanity. I was overwhelmed by how many people were in that one room, and am adjusting to different surroundings little by little.

My first shower was guilty pleasure. I am accustomed to taking two, two minute showers per week. And even then it was more a pain in the ass than it' was worth. Half the reason I made the effort was out of respect to others noses. I'd have to bundle up and walk outside in negative temperatures for twenty seconds just to immediately remove the excess layers for a drizzly nozzle squirting luke warm water on my body for a 120 seconds. Here, my room is right across the hallway from the bathroom. Easy for wearing shorts and flip flops. I felt down right gluttonous letting the hot water drain on me for as long as I did. The only items missing from my forray were a lawn chair, arm floaties, and six pack of beer. And when I go back to my nice, spacious room with a real ceiling and walls, I am all alone. The mystery man from Arizona disappeared without being seen. After day three his bags vanished, leaving me with the dorm to myself. All in all, things are good.

The scenery is spectacular and I see wildlife just about every day. On the ice shelf, several 600 pound Weddell seals bask in the sun. They are so far away though, they simply look like brown specks on an enormous white canvas. Wednesday morning I saw a whale surface from the deep blue Antarctic waters. Spray from his nostril blew towards the heavens before he disappeared again into the frozen sea. Seconds later the arch of his back crested slowly above the surface revealing a short dorsal fin. I couldn’t tell which kind it was, but minke and orcas are common in the area.

“There’s a whale” I exclaimed to a couple of coworkers.
“Yep, I guess you don’t see that every day at the Pole now, do you?” one replied.

Both glanced over with the enthusiasm of a New Yorker being told to look at street performers. Later I saw a dozen penguins below the water treatment plant across the road from where I am working. I sat down watching the entertaining way they walk. Each had rolls of fat drooping from their bellies as they waddled around the ice. A few were molting and feathers were strewn about the area. One had made a little nest out of dirt and was just lying inside it. I couldn’t tell if there was an egg, but it seems late in the season to be incubating. The adelies stood about two feet high and had striking and beautiful blue eyes in contrast to their black and white bodies. I climbed as close to them as they would permit me without walking the opposite direction. And as a gazed at their majesty, I could not help but wonder what they tasted like stewed or perhaps baked into a fine casserole.

written by  JCinTheSouthPole on February 14, 2010 from Escalante, United States
from the travel blog: South Pole
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