Greetings from the last great wilderness on earth!

Here I am - in Antarctica! I was amazed to get here so quickly, expecting bad weather to delay our flight from Punta Arenas. Perhaps I should be more optimistic? Anyway, I arrived at Rothera research station this afternoon after a 5 hour flight on the BAS Dash 7 aircraft. It was an interesting flight - first we were able to drive right up to the aircraft and just get on, without any customs bother. Then I was lucky enough to get to sit in the 'jump-seat' for take-off - so I got to sit in the cockpit watching the pilots doing their pre-flight checks and listening to their conversations with air traffic control. It was exciting, and not exactly an every-day experience! Flying into Rothera was fantastic. I have done it before, but only (!) in a helicopter. It was amazing to see the first glimpses of the continent through the clouds, and then to spot the runway. The James Clark Ross (BAS's ship) had just docked as well, so we flew very close to it as we landed on the runway. It is cold here, but no colder than the UK on a winter's day.

Unfortunately the arrival of the JCR at the same time as us has effectively paralysed the base whilst they get all the equipment, food etc off the ship. It's called 'relief', and will take 3 days. This means no field training for me, so the earliest I will get into my tent will be 16th December. All a bit frustrating, because I just want to get on with the work! Rothera is in a very scenic location but my first impressions are that it is a bit unsightly. Personally I prefer the loneliness of a tent in the wilderness, not feeling like I have just landed in a small village! After the small sample I have tried, I am starting to wonder if the food will be better in the tent as well.... Anyway, my room is nice and I am sharing with the chef so I had better keep my thoughts to myself on the food! The internet connection here is excruciatingly slow, so I think I may not be able to upload any photos...but I'll try sometime. I haven't taken many yet. There is also the distinct possibility that I may come home in February without having seen any penguins - apparently there aren't many around Rothera and there won't be any where I am going :( And for those who aren't sure which end of the world I am at, I won't be seeing any polar bears either!

Till next time.....