Arrived in McMurdo!

 Hello from Antarctica! We arrived safely in McMurdo on Tuesday. 

We headed to the airport in Christchurch at 4:30 am Tuesday, but there were a few delays, so our flight didn't end up taking off until 8:30 am. We flew in the Italian C-130, which is different form the American LC-130 in that it does not have skis. The LC-130s are supposed to arrive later this week (with the remaining 35 lbs.of my baggage!).

Italian C-130 that we flew on.

The flight was pretty darn cool. It was a military plane, so we sat in jump seats facing one another. The cargo was piled up in the back, and we could get up and wander the plane throughout the 8 hour trip. A few people ended up just standing in the back the whole time.

It was a little uncomfy because I sat with my knees touching the person facing me, and I was wearing my ECW boots, which are not very maneuverable. But I just stood up several times to stretch my legs, so it wasn't so bad.

View from my seat towards the back of the plane. The flight crew is loading on the cargo.

View from the cargo area towards the jump seats.

 After a pretty uneventful flight (besides some minor turbulence), we landed about 8 hours later on the Ross Sheet. We donned all of our ECW gear and stepped out onto the ice! The light from the sun and the snow was blinding.

A row of passengers disembarking.

We boarded a "bus" that drove us over the ice and up into McMurdo. I was able to send my family some tests by propping my inReach up in the window.

Me on the "bus" in my Big Red!

I am so happy to be here!!! We made it safe and sound without major delays which I think is quite an accomplishment.