The first landing

The Basler finally showed up yesterday morning.

Only 3 days behind schedule, it flew from the British station Rothera on the Antarctic peninsula and landed here around 8am. Because the station generator exhaust was blowing right over the skiway, we couldn't see the plane until it was nearly parked.

It stayed only long enough to take on 600 gallons of fuel, then took off again for McMurdo. It was a strange sight to see a plane on the ground and strange new people in black walking around.

The Canadian crew from Kenn Borek brought us gifts from Chile:

We snacked on fresh apple and orange slices at lunch and Michael grilled this fresh pineapple to serve with the sirloin steaks and BBQ chicken for dinner.

A few hours later, the Twin Otter KBG arrived and its crew has spent the night with us. Again, it was a little freaky to see new people eating in the galley.

What the heck, I just found out I can't get on the plane! Oh well, the Basler is scheduled to return here today with a load of people and flu shots. Hopefully the newcomers won't be shedding germs that will surely take advantage of our sluggish immune systems. Last year, I came down with three colds within the first month of getting out of here. We may not have fresh food during the winter but on the flip side, we don't get sick much either.