Tuesday, December 03, 2013

We are not alone

We have visitors today! There is a "tourist camp" for the small stream of visitors to the Pole. It normally looks like this:

There's a solar toilet and a small building which acts as the visitors' center. Visitors can request a station tour (which I believe includes a free South Pole cookie) and stop by the station store to purchase souvenirs, but they're not allowed to sleep on station (unless it's a life threatening emergency).

These visitors (the first this season?) are the support crew for the Willis Resilience Expedition. A 19 year old is attempting to set a speed record for skiing from the coast to the Pole.

The current visitors are just taking a quick 8 hour nap before heading out on the next leg of their trip, so this may just be the crew scouting the route before the actual attempt. They'll apparently be back in 3-4 weeks so I'll miss the final visit.

I'll also likely miss Prince Harry's arrival though I'm more upset about not seeing Dominic West who is on the same trip. A co-worker noted that it'd have been even more fun if West's fellow The Wire actor Michael K. Williams were coming, then we could wander around the station saying "Omar coming"

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