Who doesn’t love a good Jacque-Cousteau-Life-Aquatic moment?
One of the coolest things in Antarctica is the Observation
Tube. A hole is drilled into the sea ice shelf. The sea ice in its thinnest
spots is about 9 feet thick. Then a heavy metal cylindrical tube is inserted
into the hole. The tube has a ladder and windows at the bottom so you can
observe the magical Antarctic ocean world under the ice.
The “Ob Tube” is a
tight, 12-ft climb down, and it is NOT for people with claustrophobic persuasions. The other day, the US Ambassador to New Zealand got stuck in
the bottom of the Ob Tube and had to be “rescued” by one of our firemen…hahaha.
It is from this vantage point you can listen to the seals
calling to one another. You can observe the bizarre Antarctic fish species….and
if you are very lucky, you can wave to a passing Orca. (I wasn’t that lucky)
  This is the afterbirth from a seal that crawled out of the ice hole (before the Ob Tube was inserted). She gave birth on that very patch of ice |
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Seriously sounds like one of the coolest things!!
ReplyDeleteI have a little known fact about Kelly McCord; Not only is she an Antarctic traveler/adventurer/ob tube descender/charming story teller, but also a TV star here on McMurdo's very own CH. 6 . I do, however, have to question your choice of movies...Chariots of Fire? Rudy is the best sports movie and everyone knows it.
ReplyDeleteLol....true. Rudy is a WONDERFUL sports movie, but I like the message of Chariots of Fire better :-)
DeleteThis is my big moment of honesty, ready? I've never actually seen Chariots of Fire...I only know the song and that one guy is Scottish, maybe? Counterpoint to the message of CoF, Rudy has Charles S. Dutton. Hard to beat, hard to beat....
ReplyDeleteTouche. You are forgiven ;-)
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