Flea, Fly, Flu...

You’ll only find one of those three here in Antarctica, and unfortunately it is the third one! Yup - I must have picked up a bug at McMurdo and brought it out into the field. In fact, I suffered with the flu for almost a week before deciding that it was best to return to McMurdo for a few days to rest up. You might think this is drastic action, but it is incredibly important for me to get my sinuses cleared. SCUBA diving with a clogged head is usually painful and can be dangerous. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you how disappointed I am that I will have to wait to jump in the lake!

It was a bit of an experience to suffer through the flu out in the field! Not an experience that I would want to repeat, but the body is awfully amazing in its ability to cope. Of course, the body does have limits. In chatting with some of my experienced colleagues, it is quite common for folks who get sick in the field down here to have great difficulty recovering in the field. The body has to work incredibly hard simply to maintain itself in the extreme conditions in Antarctica, particularly when you are sleeping in a cold tent! Through in the additional curve ball of the flu or a cold, and the body has trouble making ends meet.

On the up-side, being back in McMurdo provides me with the opportunity to get back on the internet and do a bit of catching up! As I will share with you, it has also provided me with a few unexpected surprises, truly proving that adventure can lie around every corner - even the most unexpected!