Arrived in Greenland!

We have safely arrived in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland! We started the day with a bus ride from the hotel in Schenectedy, NY to the Air National Guard base at 5am. We checked in at the base and then waited for a few hours while all of the cargo was put on pallets, weighed and put on the planes.

Bus ride from hotel to ANG base at 5am

Air National Guardsmen loading cargo

Kaitlin and Simone at ANG base

Flying on a C-130 is a little different than flying commercially- you are in the same compartment as the cargo and you sit on web seats that run parallel to the sides of the plane. It is loud in the plane during flight so everyone wears ear protection. Not conducive to conversing, so most people sleep,  read or listen to music.

We stopped 1/2 way to Greenland in Goose Bay to re-fuel. There they give you ice cream and we did a little runway yoga to limber up before the second half of the flight.

Gifford enjoys an ice cream sandwich

Laura and Giff practice runway yoga

We hopped back on the plane and a little over 3 hours later we were in Kangerlussuaq. Lauren and Julia greeted us on the runway (with welcome signs!) and drove us to the science station where we are staying. After a fun dinner together, we’ve started to settle in. Tomorrow we unpack our gear and hopefully get out into the field for a few hours.