As I stood on the permanent part of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, on February 26, watching the last C-17 take off and fly over head, the feeling of almost absolute isolation was very distant to me.

I say almost because we still have Internet and telephone lines. I had already spent six and a half months working and living in and around McMurdo Station on Ross Island. The day still had 24 hours of daylight, until that night, and I was not alone in my venture.

There were about 240 other individuals who ?passed? (and I use the term ?passed? loosely) the Winter Over psychological and physical examination as I did.

As I write this, the temperature with wind chill is a very chilly -69 degrees Fahrenheit. My name is Kevin Zuill and I am a young Bermudian who will have eventually spent over 13 months at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Yes, that?s right, tropical Island boy in the coldest place on earth ? during winter.

Don?t ask, it?s a feeling I get that cannot be described simply. I have written a few times before to The Royal Gazette but, in case people have forgotten, I will refresh the readers on my current position down here.

I work for the Meteorological Department, as a Meteorological Observer, for a company called Scientific Research Cooperation. The job that I do, for the winter (which is Bermuda?s summer), is data dissemination and transmission, along with climatology.

This means that every six hours an observation must be coded to explain what the weather, temperature and pressure, among other things, has been doing for that preceding six hours. Every day a balloon must be prepared and launched with the data being transmitted once the launch is complete.

This happens even when it is -69 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes for a very, very cold day. The public weather information must also be updated on a regular basis during extreme condition changes.

This is done for McMurdo Station as well as the South Pole, which sends information to us so we can transmit this data world wide.

I am writing this piece about six weeks after the last flight left, because I want to try to explain, with a better understanding, the term ?almost absolute isolation?.

This is a strange feeling of wanting something, like home-made chocolate chip cookies, but having absolutely no possible chance of being able to get them.

Presently, we are experiencing day and night times, light and dark. This is a change from the 24 hours of daylight we receive in the summer. I must admit that I do enjoy seeing the stars and the moon once again. We will continue to have the day getting shorter and the night getting longer until Sunday at 1.26 p.m.

At this exact time, I will see my last sunset for the rest of the winter season, which will last until late August. McMurdo Station and the people who belong to it will be completely engulfed with darkness in the coldest place on earth for the next four months.

But, regular life goes on down here. We?ll get up in the morning, eat our breakfast and go to work.

There are a few extra activities that are available like the gym, if you like to keep in shape, or the bar, if you like to keep out of shape; whatever will keep you happy and occupied for the next few months. As for me, I like to balance it out.

They say ? they being the people who have spent winters down here before ? ?Come the end of season, you?ll have that proverbial ?100 yard stare?. You?ll forget about conversations that you have just had and lose all track of time in the process.?

My reply to them is ?Well my mother says that to me now anyway. So, I guess I?m hanging out with the right crowd!?

I am looking forward to doing this. As far as I know, I will be the first Bermudian to ever work and live for over a yea, in Antarctica and probably the last unless you are able to ?pass? the psychological examination to.

I enjoy working at McMurdo Station, and since I have just completed my third summer season and am in the process of completing my first winter, I can honestly say that this place has really grown on me.

It always gives me great pleasure to say that I have had a small part in helping this programme.