The White Continent

Kizhi, Onega Lake, Russia

You Won’t Be Content Until You See The White Continent

Years of working in the Trans Alaska Pipeline, the Atigun Pass to be specific, has made this gentleman like the snow and cold very much. Upon hearing about the alumni association of his local university’s plans to venture into an Antarctic expedition just last summer, this gentleman, a retired civil engineer, shivered with so much excitement. For me, it was a truly amazing plan. Antarctica has been mesmerizing real explorers even armchair ones in spite of its reputation of being the coldest and least hospitable place on Earth. Read this site if you want russia cruise information.

However, there has been a decline on the number of travelers each year for Antarctica is not very easy to get to and neither is it a cheap area for travel. Before a traveler can get to the Antarctic Peninsula, he has to come from the southernmost part of Argentina, Ushuaia, then traverse a thousand kilometers through the Drake Passage, grim with the world’s roughest sea weather which takes two days.

Your life can be changed by profound experiences like this one. First sighted in 1820, Antarctica has lured adventurers since the late 1800s. But before the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, there were not any commercial voyages to the region, it was only after this land was established as a realm of peace and science, as well as a natural reserve.

But it is only after the collapse of the Iron Curtain in the 1990s that the travel industry soared despite the welcome evolutions. But many tour operators seized ice rated expedition vessels from Russia and turned these into vessels for commercial travel, sensing the opportunity as there came no money to fund any scientific developments. Most visitors are seasoned voyagers so they need to see something extraordinary. Others are adventure seekers looking to follow in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose legendary endurance expedition in 1914 remains one of the greatest tales of survival in expedition history. When you would like to get more information on bering sea check out this site.

This spectacular land will enable you to cruise among gigantic glaciers and icebergs and fill the landscape, promising enjoyment especially among artists, photographers and nature lovers. A menagerie of animals like whale species, humpback, killer and minke exist here, along with penguins and seals. The circumpolar north is where the polar bears are so you will not be able to see them here.

With no developed ports and harbors, however, visitors must scuttle to the coast aboard rubberized inflatable boats known as zodiacs. You may now go hiking, take photos, go kayaking in the icebergs of just stand with the penguins. Your naturalist experts should be able to confidently answers queries about the frozen continent’s wildlife, marine biology, glaciology and history all the time.

His travel was spent aboard a 5 star cruise liner for eight days while he was in Buenos Aires for three whole days and both featured lectures about landscapes and local fauna. Going to rookeries of penguins with conservationists as guides was, for him, a mesmerizing and unforgettable experience. These amazing short legged birds put on a show after walking to him curiously but unfazed.

But Antarctic travel does not appeal to everyone. Many of today’s environmental experts state that the growing number of tourists will inevitably harm the continent’s fragile, disrupting the procreation of wildlife thus lessening populations. The international association of Antarctic tour operators has adopted voluntary standards to minimize the environmental impacts of tourism. With strict adherence of excellent environmental and operational laws by tourists, companies and natural programs, the White Continent will be kept pristine.

Isn’t it just sad, he continues, that many of the shows we see today on TV compound the problem as they condition us to think that animals, even the many penguins in Antarctica are only there for purposes of entertainment? The presence of humans around these animals will make them less wary. And this lengthy disassociation from the natural world poses many troubles. But this not something readily embraced by the other conservationists. But as people come into Antarctica, he argues, the more tourists will feel for this continent.