Tourists diminishing the natural glory of the White Continent

Snow and the cold is something this gentleman likes after working for the Atigun Pass, high above the Trans Alaska Pipeline. So when he learned last summer that the local university's alumni association was organizing an expedition to Antarctica, the retired civil engineer, well, shivered with delight. Such a plan, for me, is marvelous. Despite the fact that Antarctica is the least hospital and the coldest place on Earth, tourists both armchair and real ones aim to venture to it one day.

But recently, less travelers are able to visit this land per year due to many financial hassles, as it is not very easy to get here. Challenging indeed for before one can reach the Antarctic Peninsula, he has to start from Argentina's southernmost city known as Ushuaia, travel a thousand kilometers for a couple of days through the Drake Passage, grim with the world's roughest sea weather.

From these kinds of experiences, long lasting effects in your life can happen. Men traverse this land since the late 1800s after it has been discovered in 1820. Many are unaware of the fact that the commercial voyages only followed after the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959, building the White Continent as a natural reserve, a haven dedicated to science and serenity only.

Yet while the travel industry evolved, it didn't really take off until the collapse of the Iron Curtain early 1990s. But many tour operators, seeing the opportunity coming in as there aren't any funding for scientific projects, rushed to the Russian ice rated expedition vessels and turned these into ships for commercial travel. A seasoned world explorers, visitors have to be presented with something new and breathtaking. While there are people who seek thrill, aiming to be like the legendary man, Sir Ernest Shackleton, who had an endurance expedition in 1914, making his story the greatest survival tales in the history of expeditions.

Antarctica's spectacular beauty has been known to enchant many a photographer, artist and nature lover, plus, apart from filling the landscapes, one can kayak around icebergs, and giant glaciers. Whales of the minke, humpback and killer types thrive here, as well as seals and adorable penguins. The circumpolar north is home to the polar bears so don't look for them.

Small inflatable, rubberized boats are what people hop aboard to get to the coast as there weren't any docks and ports. Having reached the area, activities like iceberg kayaking, hiking, or simply standing among the penguins await you along with taking loads of photos. You could try the naturalists' knowledge as they stand around you if you ask them questions about the region's history, wildlife, marine animals even up to its glaciology.

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. He also enjoyed naturalist guided excursions to several penguin rookeries an experience he found incredibly thrilling. Not only did these short legged birds walk right up to him, curious but unafraid, they also put on a show.

But not everyone is as enthralled with Antarctic travel. Tourism, for many conservation experts is a big problems as with the growing number of tourists threatening the continent's delicate ecosystem, population is reduced after the disruption of the wildlife breeding processes. The international alliance formed by Antarctic tour operators have volunteered to abide by the regulations set to counter the ill environmental impacts that tourism does to this region. As long as the environmental and operational laws are being adhered by all tourists, natural programs as well as corporations, this region shall be pristine and unblemished.

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? If animals are used to people, they won't be aggravated. But real troubles spring from this long term disassociation from the real world. But other nature advocates are quite skeptical. But then, he argues, by allowing people to enter this continent, they shall inherit a sensitivity for Antarctica.

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