Cruising not conquering

The cruise line on which we visited Antarctica last month was NOT the one involved with that incident where a ship was stuck in the ice and had to be rescued by an ice-breaker. (would love to see that bill). This was one of those “uber high end” cruise lines which actually make a lot of money operating unnecessary onshore landings of Antarctica. They photograph each passenger on shore holding their national flag, as if they are conquering the frozen frontier – which is really some rock outcropping masquerading as an island near the Antarctica peninsula. Pointless buffoonery.

The line charges appropriately and extravagantly for that privilege and it’s somewhat crass in my opinion – such practices abound – practices like the so called ‘safari day-trips’ of Africa – really just platoons of silly, idle, under-challenged rich people, paying a monkey ($500) for the ‘adventure’ of stepping up to a fence and plugging a defenseless oryx in the neck as he stands in a herd 50 yards away. They call it a ‘hunt’ by the way, and such excursions are all too common all over the world.

The overwhelming majority of cruise lines are members of the IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) and prefer to stay off shore. This reflects a commitment to respect the international ‘common possession’ and commercial non-exploitation of the continent and it’s ecosystem. Most visitors do not insist upon treading on it, and like us, most people are content with visiting, taking pictures and admiring the scenery of God’s creation. 

Now, maybe someday there will be a way to tread on Antarctica respectfully. Maybe someday there will be responsible efforts at economic exploitation of its resources, but for now, some cruise lines’ promotion of visiting its shore amount to just another overpriced pseudo-adventure ego trip designed to give some aimless elitists bragging rights.

Okay, this is a sore point for me. I am no tree hugger, nor do I believe that climate change is caused by human activity, but I do think that certain parts of our world ought to be left alone to be simply admired rather than pointlessly trod upon.