It used to be that people who wanted to get away from it all went to their summer homes. Today, they go to Antarctica. I suppose there are not many places left on this planet where you could experience the ultimate emptiness. Not many that could be reached via cruise ship anyway.
Several cruise companies offer the so-called adventurous trip to Antarctica, yet conveniently experienced in the comfort of a luxury ship. Indeed, people seem to want to experience emptiness, but they prefer being surrounded by excess in order to fully grasp it.
The travel section of The Sunday Times had a piece on Antarctica this weekend where the author is suggesting that Antarctica will not remain pristine forever, since there are some 50 billion barrels of oil beneath the Ross and Weddell seas alone.
Not sure if the invasion of cruise ships is much better that the invasion of oil diggers, but hey – we all want to see the march of penguins first hand, don’t we? Well folks, from the tip of Argentina, it’s an easy trip and from November to March is the best time to go.