|
Conversation pieces
Here are a few pieces of info for your next dinner party.
The human
experience
 No
human eye saw Antarctica until about 230 years ago.
Today,
some
40,000 tourists per year visit Antarctica.
Approximately
75% of those visitors make
Zodiac-style landings.
Most
of the rest do sail-by cruises (no landings).
The
remainder do sightseeing flights (big planes, no landings), air/land tours
(visit research stations, perhaps the South Pole), and high-adventure-sport
tours (such as skiing or climbing in Antarctica's interior).
Thousands
of scientists
and support staffers work at Antarctica research stations during the summer season. Some
stay over for the long, dark winter.
Geography
Antarctica's
land mass is twice as large as Australia.
In
the winter, sea ice around Antarctica expands, doubling the continent's surface area.
Our planet's
ice and fresh water
About
90% of the ice and 65% of the earth's fresh water (in frozen state) resides in
Antarctica.
Yet
Antarctica is technically a desert (it averages under 6 centimeters
or 2 inches of precipitation per year).
Government
There
is none, though countries operating scientific stations abide by
the international Antarctic Treaty. These include Argentina, Australia, Chile, France,
New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom, and the USA.
Miscellaneous
50 ships,
more or less, currently sail to Antarctica. About half carry fewer than 100
passengers. A few are private yachts with space for six or so people (I saw several
of them anchored in Antarctica bays).
The
lowest recorded temperature on earth was -89°C (-129°F) at the Russian Vostok
Research Station.
Click these buttons
for more tips & insights
Pages specific to the
Minerva cruise ship
Antarctica cruises
in general
 
Clickable Antarctica
wonder map
My "What it's Like"
cruise ship sections
 to
view
My general
cruise ship section
Click the button below for Regent's website for Minerva itineraries with maps, a list of
cruise-specialist travel agents near you, plus other useful trip-planning
information.
|
