Unpublished, as it has no content other than this note. rjw 150716

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/emirati-women-embark-on-antarctica-expedition-1.991952

Emirati women embark on Antarctica expedition
Five fearless future leaders take on the wilderness
By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
Published: 00:00 March 9, 2012

Abu Dhabi While climbing a mountain in Ushuaia in Argentina as training ahead of an Antarctica expedition, five Emirati women said they felt their lives were tied with one rope.
“Because we were connected together on a rope for safety reasons while climbing the mountain,” they told Gulf News by email.
The five female employees of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) — Khadijah Al Mutawa, Alia Al Khafajy, Anna Ayoub, Oshba Mubarak and Yasmin Al Juwadri — reached Argentina after flying more than 18 hours for a four-day long training camp on February 26.
When they arrived in Ushuaia a magnificent view of mountains greeted them. One of the team members, Khadijah Al Mutawa, managed to reach the top of the mountain on the second day of training. “We all were proud of her achievement,” they said. It was a group hike to the mountains.
The group is in South America as part of the 2041 International Antarctica Expedition which, created by adventurer Robert Swan, aims to take future leaders from all over the world to the wild continent to help ensure it is protected in years to come.
On the final day of training the UAE group realised they were out of their comfort zone as they had to hike a mountain of 5km.
“It was an experience full of different emotions and learning,” said the team. “Our team headed to the bottom of the mountain full of excitement.”
The team consisted of an incredible young man who cycled 35,000km from Alaska and 12 months later he was sharing his stories while hiking the mountain.
There was a true team spirit which elevated all team members and made mountain hiking far easier than doing it as an individual, they said.
‘Vital moment’
“We finally accomplished the first task successfully with courage and braveness. During the hike we reconnected with nature quenching our thirst from running streams and breathing fresh air with positive synergy all around,” they said.
During the training they had met Robert Swan and he discussed the objectives of the mission. He also took them through the itinerary.
The team boarded the ship to Antarctica on March 2. “This moment is a vital moment filled with excitement as we embark on the ship Sea Spirit,” the women said. “As 78 team members from 22 nations, we will be sharing a once in a life time experience. Different languages and different cultures are now one big family, communicating together and carrying our flags with pride and honour.”
Anyone can travel to the Antarctic as it belongs to everyone and no one. However, the most treacherous stretch of sea, the Drake Passage, must be crossed, they said. The open ocean between the tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is renowned for its fierce and unforgiving nature.
“We face the challenge of how our bodies will react, as they have never been tested in this environment. We’ve been officially removed out of our comfort zone,” they said.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/03/09/iaato-appoints-new-environmentalist

Friday, March 9th 2012 – 00:39 UTC
IAATO appoints new environmentalist
Providence, RI. – The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) yesterday announced the appointment of South African environmentalist Claudia “Clouds” Holgate to the part-time position of Environmental Operations Assistant.

“We welcome Claudia to the IAATO team, and the entire organization looks forward to benefiting from her considerable experience and background skills in furthering the Association’s core mission: to promote safe and environmentally responsible travel to the Antarctic,” noted IATTO Administrative Director Steve Wellmeier.
Holgate has worked in the environmental field for 15 years, including assignments as a program manager on an international water project for the United Nations and Greening the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
She also has experience working at all levels of government and ten years running an independent environmental consultancy as well as three years in academia lecturing on climatology and environmental management at Monash University, where she is still an Adjunct Research Associate in the School of Geosciences.
Claudia has a deep attachment to the Antarctic and has been working on expedition cruise ships, primarily in the Polar Regions, for the past five years having only just completed, earlier this week, a new season aboard Corinthian II on charter to Overseas Adventure Travel, carrying out duties as an expedition team lecturer and zodiac driver.
Claudia holds an MSc in geography and environmental science and a graduate certificate in Higher education, and has published in the fields of ecology, education and climate change.
In her spare time, Claudia works as a critical care paramedic, teaches courses in emergency Medicine and is the Vice President of the Johannesburg Branch of Soroptimist International, a professional women’s service organization.
By Nick Tozer – Buenos Aires

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/03/07/argentina-to-demand-a-review-of-the-south-atlantic-fisheries-agreement

Argentina to demand a review of the South Atlantic fisheries agreement
President Cristina Fernandez announced that Argentina will request the review of the South Atlantic fisheries agreement, because the UK and the Falklands are not abiding by the ‘protocols’ signed in the early nineties.

The move is complementary to the announced review of the 1999 three-side agreement (UK, Argentina and Falklands government) which among other issues allowed for the resumption of an air link with the continent, more precisely once a week with Lan Chile to Punta Arenas, and with once a month call at Rio Gallegos.
Cristina Fernandez made the announcement earlier this week when the launching of the tender for the construction of a Malvinas Museum to be finalized by August next year in the same compound of the former Navy Mechanical School, once a notorious torture and persons disappearance centre, now partly converted into the Memory Museum and managed by the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo organization
“They are not complying with the agreement signed on fisheries collaboration in the Malvinas Islands zone”, said President Cristina Fernandez.
Argentina complains that since 2006 the Falklands government awards 25 year fishing licences, instead of the one year version, “which ultimately has helped the companies catching in Malvinas and Argentine waters”.
Argentina with legislation has tried to force fishing companies operating in Argentina to give up their Falklands interests.
The Argentine president then complained that UN resolutions regarding the Falklands/Malvinas are being ignored, “but we should not despair. On the contrary we have advanced very much because from a cause which seemed limited to a ‘nationalistic’ claim, it has been converted into a cause for the defence of fisheries and energy resources, not only of the Argentines, but from the whole region”.
She added that it’s not only a matter of “territorial integrity, which is crucial for the country, but also the unrestricted defence of its natural resources, its history, memory, geography and zoology”.
Finally the President also recalled the so called “Operation Condor” back in 1966 when an aircraft from Aerolineas Argentinas was hijacked and forced to land in the Falklands and then flew the Argentine flag.
“I remember it was commotional and highly emotional, it was seen as a Peronist rally at the time”, she said.
The president also had words of praise for General Jorge Leal who was specially invited to the ceremony. General Leal headed the first Argentine ground expedition to the South Pole in 1965 (Operation 90) and was also the first president of the Military Centre for Democracy.
Operation 90 was conducted by ten soldiers from the Argentine Army under then Colonel Leal. Since the Antarctic Treaty prohibits any military activity in Antarctica to date Operation 90 remains as the only documented military land maneuver on Antarctic territory.
The operation was performed in secret so as not to upset the superpowers of the time, the US and the Soviet Union.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/07/alien-invasion-poses-risk-to-antarcticas-ecosystem-experts-warn/
Alien invasion poses risk to Antarctica’s ecosystem, experts warn
Reuters Mar 7, 2012 – 3:26 PM ET

Invasive alien plants are amongst the most significant conservation threat to Antarctica, especially as climate change warms the ice continent, said a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal published on Tuesday.

By Pauline Askin

SYDNEY — In the pristine frozen continent of Antarctica scientists fear an alien invasion — not from outer space, but carried in people’s pockets and bags.

Seeds and plants accidentally brought to Antarctica by tourists and scientists may introduce alien plant species which could threaten the survival of native plants in the finely balanced ecosystem.

Invasive alien plants are amongst the most significant conservation threat to Antarctica, especially as climate change warms the ice continent, said a report in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal published on Tuesday.

More than 33,000 tourists and 7,000 scientists visit Antarctica each year by ship and aircraft, and a two month survey of visitors has found that many are carrying plant seeds picked up from other countries they have already visited.

We’d start losing various precious biodiversity on the (Antarctic) continent
The study vacuumed travellers’ pockets, trouser and sleeve cuffs, shoes and inside their bags, and used tweezers to pry out accidentally hidden seeds. On average each person checked had just 9.5 seeds in clothing and equipment.

“The people that were carrying the most had lots and lots of seeds. They really were substantial threats,” said Dana Bergstrom, from the Australian Antarctic Division.

“When we take things in through hitchhiking then we get species which are competitive. The plants and animals there are not necessarily competitive, so there’s a good chance… we’d start losing various precious biodiversity on the (Antarctic) continent,” Bergstrom told Reuters.

Amongst the alien species discovered were the Iceland Poppy, Tall Fescue Velvet grass and Annual Winter Grass — all from cold climates and capable of growing in Antarctica.

The Antarctic Peninsula, where most tourists travel, is now considered a “hot spot” on the frozen continent and the warmer the climate, the easier for seeds to propagate.

Related
• Lake Vostok scientists in key breakthrough after drilling reaches lake surface
• Two real things from outer space that could devastate the planet, and one right here on Earth
“The peninsula is warming at some of the greatest rates on the planet,” said Bergstrom.

The study, the first continent-wide assessment of invasive species in Antarctica, surveyed about 1,000 passengers during 2007-2008, the first year of the International Polar Year, an international effort to research the polar regions.

If it got into those areas in the peninsula it would have the potential to overrun things
It has taken almost three years to identify the seed species and their effects on the icy continent.

Bergstrom said the one alien seed that had gained a foothold is Annual Winter Grass. It is a substantial weed in the sub-Antarctic and is on the Antarctic island of King George. It has also made its way to the tail part of the Antarctic continent.

“That’s just one example of the weeds we picked up and a population of it has just been found in the last couple of seasons,” she said.

Annual Winter Grass grows very well in disturbed areas like seal and penguin areas, and could propagate amongst the slow growing mosses around those colonies.

“If it got into those areas in the peninsula it would have the potential to overrun things,” Bergstrom said.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/A-modern-Falkland-Islands-transformed-by-war-3390662.php

A good, accurate account – A modern Falkland Islands, transformed by war
By MICHAEL WARREN, Associated Press
STANLEY, Falkland Islands (AP) — Falkland Islanders are still bristling over the invasion by Argentina 30 years ago, but they’re not complaining about its aftermath.
The April 2, 1982, invasion led by Argentina’s dictators and the subsequent war with Britain launched a process that transformed the archipelago from a sleepy backwater of sheep farms into a prosperous outpost whose residents enjoy one of the highest per capita incomes in the Western Hemisphere.
“It took a war to make it better,” said Sybie Summers, who runs a gift shop in Stanley. “Life really changed. When we were kids we played with sheep bones. Now it’s a new iPad they have to have.”
The key to jump-starting their economy, islanders say, was the British military muscle left in place after the invasion. The presence of 8,000 troops and a military fleet gave the Falklands the power to establish a fisheries licensing program, and collect fees off of the hundreds of rogue trawlers from Asia and Spain that had been overfishing the South Atlantic.
That fisheries revenue then paid for free educations in Britain for every Falklands teenager. About 80 percent of those kids have returned debt-free with university degrees and advanced skills.
Most islanders still have to work multiple jobs to provide all the necessary services among a population of just 3,000. But last year’s government surplus was nearly 19 million pounds (US$29.9 million), and the rainy-day fund now provides a nearly 3-year cushion against economic crisis.
The revenue from the fishing industry also seeded offshore oil exploration, which paid off last year with the Sea Lion discovery, an oil strike some analysts estimate could deliver $3.9 billion in taxes and royalties in the years ahead.
Oil exploration is already generating more in revenues than the islands’ government has ever seen.
And if Rockhopper Exploration finds a $2 billion partner to fund crude production, “quite simply they’ll become the richest people in the world” said John Foster, a managing director of the Falkland Islands Company, which runs an array of local businesses.
If not for Argentina’s 74-day occupation, islanders say, the Falklands might still be stuck in reverse — a lonely and declining outpost with few job opportunities or creature comforts.
“This is a totally different situation here than there was 30 years ago,” said Nick Pitaluga, a fifth-generation islander.
In London, many still believe islanders are subsidized by British taxpayers, when in fact the Falkland Islands Government runs a surplus and counts on Britain for only defense and foreign affairs.
The official view from Buenos Aires is that British forces usurped control of the islands from her country 179 years ago and hold them today as a colonial enclave. “It is an anachronism in the 21st century to continue maintaining colonies,” Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said recently.
In the islands, though, it is hard to find anyone who would like to see the Argentine flag flying above Stanley, and while Argentines are welcome for a visit, signs of allegiance to their homeland are not.
Jan Cheek, a legislative assembly member whose great-great-great-grandfather arrived here from England in 1842, favors maintaining the islands’ tight immigration controls that require a seven-year residency to apply for islander status, which if accepted brings eligibility to vote. No more than 40 people may qualify each year
“Theoretically, 4,000 Argentines could come in and vote to become part of Argentina,” Cheek said. “Our whole way of life could be swamped and changed by a massive influx over a short period.”
Though the islands’ population is a mix of some 30 nationalities, from British to Chilean to Russian to a handful of Argentines, the language is English and the culture decidedly British.
After the war the Falklands became a self-determining British Overseas Territory. In 1983, Britain granted full citizenship to Falkland Islanders and under the 1985 constitution the islands became effectively self-governing with the exception of foreign policy.
The local government encouraged the Falklands Islands Company to break up its sheep farms and diversify its holdings. It did, and has since brought more investments and a higher quality of life back to the islands.
The remote South Atlantic archipelago 300 miles (480 km) off Argentina’s extreme southern coast seemed to have few prospects before the conflict, which cost the lives of 900 soldiers and sailors, most of them Argentine. The price of wool from the islands’ half-million sheep had plunged; the population dropped below 1,800; and there was almost no infrastructure for a modern economy.
Beyond the several dozen streets of the tiny capital, there were no roads at all and only a rudimentary radio telephone system to communicate across a territory nearly the size of Wales.
Before the war, Britain was shedding vestiges of its colonial empire, and sent officials down urging islanders to accept a Hong Kong-style handover. Three Argentine air force officers were sitting in the front row as a British diplomat told the islanders not to expect military protection, recalled John Fowler, a longtime editor at the islands’ weekly Penguin News.
When Argentine bombs started exploding around Stanley, many islanders wondered if London, some 8,000 miles (12,874 kilometers) away, cared for them at all.
“It seemed to us that we were an embarrassment to the United Kingdom’s ambitions of reasserting themselves as an economic power in Latin America,” recalled Fowler.
When the British soldiers did arrive, it seemed like a miracle to islanders who felt they were being controlled by Argentina even before the invasion.
“They had their chance back then and blew it. If they had waited a few more months, (British Prime Minister) Maggie Thatcher probably would have handed us over, but they couldn’t wait and Thatcher got her knickers in a twist. We were very very lucky she had that kind of backbone,” said Pitaluga, who still raises sheep on the land his great-great grandfather settled after arriving in 1840.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
Diaries show pole race marred by split in Norwegian team
Andrew Darby
March 3, 2012

IT WAS the flaw that made Roald Amundsen’s superhuman feat seem mortal after all.

A century after the methodical Norwegian achieved the impossible by being first to the South Pole, there is new light on a breakdown in his expedition.

A dispute over tactics led to Amundsen being called a coward in front of his own men by a key expeditioner, who was then sidelined.

Recently translated expedition diaries detail how, even as news spread of Amundsen’s achievement, the troubled Frederik Hjalmar Johansen was separated from the victory.

Though Johansen’s suicide less than a year later is blamed by some on this disgrace, Amundsen was not being vindictive, according to the Norwegian polar historian Olav Orheim.

It was just business, Dr Orheim said. The pragmatic Amundsen had to keep his exclusive newspaper and book deals intact.

The world first heard of Amundsen’s win in the race for the pole by telegram from Hobart 100 years ago next Wednesday.

So focused was popular attention on conquering Antarctica that this was the early 20th century equivalent of winning a race to the moon, said Dr Orheim, a visitor at the University of Tasmania’s Antarctic co-operative research centre.

It was the outcome of meticulous preparation. ”Without exception, Amundsen’s great ability was to plan. It goes way beyond the others: Shackleton and Scott.”

As Amundsen sent the message from Hobart to Norway that, decoded, said: ”Reached the South Pole. All Well”, Britain’s beaten Robert Scott and his companions were struggling to their deaths on the Ross Ice Shelf. Their fate would be unknown to the public for a further year.

But the best laid plans of Amundsen nearly came undone too, in September 1911, when he set out on the polar trek early in the season and extreme cold forced the party back to base.

In the dash for safety Amundsen struck out ahead, leaving Johansen, a former champion gymnast and seasoned adventurer, to rescue tail-end straggler Kristian Prestrud from freezing to death and bring him in.

Next day Johansen confronted Amundsen.

”Amundsen said he returned as quickly as possible to reduce the frostbite among the party,” Dr Orheim said. ”Johansen said this was cowardly, and the leader should have waited to get the last one.”

The falling out never healed. Amundsen marshalled the rest of his team and excluded Johansen from the successful attempt on the pole.

Later, on the expedition’s ship the Fram’s arrival in Hobart, Amundsen ordered all crew to stay aboard and refuse any communication with the locals while he went ashore disguised as an ordinary seaman.

Protecting an exclusive deal with European newspapers, he sent the coded telegram to his brother Leon in Norway, suddenly making himself globally famous.

”In those days there were no movie stars. Geographical exploration was intensely followed,” Dr Orheim said.

Amid the celebrations that followed in Hobart, Johansen was told he would not be travelling back to Norway on the Fram with the other expeditioners.

”He was sent back anonymously, as in disgrace, because of the episode in the south,” Dr Orheim said. ”I always felt that Amundsen was being vindictive, but then I read Johansen’s diary. In it he said he wanted to separate and not follow the Fram. It is likely he was being ostracised.”

Dr Orheim said despite this, he did not believe Johansen’s suicide in January 1913 at the age of 45 was a direct result. ”His wife had left him, many things were going wrong in his life, and he was alcoholic.”

As for Amundsen, his demand that Johansen stay anonymous and give no interview about the expedition was based on the financial imperative of maintaining the newspaper and book deals that financed the expedition.

”Amundsen wanted to control all of the news,” Dr Orheim said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/diaries-show-pole-race-marred-by-split-in-norwegian-team-20120302-1u7ss.html#ixzz1oVNTlt1a

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2012/03/04/nl-orlova-scrapped-304.html

Russian ship to leave St. John’s for the scrap heap
By Mark Quinn, CBC News Posted: Mar 5, 2012 6:07 AM NT Last Updated: Mar 5, 2012 10:10 AM NT Read 22comments22

A Russian ship that’s been tied up in St. John’s for more than a year and a half will be in Newfoundland for a little while longer as its new owners prepare it for its last trip.

The Lyubov Orlova was finally sold last month but the vessel, which has operated as a cruise ship and a research vessel in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, will not be carrying passengers again.

The 35-year-old ship is destined for the Dominican Republic where it will be broken up and sold as scrap.

Its new owner Hussein Humayuni – who hopes the Orlova will ready to leave in mid-March — said he took a chance when he paid $275,000 for the ship.

“Gambling, you know, If the price of scrap comes up, we can get some profit, If it goes down, we are losers… this is my business…for 45 years,” said the Iranian man, who is now living in Toronto.

Many people, especially St. John’s Port Authority officials, will be glad to see the Orlova stern limp out The Narrows.

The Lyubov Orlova was seized by Canadian authorities in 2010. Since then, the ship has accrued more than $200,000 in unpaid berthing fees and deteriorated into a rust bucket that lists badly.

The ship was arrested in St. John’s in Sept. 2010 after a creditor put a lien on the vessel. A Russian company, Locso Shipping, owned the 90-metre Orlova.

At the time of the ship’s arrest, the Russian-based company owed Cruise North Expeditions $250,000. The Russian company also owed 51 crewmembers on the vessel more than $300,000 in wages.

Before it was seized, the Lyubov Orlova was used for adventure tourism trips to northern Labrador. No passengers were on the ship when it was seized.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2017677952_webchilecruises06.html
Originally published Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 9:59 AM

South American cruises marred by politics
Thousands of passengers on cruises at the tip of South America are prevented from going ashore because of the dispute over the Falkland Islands and protests in Chile.
By EVA VERGARA
Associated Press

SANTIAGO, Chile — One of the world’s most exotic and expensive cruise ship circuits is being threatened by political strife, as Argentina’s dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands and social protests in Chile prevent thousands of passengers from going ashore along the tip of South America.

Argentina, the Falklands government and Chile have succeeded in attracting more high-end cruises in recent years. Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, takes in 450 visits a year from ships that sail between Rio de Janeiro and Chile’s main port city of Valparaiso, stopping in isolated ports and even Antarctica.

But for mostly political reasons, a half-dozen ports of call have been canceled at the last minute in recent weeks, marring itineraries that include the islands, Ushuaia and Chile’s scenic Aysen region.

The Star Princess missed stops on successive cruises in the Falklands and Ushuaia, the Balmoral missed its inaugural visit to Puerto Chacabuco, Chile, last month, and the Silver Explorer is likely to miss the same Chilean port on Tuesday, with anti-government protests there showing no signs of resolution. The Adonia’s 710 passengers got it the worst, missing both Ushuaia and Chacabuco during their same premium cruise.

One frustrated Adonia passenger, David Wells, wrote on the ship’s online forum: “Bad news, Argies not letting Adonia or American ship, Star Princess, into port because we have both been to Falklands.”

Wells later sent an update from Chile: “The captain announced that we will not be going to Chacabuco on 3rd March as planned … It seems that the Friday 13th start of the cruise is still bugging us.”

Actually, the Argentines said they would welcome any ship stopping in the Falklands except those flying flags of either Britain or its territories, in a bid to pressure Britain into sovereignty talks over the disputed islands, which Latin Americans call Las Malvinas.

Losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income just as the southern summer’s cruise season wraps up has been painful for the locals. In Ushuaia alone, each disembarking passenger spends on average between $1,200 and $1,600 on food, excursions and gifts.

Beyond the missed paydays, tourism officials worry openly that the image of Latin American instability they worked so hard to overcome might dissuade travelers from booking future cruises.

“We here in the Falkland Islands are looking to enhance the cruise industry. I would hate to see anything put in the way to stop it,” Falklands legislator Roger Edwards told The Associated Press.

The southern routes offer stunning natural wonders, from penguin rookeries to icebergs and glaciers and fjords. Some cruises run back and forth between Ushuaia and Antarctica, while others make stops all around South America. The trips tend to attract veterans of other cruises, and carry a premium price: Those making the Adonia’s complete 89-day journey from England to Spain via Cape Horn and the Panama Canal pay $14,500 a berth.

The latest trouble began when the Falkland Islands government turned the Star Princess away last month, saying they feared some passengers suffering the stomach flu after stopping in Ushuaia would start a norovirus outbreak that the islands couldn’t handle.

Princess Cruises called the cancellation unprecedented. Argentines saw it as a provocation. Edwards said Falklands officials made the only judgment call they could based on partial information they had.

Such health questions can be difficult to resolve without direct communication between governments, and relations between the two countries have suffered as tensions rise ahead of the April 2 anniversary of Argentina’s failed 1982 war to wrestle the islands from Britain.

The Star Princess continued on to Brazil and then headed back south with another set of passengers, only to be turned away by Ushuaia’s governor as it approached the dock. Tourist industry workers stood on the docks, trying to tally their losses as the Star Princess and the Adonia sailed silently past them. Both flew the flag of Bermuda, a British territory.

“We are so hard hit that we haven’t yet calculated the economic cost,” said Marcelo Lietti, president of the Ushuaia tourism chamber, to the AP. “What is happening is a political whim and an irresponsible attitude by the government.”

“We all support the claim of sovereignty for the Malvinas,” he added. “But you can’t do it by prohibition; you need to do it by education and raising consciousness.”

The three ships rounded the continent’s southern tip, and Adonia and Balmoral passengers looked forward to their next stops in Chile, where day trips include rides on small boats up to the edge of glacial icebergs.

But Puerto Chacabuco, the gateway to Aysen’s natural wonders, was suddenly closed for business due to local protests over high gas prices and low wages. Activists have blocked roads and cut electricity, clashing with police and looting the area’s largest food warehouse.

Summers are brief in this part of the world, and February is the most important month for tourism in Aysen. This year, less than 20 percent of hotel beds were occupied, and Aysen regional tourism director Francisco Lazo told the AP that since the protests began, the isolated region has lost at least 80 percent of its tourists — as many as 3,800 people who would have been shopping, eating in restaurants and going on excursions.

Tourism officials in Chile Friday were trying to determine whether ongoing protests would prevent the Balmoral from docking in Puerto Chacabuco on Saturday en route to its final port of call in Valparaiso on March 6. Also in doubt is the March 6 Aysen stop of the Silver Explorer, formerly the Prince Albert II, which offers “unrivaled luxury” to just 132 guests each trip.

For Princess Cruises and Carnival Corp., whose British P&O Cruises subsidiary owns the Adonia, the damage has been done this cruise season. Julie Benson, vice president of public relations for Princess, said the main impact was “the disappointment to passengers at not being able to visit a port on the scheduled itinerary.”

“We will monitor this issue in relationship to our next South America sailing, which departs in December of this year,” she told the AP.

It’s unclear whether Argentina will ban more ports of call by cruise ships of British provenance or flying “flags of convenience” from British territories. Britain said it would file a formal trade complaint with the European Union against Argentina over this week’s missed ports of call.

Edwards said Falklanders would oppose anything that gets in the way of the cruises. “We here in the Falklands Islands welcome all cruise ships.”

Associated Press writers Debora Rey in Buenos Aires, Michael Warren in Santiago and Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed to this report.

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide

www.AntarcticGuide.com
Zoo hunts for escaped penguin
March 6, 2012 – 7:42AM

The hunt is on for a penguin that scaled a sheer rock face to escape from a Tokyo zoo, and was last seen swimming in a river in the Japanese capital.

The one-year-old Humboldt penguin was snapped bathing in the mouth of the Old Edogawa river, which runs into Tokyo Bay, after fleeing its home in the east of the city in an echo of the hit animated film Madagascar.

Takashi Sugino, an official at Tokyo Sea Life Park, said the 60-centimetre bird appeared to have got itself over a rock wall twice its size and made a run for it.

“We first noticed the penguin might have fled when the director of a neighbouring zoo e-mailed us Sunday, with a photo,” said Sugino.

A second picture provided by a visitor allowed keepers to identify the errant bird as one that hatched last January.

Sugino said it was not entirely clear how the creature had managed to get out of the enclosure it shares with 134 other Humboldt penguins.

“Of course it can’t fly, but sometimes wildlife have an ‘explosive’ power when frightened by something. Maybe it ran up the rock after being surprised,” he said.

In the 2005 computer animated film Madagascar, penguins are among a group of animals that mount an escape as they are being transported.

Zoo officials were on Monday scouring the area where the Tokyo penguin was last spotted in the hope of recapturing it.

“It’s a bit of a struggle to catch it when it is swimming, because it swims at a tremendous speed,” Sugino said. “We are hoping to catch it when it climbs up on land to sleep.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/zoo-hunts-for-escaped-penguin-20120306-1ueww.html#ixzz1oHwyLfn1

Antarctic Guide
info@antarcticguide.com
www.AntarcticGuide.com
Twitter: AntarcticGuide