Excursion to ... North Pole!

Surprisingly, people react to the offer to go on an excursion to the North Pole: they are surprised, fear, distrustful, reverent. After all, most choose the southern and central direction, in extreme cases, resorts of the Baltic States or Finland. And only a few can proudly say: "I was at the northernmost point of the planet".

The trip to the North Pole for tourists became real only recently. And, of course, not for the sake of some attractions seek daredevils. They are simply not there. Someone wants to go through the routes of the great explorers of the north, others go to test themselves and change their lives beyond recognition, having bathed in the cold waters of the North Ocean, feel completely different, ready for something quite the opposite of what was "before ". Well, someone just wants to see the Arctic and polar bears, and at the same time to visit the "top of the planet".

Who was the first to come up with an excursion to the North Pole, it's difficult to establish. But the Arctic Ocean with its cold islands attracted researchers for thousands of years ago. Many navigators and geographers devoted their lives to searching and studying something unknown. As the manuscripts say, for the first time an expedition headed by Captain Piteas, who lived before our time, went north from the city of Massalia. Captain Piteas at one time was known as an astronomer, geographer and navigator. Upon returning home, he described a strange glow in the sky, the sun that shone after midnight, and huge polar bears. But, unfortunately, no one believed him.

After that, there were many expeditions, but who was the person who first reached the pole, it is impossible to say for sure. Different historians submit this event in their own way. And in general, the North Pole is only a geographical concept, a point that can be determined with the help of navigational instruments. Actually in this place there is only a thick layer of ice and nothing else. There is no land, and therefore a person can not leave a memorable sign about himself: neither a flag, nor a token, nor another object.

Today, an excursion to the North Pole has become possible for anyone who wishes. The most convenient and practical way to get to a point on Earth with coordinates 90 ° 00'00 '' north latitude and not having longitude is a trip on the icebreaker. Usually such a sightseeing tour starts in the port, located close to the northern polar circle (most often in Helsinki, the capital of Finland). Organizing such trips the company collects international groups from among those who wish to visit the Pole.

A trip to the Arctic on an icebreaker is an ordinary sightseeing tour. Icebreaker passengers can use not only warm and soft cabins and eat well, but also have a great time during the tour: use the gym, pool, dance floor and bar. On board there are satellite communication systems and even helicopters, which are often not life-saving appliances, but entertaining - one can look at ice from the air.

However, there is another way to get to the North Pole - on skis. This is where you really have to prove to yourself and the people who are around who you really are. Only serious people go to such a serious journey. Not everyone can go many hundreds of kilometers on skis, spend the night in tents, dragging a sledge weighing hundreds of kilograms with things, food and equipment to get to the point at which the Earth's rotation axis "digs in" . The expedition is taken by everyone: those who are far beyond fifty, and just fifteen years old boys. There are no restrictions on health either - everyone knows that he is not going for a walk. On such an excursion there is no entertainment, except books and chess. The biggest problem is constant cold, and this is very hard, especially morally. But people are sure that an experienced "northern guide" will not get out of the way, but at any time if necessary (illness, frostbite or other extreme circumstances) they are evacuated to a large land.

Two completely different ways to get to the Pole, but the reaction of the people who committed this is absolutely the same - delight. When GPS determines the required coordinates, any group of tourists react very vigorously to such an event. Roundels around the earth's axis, "north pole" barbecue, dancing, songs, standing on the head and swimming in icy water. And a sense of pride that has become one of the few chosen ones who visited the northern point of the planet.