a "tiger" volvo - just what I had been dreaming about...

Check this out: while Apple fans rave about the newest OS (10.4 a.k.a. "tiger") and volvo fans go on about, well, volvo models, this guy seems to have combined the two of them: the "tiger volvo"! A modified 740-turned-convertible with, er, tiger fur cover. Wow. A dream come true, as two of my passions merge into one INCREDIBLY AWFUL MUTANT-MOBILE. But cool, in a very weird way ...;-)

So here it comes:

eBay-Artikel 4564315558

By the way, if you want to see the "real stuff" check out these links about the volvo 480 (the car that got me into this), which was the rare and unrepeated attempt of volvo designing and building a sports car. It is somewhat of a "Swedish Ferrari" for connaisseurs, if you associate ferrari with, um, unreliable electrical parts. Or great street performance. Or mysterious leaks in impossible-to-find places. Or incredibly cool looks... Anyway, these cool and unusual rides come (a bit) cheaper than their famous Italian cousins, but they are nonetheless the center of a cult-like fan community, which probably outnumbers the Ferraristi by 10. But then, there have always been more, like, strange people around than, say, REALLY RICH people...

Judge for yourself, here is a selection of volvo 480 sites (yes, they are all about this one model!):

The German 480 Club "Der kleine Elch" (i.e. the little moose)
there is even a German Wiki about it (sorry, no English version - yet)
The European 480 Club's website
A volvo 480 registry website from the Netherlands
The fan community in Lithuania...
apparently, there are some in Estonia, too (actually, two...)
look here if you understand any Polish
here comes some stuff in Danish, too...

So you see, that little car is BIG in Europe. It never quite made it Stateside, though, which is a bit ironic considering that it was designed after US specs and meant for the export market. Only about 80k pieces were produced between 1987 and 1995, so it is quite amazing what impact it seems to have, even ten years after the last rolled out of the assembly hall.

Polar tourism - half expedition, half cruise, and a bit of science talk...

As you can see on my link above, I have been working for several types of tourist trips, so far mostly in the Svalbard archipelago and more recently on the Antarctic Peninsula. One of the main activities in these areas are polar cruises, at least when it comes to the number of passengers involved and the area covered by these activities. This led to the establishment of an International Association for Antarctic tour operators and a similar association for Arctic Expedition cruise operators (AECO) has recently been established as well.



Unfortunately, though, most cruise operators work with ships and schedules that are not designed for many stops or even landings, instead their programs are often mostly based on shipboard entertainment, while visits to islands or ports along the cruise track are an extra. Although these forms of travel certainly have their good sides and their luxury-cruise appeal, they are usually not very compatible with polar areas. For once, port facilities are rare in those areas, and visits have to be based on beach landing operations using tenders, often nicknamed zodiac operations by the brand name of the most commonly used inflatable dinghy or tender.



Travelling like this allows you to reach almost any interesting spot, whether it is a glacier front, a bird cliff, a remote beach strewn with whale bones, or any of the operating or historic scientific stations in the polar areas which are open and accessible to the public (most of them are, upon prior arrangement and due notification).
Uhm, come to think of it, probably not the Amundsen-Scott Station (at the South Pole) but those near the shores (where most of them are located, anyway).

Live cam from the South Pole

Having several zodiacs onboard at all times also facilitates scuba diving or snorkelling or simply cruising with your camera - or sketch block for those who have the drawing skills and enthusiam. Do not expect to reach very far inland, though, as most landings will have a limited time frame and will be set up more for a stroll or maybe a light hike than for serious climbing or trekking (so no overland trips to Amundsen-Scott either, sorry...). But then, this is for the specially interested, anyway...

The longest March - sounds tempting?

For those interested in diving into the icy waters of the Polar Oceans, serious preparation and relevant cold-water experience is a must, as this is not an environment suitable for much experimenting or even training with new or untested gear. On the other hand, if you are already comfortable in your dry suit and have been diving in cold water and (sometimes) a bit tougher conditions, can dress in and out of your gear inside a small boat and without a tender, and prefer to dive with your buddy rather than trail a guide in a flock of other divers, you should be just fine on any of the polar expedition cruise trips offering diving as an extra option.



Mind you, there will most likely not be any trips dedicated exclusively to diving, so you will always be able to combine some underwater time with a few landings or some other "topside activities", and more importantly, you will be able to bring your non-diving partners, something that these guys seem to have forgotten - and regretted...



Modern four-stroke outboard engines have largely replaced the more dynamic, but also more intrusive two-stroke engines that consume a lot more fuel while making more noise and exhaust pollution. So now you can still chat while cruising at full speed, or creep up to those seals at minimum speed while retaining full propulsion and responsiveness - in case the seals decide to come over and take a bite at your - ahem - inflatable...



Even in the unlikely event of one or several punctures, these boats are designed to stay afloat with only two out of the four large air chambers intact, while another three smaller air chambers making up the triple keel are meant to increase performance in high winds and at high speed.



Mix this with the comfort of warming up with a drink and a nice chat in the ship's lounge or bar afterwards, and maybe an evening lecture on the history of polar exploration, or about the wonders of life inside and under the sea ice, or the magnificent sea bird migrations, and you have a pretty good idea of what a day on an expedition cruise is made up of. And then if you least expect it, the sea holds yet another surprise for you...




To learn more about Polar Expedition cruises and destinations, visit Oceanwide Expeditions or a well-connected travel agency near you, like

Norden Tours - D
Exodus - UK
Beluga - NL
Adventure Associates - AUS
Big Animals - USA

Enough marketing! I will compile an archive of Polar impressions, cruising the North and the South, and it will be available
here on my website - soon ;-)