Write These Places Down on Your Bucket List
The Earth is just awesome, so goes the byline of a science channel. And indeed it is awesome especially when you consider these places! So, you must mark these extreme ecosystems on your tabletop globe as must-see places before you die.
Tristan da Cunha
If you want to get away from all the things that executive desk sets signify, then the islands of Tristan da Cunha are the place to be. It is, after all, the world’s most remote populated island group, located approximately 3,000 kilometers from South Africa, its nearest neighbor. Thus, you cannot expect Wall Street to maintain offices there!
And with just 271 individuals belonging to 80 families sharing just 8 last names, you will be forgiven if thoughts of incest flit through your mind. Still, it must be nice to live in a place where everybody knows everybody! Just don’t get gravely ill. You might just die a premature death because the nearest hospital is thousands of miles away, in Cape Town.
Oymyakonsky, Sakha Republic, Russia
Yes, it’s pronounced as “Oh, my achin’ skin!” No, really. This small Russian village located by the Indigirka River is so cold that even your skin will ache down to its last layer of fat, if it still hasn’t frozen to the consistency of ice.
Many towns have laid claim to being the coldest inhabited place on the planet but Oymyakonsky appears to be the winner. Temperatures as low as _96.2 øF have been recorded there although the Russian Base Vostok in Antarctica registered a lower and colder -129 øF.
Why go there, you ask? Well, at least you don’t have to worry about the hot-as-hell heat of summer! And you can have all the snow cones you want.
The Dry Valleys, Antarctica
When we think of Antarctica, we immediately think of endless expanses of snow as far as the eyes can see. But the Earth has its awesome secrets still and one of these is the Dry Valleys of Antarctica.
True to its name, these valleys are very dry deserts in the middle of very cold ice! There are no moisture whatsoever either from water or ice or snow because the 200-mph Katabatic winds evaporate all moisture from the area. Think of it as traveling from the desert into the glacier in just a few steps!
So, whenever you feel like life is bringing you down, step on the nearest airplane and visit these places. Do something crazier than attacking your executive desk pad out of frustration because you were, once again, sent to a dreary meeting in a dreary place called the conference room where you can just die of boredom. At least, you die of adventure in the abovementioned environments!