Mostly indifferent to the bipeds donning neon-colored windbreakers, wildlife abounds in the deafening silence of the icy landscape. Antarctica, a land of adventure without rulers, is 'like the heart of the Earth'.
To reach the Antarctic destination some of the people traveled 14,000 kilometers and spent thousands of euros. Tourists plunge into the three-degree Celsius water under the intrigued gaze of a group of penguins.
Tourists are also flocking to the area in greater numbers. This season nearly 80,000 visitors are expected, a 40-percent increase compared to last year. Antarctic tour operators insist they are promoting responsible tourism.
But critics question this sort of tourism, as the emissions from world-crossing flights and soot or black carbon in the exhaust gases of cruise ships are part of what is putting the region under threat.
The colony of 2,500 penguins has been gradually declining over the years. It is not known if it is the fault of humanity
