Turning the last page

Always when a passport is full, turning the last page is a nostalgic event ending a life passage. Visas are a modern form of "racism" in my view and sometimes quite a nuisance. But they are also a nice souvenir punched or glued into my little red booklet which accompanied me through so many parts of the world in recent years. Now it is not just full but also falling apart, and my repairs caused recently suspicion at the Hong Kong immigration, reminding me kindly that this may not be regarded as a valid travel document anymore in other places. So it's time for a new one. I have many exotic visas in my collection. But one stamp is very special. It is not from entering a country. It was punched in my passport in Port Lockroy, Antarctica, upon landing with a Zodiac from a Russian Ice Breaker - on November 16th, 2011. They say that all people who cannot get a hold of the earth. slide down the planet and meet down there in Antarctica. Time to go back then. New passport is in the making.

My passport stamp at Port Lockroy from November 16th, 2011

My passport stamp at Port Lockroy from November 16th, 2011