‘Parts Unknown’ Sent Anthony Bourdain To The Ends Of The Earth


After a break for Memorial Day weekend, Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown‘ came back to the airwaves with a monumental episode. Bourdain was in Antarctica to explore the world of fuelees, wastees, beakers, and carps. That’s Antarctic lingo for vehicle fuelers, clean up crews, scientists, and carpenters, respectively.

Did he like the experience? Seems so. Bourdain lovingly tells us that “Antarctica is the last un-fucked-up place on Earth.”

The whole episode was a hypnotic look into the day-to-day life of the mad ones who choose to call Antartica home. The show also played like Bourdain and CNN’s latest salvo, fired directly at the Trump administration’s ineptitude when it comes to anything science related. Bourdain flat out says in the episode, “at a time when science is held in open contempt, when painfully acquired data is actually being deleted from computers if it conflicts with preconceived policies, these guys are looking at some deep stuff.”

Travel TV fighting battles to preserve science. These are, indeed, strange times in which we live.


What really shone throughout the episode was the Antarctic residents’ devotion to thriving at the ends of the earth. This is Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Parts Unknown’ after all. So there was a surprisingly varied amount of food eaten and, of course, there was plenty of convivial partying along the way to the various outposts scattered across the world’s largest desert.

What struck us the most was the seemingly extreme nature of the surroundings and the general ease and contentment people live in those conditions. It’s sort of like a Mad Max situation in the snow, where every resource is precious but everyone is working together to make the best of it (instead of barreling across the deserts with shotguns blazing). This surreal atmosphere is compounded by the fact that for nearly six months the sun never sets — adding a sort of magic to the place that feels like it should be a mythological land.

Let’s jump in!

MCMURDO STATION

View this post on Instagram

Midnight in Mactown #Antarctica

A post shared by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on

Bourdain lays out this corner of the world for us with some straight talk. “McMurdo Station ain’t pretty; it looks like a mining camp, but look closely and you notice things, like the total absence of litter. Not a single cigarette butt. It’s one of the most carefully regulated communities on the planet.”

The main point of entry for Bourdain is McMurdo Station. The town dates back to 1956, when the United States officially opened a Naval Airfield there and scientific research began around the area. Around 1,000 people live there in the summer months. And 250 stay during the perpetual darkness of winter to keep things operational for the summer return of operators and scientists.

View this post on Instagram

Work horse

A post shared by crewdawg11426 (@smithpoultry) on

LIFE IN MCMURDO

“It feels like dorm life at college; bathrooms are communal, everybody rotates housekeeping duties,” is Bourdain’s take on life in McMurdo.

Indeed it must be sorta like that. People choose to go and work in Antartica for six-month stints where everyone is for the most part living together in support of the sciences. There’s a real sense of duty and respect that the locals call a “vertical hierarchy” where equality is the most important part of their community.

View this post on Instagram

Alpha Bravo

A post shared by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on


EATS

View this post on Instagram

I miss free pizza at any hour

A post shared by Alexander Dawson (@atomiskck) on

What would a ‘Parts Unknown’ be without some food porn? Well, this episode doesn’t disappoint as Bourdain travels around the stations and eats with scientists and workers to get an idea of their day-to-day. In a place as un-hospitable as Antartica, the food seems to be the highlight of the day. Fresh food is flown in every few months. The rest of the time the locals rely on frozen and canned foods to make it through until the next delivery and they seem to be doing pretty well with what they’ve got.

View this post on Instagram

Christmas eve dinner in McMurdo

A post shared by Mark Nellis (@nellismark) on

PARTY

“There’s been some whiskey drinking. The blue-tinged ice cubes in our glasses — older, we are told, than the very idea of whiskey,” Bourdain tells us. The bars and cafes Bourdain hits up in this episode are probably what reminded us most of the Mad Max post-apocalypse vibe.

And, of course, there is plenty of beer and whiskey. To paraphrase Bourdain, it looks like you can have a pretty good time at the edge of the world.

View this post on Instagram

Helo ops 20th anniversary hangar party.

A post shared by David Goerlitz (@davidgoerlitz) on

LAKE HOARE RESEARCH STATION

Lake Hoare sits on mainland Antartica and is formed from a naturally occurring dam caused by the Canada Glacier. Bourdain heads out there to talk with some scientists who are actually living out in the field. Bourdain sums it up with his brand of succinct wonder, “What do they do down here? Some pretty trippy shit as it turns out.”

View this post on Instagram

#lakehoarebeautiful

A post shared by Michael Allen Brooks (@michaelallenbrooks) on

View this post on Instagram

Lodging #glacier

A post shared by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on

AMUNDSEN-SCOTT SOUTH POLE STATION

View this post on Instagram

Every direction is North #South Pole

A post shared by anthonybourdain (@anthonybourdain) on

Lastly, Bourdain hits what is on every adventurer’s bucket list — the South Pole. A trip to a place like this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime journey. This moment also really drives home how fucking badass Bourdain’s life is — and how jealousy inducing it is at the same time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSYSWG7Al4Y/

More photos from Antartica:

View this post on Instagram

The coffee house movie theater.

A post shared by David Goerlitz (@davidgoerlitz) on

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOhvQwmjyW7/

×