 |
| |
In his article "Travel/Tourism," Mike Crang describes the emergence of the explorer trope from which tourism can be extrapolated: "Travel in the form of exploration became one of the dominant tropes of geography as a discipline that was centrally concerned with producing information on 'other places'. As part of the mythology of the discipline, the heroic explorer looms large, driven by a seemingly insatiable urge to map, name and catalogue the planet" (2005, 34). He goes on to explain how the traveler is subjectivised as the main protagonist and the sole possessor of geographical knowledge which "is given authority by the travel - when you claim to know something because you were there. Feats of endurance and moments of danger not only add zest to the story but also enhance the credibility of the traveling witness" (35). Crang describes an unsustainable "hierarchy of explorer (charting the unknown), the traveler (encountering difference) and the tourist (following the well-worn trail and reproducing the familiar)" acknowledging that "the tourist industry has rapidly been able to incorporate those that sought to get off the beaten track into what we might call a standardised alternative tourist system" (2005, 35-36). The questing traveler seeks the 'back areas' which may then too quickly become commercialized and "the very presence of visitors destroy the unmediated authenticity. And so, in response, a new, really real backstage can be promised to other travelers. This questing thus continues ad infinitum" (37).
Show caves tours are only one option for cavers. For those desiring a more "natural cave experience," and the opportunity to interact with the underground landscape in a more empirical fashion, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offers an alternative: "For anyone who wants a very down-to-earth cave experience, crawling through a wild cave in one of TPWD's speleological parks may be just the thing" (Pittman 1999). Unfortunately, speleological parks are limited to those with membership in a speleological society, credentialed caving skills or special certifications. Halliday describes his experience of visiting the Lower Cave in Carlsbad caverns as a qualified speleologist with rare 'tour' privileges not extended to the ordinary folk: "Nevertheless, an occasional tourist, perhaps a subconscious speleologist himself, peers into the Lower Cave at the Jumping Off Place and pauses, thinking: 'I wonder what's down there!' The reply would be easier if there were fewer differences between the Big Room and the Lower Cave. The fortunate few allowed off the main trail can hardly believe that they are in the same cave" (Halliday, 1959 133).
Many of today's show caves are re-negotiating their technologies of tourist production to facilitate such alternate subjectivities. The Caverns of Sonora offers the following Specialty Tour:
"For the more adventurous, there is the 'Discovery Challenge.' With caving gear provided, an experienced caver will lead you into a maze of passageways away from the developed trails. A rappel of about fifty feet down into the Devil's Pit is the ultimate experience. This trip is great fun for families, and excellent for team building" (http://www.cavernsofsonora.com/index.php?link=specialtytours).
Ed Mayfield, one of the cavern owners, described in a telephone interview his decision to add the Discovery Challenge Tour to his cave's offerings in 2000. "A lot of people would rather go into the cave by themselves, and many visitors were asking to go off-trail. The tour draws in extra people because of the 'wow factor' -- people are doing something they've always wanted to do and feel like not many others get to do."
Halliday describes trying to blend into the shadows of the underground lunchroom in Carlsbad Caverns in order to "avoid alarming the 'paying customers'" whose wide-eyed comments upon seeing the spelunkers were generally along the lines of "'...cave explorers...don't they look awful ... I wonder what...My God!'" and "'You don't mean that we'll look like that when we come out, do you?'" (Halliday, 1959 125, 134). The wild cave tour in Sonora produced the same types of comments from other tourists upon my son and I's disembarkment from the caving depths. Edging around deep sinkholes and belly-crawling through tight passageways with only a headlamp may not appeal to all tourists, but for Crang's traveler/explorer the Dicovery Challenge tour satisfies the quest for authenticity.
 |
 |
 |
[ Back ] | [ Continue Tour ] |