My Trip to Chernobyl - June 2006

Before any discussion, you should probably read my initial impressions and details in my Chernobyl trip photo journal article.

So, what's on my mind? First, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone simply calls out to me. I am unable to put it in words, but I feel as though all the lonely trees, empty fields, and abandoned buildings want me to return. Hopefully, someday I will.

The entire Zone is absolutely haunting. Though you can see people on occasion, especially in the town of Chornobyl or at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, you are mostly alone with your guide and other people in your group. Unless you have been there, you just don't know how strange it feels to stand in the center of a city that used to have a population of almost 50,000 (Pripyat) and hear absolutely nothing except for the wind or an occasional bird.

As a whole, the Zone is now a beautiful nature area with a wide variety of wildlife. At times it is difficult to remember that it is irradiated and you need to be careful. However there are subtle reminders all around you such as the lack of people in formerly populated places, passing by abandoned homes and buildings, an empty city (Pripyat), radiation warning signs, and if you visit the Chernobyl Plant on the correct day of the week, you can see lawn maintenance workers wearing masks.

I find it difficult to relate the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone to anything in my daily life. I live in an urban area, and even when visiting a local park or nature area, you know that civilization is not far away. In the Exclusion Zone, you are in another world. You may not be far from a town or village, but they are all abandoned (except for the few scattered elderly residents who returned to their homes). You feel far away from civilization, in a place that most people would rather forget.

Since this post is about my trip, I will save my thoughts on nuclear power for another time.