Complex Numbers

Can't Get There from Here

I've always had a desire to go places I'm not allowed. What's through that door? How's the view from that tower? Wouldn't it be cool to climb the cables of a suspension bridge? That sort of thing.

    17 Forbidden Places You Can't Visit  

I've never done it, though. I tend to follow rules.

Well, not never. I've never been caught, though.

Still, most of the things on this list don't trigger my wannago.

1. Ilha da Queimada Grande

Ilha da Queimada Grande, or “Snake Island,” is an island off the coast of Brazil that’s home to a rare and incredibly deadly species of snake called the golden lancehead... The snakes are so dangerous that the Brazilian government has forbidden people from visiting the area.

Right now, most of you are going NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. Personally, I think this would be cool (except for the venom part). I once visited a snake island near Antigua, and while the serpents there weren't venomous, a lot of people cowered in the boat. Me, I went actively looking for reptiles.

3. Ise Grand Shrine

The first iteration of this Shinto shrine in Japan was constructed around 2000 years ago, and since the late 7th century, it’s been torn down and rebuilt every two decades... While tourists can view it from the outside, the inside of the shrine is only accessible to the highest priestesses or priests.

This sort of thing is not uncommon in religion. Respecting it is one reason I tend to follow the "do not enter" rules. Still, I'd love to see it.

4. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault

No desire to go there. Not because it wouldn't be interesting, but because it's in fucking Svalbard.

5. The Vatican's Secret Archives

Established in 1612, the Vatican Apostolic Archive (formerly the Vatican’s Secret Archives) contains the personal documents of all the popes.

Fiction makes this place out to be a collection of everything the CC doesn't want the rest of us to know (which, in a way, it is), but the reality is probably far less interesting. Also, I'd wager few, if any, of the documents would be in the only language I can read fluently.

7. Uluru (Formerly Ayers Rock)

Following petitions from the Anangu people, the board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park finally announced plans in 2017 to ban hikers from the site for good.

Oh, good. Now do Bear Lodge (aka Devil's Tower).

10. Montserrat’s Designated Exclusion Zone

When the Soufrière Hills volcano awoke from dormancy in 1995, the nearby town of Plymouth was evacuated and eventually abandoned altogether as eruptions continued. Ash consumed the town, turning it in a modern-day Pompeii. While the volcano is not as destructive as it was a few decades ago, there’s a chance it could erupt again, which means more than half the island is still a designated exclusion zone.

I... well, I might have gone a foot or two (or maybe more) into the exclusion zone, just so I could say I did.

It remains the only active volcano I've watched (the ones in Hawai'i were inactive when I visited), so that's something, anyway.

12. Area 51

There are lots of places I won't go out of respect for the people involved. Then there's this place, which I won't go to out of respect for not wanting to get shot.

17. The Ethiopian Church That Claims to Hold the Ark of the Covenant

Ethiopia claims that it’s home to the Ark of the Covenant. It’s kept in a church in the city of Aksum that’s so closely guarded, even Indiana Jones would have trouble getting in.

Ethan Hunt wouldn't.

And then he'd be disappointed, because the Ark of the Covenant isn't there. But at least he could add it to his list of "places he went to that he shouldn't ought to have."