Visitors are jamming tiny coins into the gaps between the stones, and these coins are discolouring the stones as iron, nickel and copper leach out of them. There's a copycat element as people see others shoving coins between the stones and do the same themselves.
It's hard to see what the motive is for this "coin stuffing". They'll never see the coins again and probably will have forgotten all about them a week later. Tour guides warn visitors not to leave coins, but the problem persists.
Unfortunately tourist vandalism is very common. Graffiti, love locks, stealing cobblestones, carving names on ancient monuments. There's a general lack of respect for the places they're visiting and too much mindless self-indulgence.
It would be a shame if popular tourist sites are routinely closed to the public because vandalism has got out of hand. A spectacular canyon in Iceland, featured in Game of Thrones, is now closed to visitors after a huge influx of tourists has damaged vegetation and trails. Iceland as a whole is now so fashionable it's buckling under the same tourist deluge as many other places.
Where will it all end?
Pic: the Giants Causeway
Some people are just thoughtless jackasses, and don't stop being so when they go on vacation. It's hard to know what to do about it. Governments many need to put places with real cultural value that suffer from vandalism off-limits to visitors, as with the canyon in Iceland, or at least block them off so they can only be viewed from some distance.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I was talking to a guy who happened to be sitting next to me on a bus, and he mentioned he was going to China soon and planned to chip off a piece of the Great Wall to take as a souvenir. I didn't say anything, but I hoped they would catch him.
Infidel: Yes, viewing only from a distance seems like a good idea. I hope they caught the idiot who wanted a bit of the Great Wall.
DeleteThis tourist vandalism seems to have gotten worse since the pandemic - more Brits holidaying in the UK?!
ReplyDeleteI don't know. When did we all start behaving like sheep, or lemmings?
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Ms Scarlet: There's a lot of sheep-like behaviour. Why on earth shove coins between stones just because you see someone else doing it?
DeleteWhat a shame. When I’ve seen pictures of cities in Europe, I’m surprised by the graffiti. Here, it’s always trash left behind.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: The graffiti trend shows no sign of dying out. We were shocked at the amount of graffiti when we were in Rome many years ago.
DeleteI don't understand the mentality disrespect. I do know it is growing.
ReplyDeleteSandra: It is. Some people feel free to abuse and vilify anyone they like.
DeletePeople, mostly younger people think they can just do whatever they want these days. There's no respect for anyone or anything.
ReplyDeleteMary: There was a healthy disrespect for authority when I was growing up. But now that's developed into sheer selfishness and arrogance.
DeleteI like the "leave no trace" practice. Take only pictures; leave only footprints.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: That's a useful rule of thumb. Why are photos not good enough for some people?
DeleteNick, putting coins between stones has no sense, but I hope the graffiti trend will nevee stop. I would miss all those wonderful artists some already passed away and others still alive. For me it's art and I saw heartbreaking graffitis all over the world. I blame more the tourist crowds in Venice or other places eating their hot dogs and drinking in plastic cups. That's the real vandalism .
ReplyDeleteHannah
Hannah: Some graffiti is wonderful, but a lot of graffiti is just meaningless scrawls. Indeed, hot dogs and plastic cups in beautiful surroundings are a sort of sacrilege.
DeleteWhat a strange thing to do. I wonder why.
ReplyDeleteLiz: I think many of them are just doing what everyone else is doing. Mindless copycats!
DeleteI stole a small piece on concret from Alcatraz
ReplyDeleteJohn: You're a very naughty boy. Put it back immediately!
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