Blog written by Shaya & Stephane

Today was the day everyone waited for! You might wonder why? Well, it's been a month and 9 days since we found out we would be partaking in the Pangaea Amazon Selection Camp in Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland with one the greatest explorer and adventurer; Mike Horn. Traveling from Haiti to Switzerland, catching 3 planes and a shuttle wasn't the easiest travel. Notwithstanding the long transit hours and the never-ending flight durations.

We landed from all over the world; jetlagged, sleepy and hungry… However, a burning excitement didn't fail to show in our facial expressions when we met the Mike Horn Team in the arrival hall at Geneva Airport. We finally met all of these dedicated people who constantly emailed us to make sure that everything goes well on our journey. It was amazing to meet all these amazing like minded individuals ready to EXPLORE, LEARN AND ACT.

Let's now talk about the snow. Yes the snow! See, it's a challenging moment when a Caribbean man stands on snowy hill to absorb the freezing snow. Hopefully, we will all get accustomed to this extremely cold weather. Presently, we are all settling fine. Tomorrow, we will start the camp in full swing. Not a second shall be wasted! I'm determined to absorb as much as possible. I'm ready to go outside of my comfort zone and take control of myself while pushing beyond the limits.

This selection camp will definitely be challenging. I already feel that it will also be 10 unforgettable days in Switzerland. Keep us in your thoughts and wish us plenty blessings! 🙂
 

I could not wipe the smile of my face as the flight attendant handed me over the counter all my boarding passes. All the way to Switzerland ! 4 planes and more than 30 hours of travelling. At 9.40am, my flight was boarding, I hugged my mum and sister and started walking towards the boarding gate (still with that smile on my face!) As I stepped onto the plane I knew it was the start of an amazing journey! I’ve been lucky to travel a lot from a very young age but this time, boarding the plane was different. It just seemed surreal… like `Woaw this is really happening!`

The Mike Horn team booked my ticket a week earlier from selection camp so that I could spend some time in Geneva. I use to live in Geneva and it was great to see my family and friends after 1 year of being in Australia. Everyone thought the Pangaea project was really cool! I did some training with my old triathlon club to keep fit and talked a lot with YEP Jeremy Basset (who is also in the club!)  which only made my excitment grow for the selection camp. Seeing Jeremy made me realise how cool the project is… how we can make great friends through the YEP community! I couldn’t wait to meet the other young explorers!

This morning, I got to the airport with the same butterflies in my stomach but suprisingly when I saw Michael, Alex and Tom at the arrivals it felt really natural. Just like if it was the exact place where I’m suppose to be. We then drove to Chateau D’Oex which was a magical experience, zigzaging through the mountains. Once there we were greeted by the team and I finally met one of my biggest inspirations Mike Horn. (His handshake is really firm! ) We got to talk to him a bit and he told us he was going to teach us how to never give up. I’m so pumped and ready to go for this selection camp! Anyways, I better go, all the other YEPS have arrived!

Blog written by Sarah HANUS

Only two days left!

Now there are only two more days left until I will leave Germany to take part at the Amazon Selection Camp in Switzerland! The tingling sensation in my stomach is growing more and more every hour! Today I found myself with a big smile on the face several times when I was thinking that in less than 48 hours I will meet all the other amazing young explorers!

Luckily, I already had the chance to talk to four of them, while developing a project which can be realised during the expedition to the Amazon. We had a lot of fun while skyping and I'm so glad seeing them face to face on Monday.

The idea we have focused on in our project is to improve the daily life of the people in the Amazon. We want to give people access to clean drinking water by handing out waterfilters to them. Did you know that 80% of all diseases come from contaminated water? That's why clean drinking water is so important!

Furthermore, I'm still doing researches about the Amazon and all kinds of environmental problems around the world. I also read “Latitude 0” by Mike Horn. This book is so amazing that it gave me a lot of energy for the preparation of the camp. Thanks Mike! 🙂

I carried on going jogging until Thursday, because afterwards my clothes had to be washed for the camp. Now all my clothes is washed and I laid out everything in my room. It looks a bit chaotic 😀

On my final shopping trio today, I bought the last things needed for Switzerland: one more pair of thermal underwear, German sweets, etc…

So I guess it's time for packing now! By the way, on Tursday it began to snow here! It's like nature already wanted to train me for the cold and snowy weather in Switzerland!

Today I woke up with the thought “only two days left” and can you guess what probably will be my first thought tomorrow? “Only one day left!”.

Then finally on Monday I will wake up thinking “Switzerland, here I come!” and this morning I will probably be one of the 18 happiest youths on Earth! Because who can be happier than the ones heading towards an unforgettable, challenging adventure?
I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Greetings from Germany,
Sarah 🙂

Blog written by Julia FONTANA DESINANO

It's unbelievable, the 30th of January is drawing near.

In the last week I took a few days of holiday with my family and we went to the beach. It was wonderful!! =)

It's been almost two years since i last went to the beach I had forgotten how Brazil is beautiful, a clean sea, hot water and fish, really nice.Even better is knowing that YEPS are studying about the Brazil.

I am really nervous and anxious about the trip, never traveled to another country alone, and especially to meet young people from around the world. I really like it!
Today I finished packing my bags! is one wonderful feeling! I can not wait to be with other young people in Switzerland!

We were divided into groups of 4 or 5 people and in these groups we had to create a project! I really liked, it was very good to talk and meet people before the trip, I think it will help a lot!

Is very nice to know that there are many people who are supporting me and trusting me, I hope does not disappoint them!

Is given the start! Selection Camp here we go!

The retreat of the Upsala Glacier from 1968-2011 is 10 Km. The retreat rate increased from 260m/yr in 1978-2008 to 750m/yr in 2009-2010 and to 2500m/yr in 2009-2010 (Only 121 days). While the Perito Moreno glacier just south stays stable. Thanks to Pedro for all this info.

2nd day on the Patagonian Ice field. Roped up to go far but to stay close! Who needs more space, this is not central station. The ice field is the biggest source of fresh water in this region.

Blog written by Robert Bobby COLEMAN

I'm Bobby Coleman. I'm 14 years old, and I live in Los Angeles, USA. This is my 2nd blog as we race to the finish line (or starting line) getting ready for a most amazing adventure in the 11th Switzerland Selection Camp!
A lot of things have come together since my last blog, and I kinda feel like I might be ready physically and mentally for the adventure ahead of us! (or maybe not…)

I have learned a lot about the Amazon that I hadn't known, but now I also know just how much there is to learn! For example, it is very easy to come up with plans like rotating crops to save the soil, but then you find out that many farmers are forced off their land after only two years by wealthy landowners, and you realize there's always more variables to the situation.

A lot has grown in the social media aspect. Like I stated in my last blog, I had set up a YouTube account. I wasn't sure how well it would work out, but as I started to post videos, I started getting a lot of positive feedback. (which is VERY rare for YouTube!) I got my channel up to 74 subscribers and 1,300 video views! After that happened, my FaceBook and Twitter started going up. FaceBook is now at 500 friends and Twitter 1035.

I honestly haven't had as much time for Physical training as I wished. I had hiked a lot but never backpacked, and never tested my fitness on a really steep trail. So I loaded a backpack with heavy rocks and picked a steep trail. I've attached a picture.

Pangaea taught me about the terrible Shark Finning problem – 73 million sharks mutilated and left to die for soup every year. But California banned it this month – so I researched how that happened and wrote it up, hoping other places could ban it too.

I also found what could be a great environmental project in our town. One trash company separates and recycles 80% of all mixed trash. I want to talk individuals and cities into using them, so recycling becomes easy and automatic.

TNT! TNT stands for The Nature Team, or to be more specific, Take No Trees! Our proposed project, “Life Water,” is centered around sustaining peoples lives in the Amazon by bringing them the most common thing they have – water…just in a form that will bring life contrary to their common polluted and sometimes deadly water. Right now I have proposed the LifeStraw, a simple device that filters 99.99% of all bacteria as you suck polluted water through it. It has been awesome planning and forming this project with such great and knowledgeable people! And I get to meet them all in three days!

My excitement is growing by the minute!

Bobby

My first sighting of the Southern Patagonian ice field. Another amazing day in the office!!!

Hey Everyone!

You should take a look at my calendar! It's packed with things to do and little notes for myself so I don’t miss or forget anything!

This week is extremely busy, and the only thing that is running through my mind is the Selection Camp. Preparations are at their peak! Once my minor injury that I mentioned in my last blog stopped hurting, I went straight back to riding my bike and swimming. I've been riding my bike everywhere almost every day for the past two weeks, it's incredible, on-road, off-road, I just love it!

Last weekend I went on a hike in the Judean Desert with my group of children that I guide. It was awesome, we had perfect weather and the children did very well.

We slept outdoors and cooked a dinner on a bonfire.

It was a great opportunity to take a step back from all the pressure and just to enjoy the quite and calm environment of the desert. We saw many different kinds of birds and some Hyraxes, which are always amusing to come across.

I can't wait for Monday to arrive, it's gonna be epic!

Cheers from Israel!

Check out more blogs and photos from our Young Explorers

Africa Geographic feature a two page special feature on Mike Horn and the Pangaea Expedition in their latest December 2011 January 2012 edition.

To read the article click here…

Three new voice blogs have come in from the Young Explorers as they trek across a Patagonian ice field with Mike Horn. The group is covering huge distances in very short time as bad weather is expected to come in soon.

Hear their blogs here…

Blog from Henko Roukema

Blog from Catherine Meyer

Blog  from Ansgar Fellenforf

To view more go to Event Archives