Blog Written by Theresa & Ansgar Sunday 15/01/12

With Mike Horn and Pangaea, every day is different and full of memorable moments.
Today, after a short night, the bus brought us to a small harbour. There we boarded the catamaran comfortable boat, which carried us to the Estancia Cristina within the National Park “Los Glaciares”.

We were more than excited for our first icebergs in the Lake Argentino and the untouched glaciers. Minute by minute we got closer to the massive Upsala Glacier and the excitement grew. Finally we witnessed the icebergs, huge pieces of frozen water floating in the ice. Thinking that only one tenth is above the surface, we were stunned by their size! Every single one had its unique shape.

We have had great geography lessons from Gosia- our Polish teacher- and an introduction on glaciers of Pedro Skvarca- the most important scientist of the region. They couldn´t prepare us for the real experience, though. There was a kilometre wide wall of ice facing us. The whole landscape looked unreal, like a perfect postcard picture: the yellow sun shining, light blue clear water in front of the big white glacier, that was surrounded by high snow-covered mountains. We were seriously stunned!

Then we got on land and started a 14km- hike. The landscape changed from one moment to another. We were able to see pure lakes surrounded by trees, then underneath of us stretched the famous glacier with its long tongue. The lake´s colour reminded a bit of the Caribbean. Pedro was able to show us how the glacier has changed over the last 40 years. Nowadays it´s about 6km shorter than in the 60s! We learnt a lot about his research done in Patagonia. The unspoiled view we will never forget.

Later on in a valley full of fossils we learnt about the tectonic plates and the creation of the Andes.
The canyon´s colours were incredible: there was orange, red, and brown in all shades seen on the rocks.

We nine YEPs enjoyed an incredible day in the wonderful surroundings of Patagonia, one of the most beautiful places in the world!

The world has so much beauty. All we have to do is open our eyes!!!

Blog Written by Henko Roukema

The past few days have been a blur! After we spent the night in town ; explore ring the culture of the locals of argentinia we made our way to the airport at 4am! our flight arrived at El Calafate at about 11 in the morning. Because of the great weather conditions the pilot was aloud to circle around the Fritz Roy peaks and the glaciers for which Patagonia is famous for! Wow what an amazing sight!

As we arrived at our hostel we were greeted by the most amazing photos of the surrounding area of Patagonia, this just made us more excited to start exploring the area! after a very nice lunch, we made or way to the glaciaramium, a museum about the history of the south patagonia ice field and how the great explorers discovered and the famous expeditions that has happened!

Pedro Skvarca shared his knowledge with us about the research and discoveries he made exploring the ice field over about 40 years. This was a real treat learning from a man with such knowledge! After the visit to the museum we had a traditional dinner at the hostel we are staying in! Tomorrow will be really exciting as we are going to visit the Upsula glacier and going for a 14km hike to the valley of the fossils.

Sometimes humans are called monkeys! I wonder why? Because a monkey will never kill the mother that feeds him "The Earth".

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Blog written by George Hobson Erskine LEGGET

A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP

Ever since I opened my email inbox on the 22nd of December my mind has been buzzing with all the thoughts, tasks, questions and excitement of the incredible opportunity that lies in front of me. I can hardly believe it is real, but in just 16 days I will get on a plane to begin the adventure of a lifetime. I have thought about this for many years ever since I was lucky enough to meet Mike Horn and the Pangaea team in my home town of Auckland after their expedition to Fiordland, an amazing wilderness in southern New Zealand. I have been totally inspired by how the Pangaea project has progressed and I am absolutely blown away to think that I now have a chance to be a part of it.

I have learnt from reading Mike Horn’s account of his self-powered circumnavigation of the globe around the equator, ‘Latitude Zero,’ that the only way to tackle giant challenges is to break them down into smaller, more achievable goals. So I have been trying to break things down into small steps and get through the myriad of tasks, for example getting various certificates, insurance, contacting the press, meeting with my headmaster and also focusing on the gear that I need to take to Switzerland. In between times, I have been doing a lot of research on the Amazon rainforest and the challenges it faces, and its incredible importance to the entire world. I am really excited about the prospect of learning about this from world experts and applying that knowledge in order to make a difference in the future.

I have also been trying to prepare myself physically and mentally for what I know will be a very challenging but fulfilling camp by running, cycling and swimming. I am literally jumping out of my skin with excitement, and I cannot wait to meet the 17 other like-minded explorers from all over the world in Switzerland very soon!

In my preparation, I keep reminding myself of the Ancient Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” I know that this is the journey of a lifetime, with an awesome opportunity to become part of the global community of ambassadors spreading the message to protect our planet for the future.

Thank you for the chance to take the next steps in this incredible journey!

Packing to leave, or unpacking to stay! Which one do you prefer? I prefer unpacking to leave. Too much ties us down.

Blog writen by Rick Kotz

The morning started out with a thorough gear check to see what we still needed in order to be fully prepared for our Patagonia expedition. It was great to see Mike passionately talking about all the different types of clothing, and it was clear to see that he had loads of experience in the field.

After preparing a list of what we still needed we set off to the Parque Ecologico de Temaiken. Temaiken is a ecological foundation which combines the wonders of the land and the ocean in a mixture of zoo and aquarium. We were fortunate enough to be allowed access to the 'back stage' of Temaiken, and were given a tour of how the vets mange the aquarium. A personal highlight for me was seeing how the rays and skates are nursed from birth until they are big enough to fend for themselves in the larger public display tanks. We were given the opportunity to personally hand the baby skates, which were no bigger than the palm of my hand. Although the animals were surprisingly social, we were under close supervision to ensure that we handle them properly. Having such a close up and personal experience with an animal which I had previously been able to admire only from a distance was absolutely fantastic.

The whole Temaiken experience was a great success, and we hope to stay in contact with the organization. We have already spoken about possible future plans for Pangaea in Argentina, including a project in Onunu close to the majestic Iguazzu Falls.

It was great to see that the people of Argentina shared our passion for nature and that they were so willing to work with us. I am beyond excited to get to see more of this diverse country, and explore the colder climates of the south.

Tomorrow morning we are off to El Calafate, where the real adventure will begin.

Blog written by Julia FONTANA DESINANO

It is very interesting to think that at this same time there are other 17 YEP around the world in the same situation as me .. preparing for the Selection Camp, which will definitely be one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life!

The best thing is to know that these people have the same principles and ideas than I do, we are all trying to make a difference in the world, make it in some way better, cleaner and more enjoyable for human and animal life.

The other day I had the first Skype conference with my YEP friends Yoav (Israel) and Shruthi (Nova Zelandia). It was very interesting! At the beginning we were all a bit embarrassed but throughout the conversation things became better, we discussed possible projects in Brazil. It is very cool to see different ideas, and even nicer to know that it will happen here in my country!

Brazil is a fantastic country, but in need of attention, especially in the Amazon region. Being a very large region, we can't know what's going on there. The deforestation size and problems with the fauna and flora are enormous. The communities who live on the borders of rivers, often suffer also from such problems, they are very poor, with little education and without health structure.

I am very happy to know that there are young people who are gathering together to care a little for this forest, and I'm even happier to be able to join this group!
I'm really excited for the camp! I am a bit afraid of the cold, here in Brazil we are in the middle of summer and I've never been in such a cold place like Switzerland. This will be one more obstacle to overcome!

The physical and psychological preparation is also being intense! I am making some conversation classes in English, to be more prepared! and running and cycling all the time!

I cannot wait to meet all other YEP members and know what they are thinking about the Amazon and the possible solutions!

Blog written by Sarah HANUS

Running, Research & Co.

Hi everybody out there! First of all I would like to introduce myself! I'm Sarah, I live in the north part of Germany and I'm a very enthusiastic and motivated teenager with the dream of making the world a better place and going to the Amazon! That's why I applied for the Amazon Expedition. Now there are only three weeks left until the Selection Camp and though I haven't really realised it yet. I never thought 2012 could start so exciting for me!

Let's take a brief review.

19th of December: I was waiting to recieve the message whether I was chosen for the Selection Camp or not. I checked my mailbox impatiently about every hour. Nothing. I even woke up at 5am and checked my mailbox, still nothing. I was about to go crazy!

20th of December: I was still checking my mailbox, more impatiently now. Then I saw the mail: "CONGRATULATIONS! You have been successful in your application for the Pangaea Young Explorers Program“. I had to read it twice until I realised the meaning of this message. Then I completely freaked out, cutting capers in my room! I would go to Switzerland! It was such a great feeling and I was running around the whole day with that big smile in face.

This mail was followed by many more and after two days I was completely overloaded by all the information and things to be done. But with a To-Do list everything gets more organised.

I gathered together all the information I had about the Amazon and Brazil. Afterwards I went to the library to get some books about Brazil and I started reading. I also began to research in the internet and with every picture I saw and every sentence I read my excitement was growing! How great would it be seeing this huge river with the rainforest at his shore with my own eyes? And afterwards spreading my experience in my town, region and country?

But it also made me sad getting to know more about all the problems existing in the Amazon Region. I began to feel guilty for it, because we humans destroy something so beautiful. But it's not only nature's beauty that we destroy but our own basis of life. If we don't act quikly it will probably be too late. I think every human on this planet should be aware of the environmental problems and should make a little change, because I believe that if everybody of us 7 billion people changes a bit, we can make this planet a better place! I also started thinking about how we could preserve the Amazon Region from further deforestation and what kind of project could be realised during the expedition. Sometimes I already start to think in English! That's crazy!

What more am I doing for the preparation of the camp? Well, I try to get in a good physical condition by running every second day, going by bike to school, doing push-ups and sit-ups. I think I've never done so much sport in so short time before!

Furthermore, I try to get the equipment for the camp together, but fortunately I have got most of it due to skiing nearly every year. Last but not least I'm trying to get to know the other 17 Young Explorers better. It's great getting to know so many teenagers from everywhere around the world who all have the same goals! They are really amazing and motivated persons. I'm so happy to see them in 3 weeks! I think, we will have a great time together in Chateau-d'Oex! I'm so excited about all the challenges and adventures! These 10 days will be a life changing and unforgettable experience!