Today we did not only loose a great mountaineer and a friend. We lost an example what passion, motivation, dedication and living life to the fullest realy means. Erhard Loretan, thanks for being that example to all of us, my heart goes out to all his loved ones.

It’s great to be back in the arctic. It felt like coming home getting off the plane in Arctic Bay where my boat got frozen in during the Arktos Expedition. I will never forget that I had to walk more than 800km to get back on track. We are all in Resolute Bay now, enjoying the cold and the silence, that I missed so much.

We are almost ready to leave. 4 of the 7 YEP's have arrived in Ottawa. Felix, Rick and Ariane will join us at the airport tomorrow morning before flying north to Resolute Bay. Richard Weber delivered our shoes and I checked all the equipment. It's all go now. In less than 18 hours we will be north of the Arctic circle, then it is up to the YEP's to show us what they are made of.

I'm in Ottawa waiting for the YE's to arrive. It is wet and it has been raining most of the day. I can not wait to get up North to the cold, ice and snow.
We will have 24 hours of daylight but the temperatures will stay low. This is the most amazing time in the arctic when everything comes back to life. Where I feel alive….

Thanks to Quechua we didn't have to look for all our equipment on our own. And thanks to Luke we have a great list about all the needed gear. „Okay, no problem“, I've thought when I got it.

But the time for worries was still to come.
Right after receiving the list I started gathering the things. I'm somebody who loves packing weeks before leaving. This gives me somehow the feeling that it's going to start soon. When I now look back I'm really relieved that I did it like this. Otherwise I would have some problems now – because some of the gear took more than 5 weeks to arrive.

The best example are my shoes: I ordered the required boots in a shop nearby. Thinking about nothing bad I phoned the shop after 4 weeks (they had told me it would take 10 days to order the shoes), but they calmed me down telling me the shoes were on their way. After some more days without receiving the shoes my father started to worry, just 2 weeks left until the expedition starts! When he phoned the shop once more, the desaster was perfect: No way to get these shoes anywhere in Germany, all sold out. Okay, what now!? My whole family started to search similar boots on the internet. So we ordered 6 different pairs of boots hoping that one of them would fit. And luckily this has happened. In the third package I got I've found my personal perfect „north-pole-expedition-boots“. They look a bit different to the ones Luke has suggested but nevertheless I think they're perfect. Made for temperatures down to -40°C. This should be enough!

Well, now all my equipment is complete and I can't wait for the beginning of the expedition. I'm ready. Ready for an exciting adventure!

Saskia

Last Saturday I had the pleasure to give a talk about the Pangaea Expeditions, my trip, and environmental care for the River Plate in the SUDESTE sailing club.

I talked about my wonderful experience in Switzerland, what the project is about (aiming to motivate the youth present) but also, for everyone who was not in age to participate of an Expedition, I talked about the wonderful environment we ahve in the River Plate, and how sadly, we are not protecting enough.

I am also talking with the club about putting special bins for recycling plastic, a thing that may seem basic but that in my country is almost inexistant. The idea is to introduce this bins into all the sailing clubs I can.

There is a slight chance I am selected to give a talk at a TEDx comference for youth from 16 to 21, which is happening in May 7. I have to do a video telling my ideas/experiences and sent it to the organisators and if I am selected I would be one of the lecturers at the event. Hoping for it!

Greetings, Juli

Stephen Regenold, American journalist from the popular online magazine Gear Junkie has the wonderful opportunity to sail with Mike Horn aboard Pangaea for two days on the trip from San Francisco southwards to Los Angeles.

It was only a one and a half day sail from San Francisco to Los Angeles but it was full of wonderful sights and experiences for Pangaea's crew and guests. Check out the photos…

Time passes quickly! From Vancouver to Seattle, Seattle to San Francisco, San Francisco to Los Angeles. So many great places is so few days. The sun is shining in Los Angeles today and I am training for the Magnetic North Pole Expedition. Soon I'll be back on the ice bumping noses with the polar bears – I can't wait 🙂 Hope the Young Explorers are ready for a trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to Quechua we didn't have to look for all our equipment on our own. And thanks to Luke we have a great list about all the needed gear. „Okay, no problem“, I've thought when I got it.

But the time for worries was still to come. Right after receiving the list I started gathering the things. I'm somebody who loves packing weeks before leaving. This gives me somehow the feeling that it's going to start soon. When I now look back I'm really relieved that I did it like this. Otherwise I would have some problems now – because some of the gear took more than 5 weeks to arrive.

The best example are my shoes: I ordered the required boots in a shop nearby. Thinking about nothing bad I phoned the shop after 4 weeks (they had told me it would take 10 days to order the shoes), but they calmed me down telling me the shoes were on their way. After some more days without receiving the shoes my father started to worry, just 2 weeks left until the expedition starts! When he phoned the shop once more, the desaster was perfect: No way to get these shoes anywhere in Germany, all sold out. Okay, what now!? My whole family started to search similar boots on the internet.  So we ordered 6 different pairs of boots hoping that one of them would fit. And luckily this has happened. In the third package I got I've found my personal perfect „north-pole-expedition-boots“. They look a bit different to the ones Luke has suggested but nevertheless I think they're perfect. Made for temperatures down to -40°C. This should be enough!

Well, now all my equipment is complete and I can't wait for the beginning of the expedition. I'm ready. Ready for an exciting adventure!