Blog written by Robert Finney

Our day started off with an early morning mountain bike ride around beautiful Chateau d'Oex. It was quite difficult to wake up following a late party with the "old" Young Explorers. We followed back roads and dirt paths along a river to the nearby village of Rougement and then cruised back at high speeds along
the main road.

After a quick breakfast, we split into groups and began working on editing our videos on water conservation. Each group had to finish editing its video for a presentation in the evening. We struggled to finish on time, but everyone got their videos done.

Martin taught the other groups about navigating with maps and compasses. We learned about topographical maps, contour lines, taking bearings, and plotting locations on a map. Then Martin gave us six points around Chateau d'Oex that we had to pinpoint on the map and then hike to. After a couple of hours of hiking through tall grass and barbed wire, everyone found the points and returned to Hotel de Ville. This was great preparation for the raid because we will have to navigate tricky terrain under lots of stress. We could already see the difficulties of finding checkpoints with only a map and compass because we
easily got lost in the forest.

After another delicious dinner, we showed our videos. Everyone was impressed and it was a great way to exhibit our creativity in raising awareness about water conservation. One of the most engaging and funny videos was a rap to the sounds of turning off showers and sinks.

Once the videos were shown, Martin and Luke gave us information about the raid starting tomorrow. We're all so excited about the raid… for many of us it's the first proper adventure race we will participate in. It will include kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, zip lining, navigation, and a lot of teamwork. We'll be split into two groups and the winning group will have to work together and finish as a team. We celebrated Kate's birthday (again) with delicious carrot cake and a Kiwi specialty called Tim Tams. Everyone is off to bed early tonight in preparation for an exhausting and action-packed day tomorrow!

Blog written by Valerie and Muhammad Haidharul

A day that starts as amazingly as it ends is one worth remembering. We started off this morning with the church run, a famous tradition of the young explorers that involves a relay up the steep town’s iconic old church steps. The additional pressure of your team counting on you to push yourself to do your best made it as intense as it was rewarding (if not super exhausting!).

After a well-deserved breakfast, we ventured out with PANGAEA’s scientific consultant, Dr. Roswitha Stoltz of the University of Munich. We ascended an astounding glacial lake about 30 minutes from Chateau d’Oex. At the lake, a few brave young explorers waded into the ice-cold waters to collect samples used in our water quality tests. When analysis is finished, the data goes to the database at the University of Munich. We looked at water temperature, conductivity, and oxygen levels … as well as a few snowball fights. Coming from South Africa, it was Nadine’s first time seeing snow, which made it more exciting for all of us.  Even for those of us who were accustomed to snow and ice, the amazing glacial waterfall nearby the lake didn’t fail to amaze.

We looked at more water samples after lunch and did some chemical tests. Then we went for a rock climb. Rock climbing was not only a blast, but its principles really tie into the PANGAEA mission. Every time you think you’ve reached your limit on the wall, your partner tells you that you can go a little further and physically push yourself higher. It was a great combination of the mental and physical challenges.

Later in the day, a group of alumni young explorers who had each made the trip to Château-d’Oex from all over Europe for our camp spoke to us about action projects and past expeditions. It’s one thing to hear from the team here how amazing these projects can be, but it’s quite another to see how our peers are walking the talk. Their projects and ideas are inspiring new ideas in us.

Our day ended with a big PANGAEA family barbeque in the woods, conversations around the campfire, and a spirited celebration of Kate’s 21st birthday. It was a social combination of the current selection campers, past young explorers, and the Mike Horn expedition team. We’re so grateful for the effort the team has put in for our party in the woods, and everything else they have arranged for us this week. It’s still hard to believe we’re here. It’s all going so fast.

Though we can guarantee we won’t forget the French rap (with compliments from Tanguy), headlamp-strobe-lights, and the new friendships we are forming. With only a few days left, we’re going to make the most of our short time and give it our all. Wish us luck!

Blog written by Kate Wootton and Alyssa Stapleton

After our morning bike ride we met Roswitha, our scientist, who introduced us to the environment and ecosystem of Namibia and South Africa, our planned destinations for the expedition. Dry, dry and dry by the sounds of things! But interesting none the less, with lots of endemic species to look out for. Next we focused on water which, as such a rare resource in this area, will play a large part in our expedition. After discussing the many issues surrounding water projects, we got to play chemists and test a variety of mystery liquids for properties such as pH, conductivity and the presence of chemicals such as amonium to determine how safe they were to drink. It turns out that by drinking water standards, Coca-cola is not a safe liquid for consumption with a pH of 3!

During the day all the old young explorers have been showing up to share the weekend with us and pass the torch onto us! It`s been exciting and inspiring hearing their stories and adventures from past selection camps, expeditions and action projects afterwards. Finally we got to share our own projects which we`ve been working on since before camp. We had four presentations on water, sanitation, malaria and first aid. All groups did a stellar job (even the weather agreed with quite a show of thunder and lightning in the middle) and we`re looking forward to implementing these projects on the expedition!

Blog written by Nadine Schutte & Oliver Engelhart

After receiving our Mike Horn pocket knifes from the Wenger representative last night, we went to sleep expecting to be woken up by the team for some mid-night exercise, but thank god we weren't, but today we were warned to sleep ready for anything!

Today we woke up with a slight break to the normal scheduled and headed out to lake Geneva. There we started our sailing adventure with the Panerai sailing experts. Ollie and his twin, Seb, being keen sailors themselves, helped out on their team boats by showing the others what to do. They assisted the instructors by helping teach the Young Explorers about some of the basics like knot tying and simple tacking and gybing.
For Nadine who has never been on a boat before, the experience was extra ordinary. The feeling of slicing through the water effortlessly was unique and she cant wait to do it again. Even though there wasn't that much wind we all had a blast and wish that we continue the adventure on PANGAEA in Africa.

Over our picnic lunch at the lake we invented a new game of Orangina bowling. The game consisted of empty Orangena cans being set up in the traditional bowling pyramid. We then plugged another can full of water and attempted to knock out the pins. As simple and environmentally friendly games go, this one was easy to set up and all 16 of us got a turn to have a strike at the cans. The game turned out to be quite challenging and entertaining for everyone.
 

Blog written by Trevor Dougherty of University of Carolina (UNC Chapel Hill):

Today was an eventful and exciting day, just like every other day at the PANGEA Young Explorers Program Africa Expedition Selection Camp! From fitness tests to a seminar on sharks, we have been very busy.

We traveled to a sports field in Chateau-d’Oex to finish our physical fitness tests with specialists from the Mayo Clinic. The Cooper Test was a big challenge for all of us, as we had to run as far as we possibly could in 12 minutes. For this we ran laps around a small football field. We also did other tests like push ups, single-leg balance, and squats. While we were glad to be finished with the tests, we have had a great time with the Mayo Clinic doctors and we will miss them when they leave us later this week.

Another highlight of the day was Nic “Moose” Good’s workshop on video production. He taught us the basics of working with video cameras, including several of the clever tricks used by the PANGAEA media team. He also gave us a special video assignment that we will all be working on in the next few days …stay tuned!

Finally, Young Explorers Program coordinator Michael Scholl gave us a detailed presentation about sharks. He gave us a colorful background on the biology and evolution of these animals, and told us all about the global problem of shark finning. It was truly inspiring to hear about all the research and conservation work that Mr. Scholl has done as a shark scientist, including the discovery of an adventurous shark named Nicole.

Now we are all exhausted, but we must get to sleep fast because another big day awaits us tomorrow. We’re going to Lausanne for a sail on Lake Geneva.

There is so much enthusiasm here at the Mike Horn Expedition Center Headquarters. We hope you can feel it from wherever you are reading this!

-Trevor

Woke up to a full day of the Mercedes-Benz eco-driving experience. But first of course we were in for some early morning exercise. Up at 6:30, ready to go at 7.  We took a short jog led by Luke to a mysterious location in the middle of the woods. Turns out we were going to an off-road fitness park for some varied exercises. Everyone worked hard and completed the drills (chin-ups, dips, aerial rings, foot-fires, slalom) to the best of their ability.

Next, back to Hotel de Ville for a quick shower, then breakfast. After our morning rituals, we went upstairs for our introduction to Mercedes-Benz eco-driving. We were introduced to Michael and Dirk, split into two groups and we alternated between driving and learning about Eco/Blue future technology. This was all very well for nine of the people in the group but unfortunately the two of us (among others) don’t have a driver’s license! So, we sat by idly and watched as they had fun experimenting with these amazing cars. (Not that we didn’t learn our fair share so we’ll be able to apply once we finally do become legal!)

We were initially introduced to two different models and we awaited the chance to drive (or ride in) the F-cell car. For those of you who don’t know, the F-cell is a Hydrogen fuel cell system and emits zero carbon dioxide. This is very exciting stuff as the F-cell isn’t yet on the market and there are only around 15 F-cells in existence, only for testing use!  But Mercedes has begun production this year and although they are rare, what’s even more exciting is their readiness for the streets!

In the afternoon we compared the efficiency of each driver’s fuel consumption from the morning with the afternoon test drive. After learning about the six silver rules of eco-driving all but one driver (not naming any names!) improved their efficiency. On top of more test driving we built mini fuel cell cars in two groups. It was extremely fascinating to see how this top of the line technology works.

Just before dinner, we settled down the Geberit presentation. Therés Meyer told us about Geberit’s unique sustainability projects and their loyal relationship as a major sponsor of the PANGAEA program. We saw the importance of their work and got to view some footage from India Expedition, where they worked with Geberit on site for water sanitation and conservation.

To conclude the evening’s events Dr. Heid Johng gave us a morbidly fascinating presentation on Eco-Fitness and “glob-e-sity”.

A personal highlight of ours was the amazing dinner that Chef Debbie made consisting of baked potato skins stuffed with the mashed potato insides plus tuna and cheese. Scrumptious!

Blog written by Nadja (Serbia) and Anika (Germany):

Our first day in Château-d'Oex started off with a morning jog. It was quite intense and most of us were extra tired because we went too bed late. Running uphill was quite challenging and the high altitude didn’t make it any easier — but we all made it back to the hotel on our feet!

After an excellent breakfast we divided into two groups for two sessions — the Mayo Clinic Fitness Testing, and the Journalism and Social Media Training workshop with Mary, Mike's communication director. The fitness testing was a great experience pushing ourselves to the limits and learning more about our bodies. It wasn’t easy but the support of other team members helped us endure all tests. During the Social Media Training we practiced speaking in public, in front of cameras, and learned how to reach out to the press. We had a lot of fun listening and advising each other on how to represent ourselves and the PANGAEA program as best as we can when we return to our countries at representatives.

Later in the evening, we had a photography session with Dmitry, Mike's photographer, during which we learned techinques for improving our pictures in the future. Afterwards we went outside to take photographs and implement what we had learned.

All of us are quite tired and trying to rest after a great first day at the 12 PANGAEA Selection Camp. We are ready for the days to come!

-Nadja and Anika

Blog written by Agustina Cozzitorto of Del Viso, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Only a few days until the long-awaited moment. The final details are being completed and soon I will embark on an experience that happens only once in lifetime. My luggage is almost prepared, my physical condition is ready to give my best, and my mind is 100% focused on the next 10 days. Today I’m in Argentina but soon I will be in the Swiss Alps. It still sounds like a dream to me!

I cannot imagine the amount of extremely interesting information I will learn at the selection camp. With three of my peers, I am preparing a project on Malaria in Africa to present at camp. This disease transmitted by mosquitoes takes the life of thousands of people every year, mostly children less than five years of age.

I've already had the opportunity to make a journalistic note in my community asking for the support of my neighbors interested in my participation in the PANGAEA program, and Mike Horn's concept. Fortunately, many people showed interest and some even agreed to help by donating first aid kits or medications to take to the expedition in Africa.

I really feel that this program is opening many doors for me already, and a concern for nature and the world that surrounds us is becoming one of the most important things in my life.

A simple dream can come true and may end up being something much bigger than we had expected.

Africa Selection Camp here I come!

-Agustina

Guarujà, Santos, Brazil, South America

Almost four years ago to the day, Pangaea returns to her birth place in Santos on the east coast of Brazil. Mike and his crew find a secure mooring in Gaurujà just meters away from where Pangaea tasted salt water for the very first time.

Mike is happy to see the same friendly faces once again and will take advantage of this stop-over to have some maintenance and renovation work done on Pangaea.