Blog written by Shruthi

Back in highschool, I loved playing football for my school. Here in the Amazon, it has been such fun playing football and kicking a ball around with the local children. However, something I still fail to comprehend is the fact that every 11 seconds, a piece of land the size of a football field is cut down in the Amazon forest.

We’ve just begun sailing down the mighty Amazon river, and already we can see a stark difference in the density of the forest compared to that surrounding the Rio Negro. Patches of deforested land look completely out of place, unnatural, and what we’ve seen is barely the tip of the iceberg.

Today however, we had an opportunity to make a small difference to the huge problem of deforestation that the Amazon faces. We journeyed to a nearby farm where we learnt about the difficulties Brazilian people face. Balancing the need to secure a source of income and not deforest the Amazon can be a tricky trade-off, however we were able to contribute to a sustainable solution. We planted Guarana trees in land that had been previously been logged. These trees will be used to produce several consumables and produce income for the locals, without them having to cut down further forest. Between these trees we planted various native trees such as rubber and fruit trees, which further contribute to a sustainable source of income for the local people.

It was a beautiful experience feeling the roots hugging our fingers, having mud caked over hands and knowing that these seedlings that we held in our hands would soon grow into mighty trees. Much in the same way, Pangaea has nurtured us over the last 20 days and provided us with such incredible experiences to grow as people.

I feel so grateful for everything we’ve experienced thus far, the journey has truly opened my eyes, mind and heart to a new level, and I hope one day we can play football, without any worry of deforestation.
 

Blog written by Shaya

Every single night aboard the Pangaea is an unforgettable experience! For 15 days we have slept in places we never dreamt of sleeping in. From the sail bag, to the bow under the stars, every night lets you drift off into a profound magical sleep surrounded by dark water and jungle; that is when sleep finally hits you because this expedition is way better than any wild dream and everyone fights hard to stay awake in order to experience every minute to the fullest.

This morning, however, was slightly different, as this night had set place to our first watches. Waking up at 3.30 am in the complete darkness of the Rio Negro is unreal! Surprisingly you find yourself wanting to wake up and learn all about the radars, barometers and the rest of the tools that make Pangaea advance smoothly downstream.

After a few hours of sleep after the watches, it was back to sailing, When Mike Horn wants a sail hoisted, he wants it done fast! When we hear “hoist the main sail” the boat scatters into a buzz of excitement as we progressively see the main sail get closer to the top with our efforts.

One of the most important things we have learned through sailing is precision. Any uncalculated movement could lead to damage for the boat. It is through teamwork that we achieve this precision and it is always with a sense of achievement that we proudly see this enormous sail blow with the wind. Rapidly our boat becomes alive!

On deck as the wind blows through our hair and the sun kisses our skin, we still have trouble believing this journey is not a dream. Everyday we push our personal barriers and try new things. Each night we go to sleep excited about the surprise tomorrow holds!
 

Blog written by Yoav

PANGAEA has reached the farthest point a sailing boat of its size has ever reached. Last night we turned around at St. Isabel back down the Rio Negro, towards our final destination, Belem.

This morning started of with a nice paddle on our canoes and paddleboards down river. Everyone had good control over their means of transportation and enjoyed every moment as we floated across the vast green trees of the rainforest. Once we arrived back at the boat, we had a small snack and quickly continued sailing to make progress and cover distance. We have so much to do, in short time, and a big distance to cover.

In the afternoon Mike taught us how to use the climbing gear in order to climb the ropes all the way up the main mast. It’s a 35 meter climb! We were all excited to learn, because none of us had done it before. Once we understood how to use the equipment and had it all set, we prepared to start the climb. At first we climbed to the first stay on the mast. Everyone did it well, which brought the next challenge. On the climb up the whole mast we split into pairs. It was a competition. We were keen to get to the top as fast as we could. Climbing with the equipment can be tricky; you need to control the technique very well. At the end, Tim achieved the best results; he climbed all the way up in 2:27 minutes!

Everyone is extremely excited for the rest of the expedition, we are currently sailing non-stop for a day and a half down the Rio Negro in order to connect to the mighty Amazon River. Once we arrive at the Amazon River, we would have many activities all around. There’s much to do and much to see, we all know that it’ll be absolutely incredible.
 

Blog written by Lani van Niekerk

It is official. The halfway point in our expedition has marked our slow transition into true explorers. Us Young Explorers have learnt to handle the sails of PANGAEA, we handle machetes instead of blunt butter knives and we navigate instead of wandering aimlessly.

Today we were fortunate enough to learn more about the native Indian tribes of the Amazon. Our newfound friend, Christina, showed us beautiful pictures of Yanomami tribe. Santa Isabel is home to many of these indigenous people. Christina has worked closely with them for over 20 years – thus she could share some interesting facts about them. The children are taught to hunt from the moment they are able to hold a bow and arrows! Many of these tribes have barely had contact with modern civilization. This made me realize how nature plays an integral part in their existence. I could not help but reflect on our modern (and often extremely materialistic) ways of life.

A bunch of the Young Explorers got creative in the kitchen and made some lunch from goodies that were purchased locally in Santa Isabel. This gave us the energy we needed to embark on a journey upriver to visit a tribe. The boat trip was long, but incredibly beautiful as we cruised along pristine parts of the rainforest. Mike mentioned that there is much less wildlife in the area compared to what he saw about 20 years ago. It is a pity that humans do not respect nature as they once did.

Meeting the tribe was quite an experience. They were a lot more shy than the other communities that we reached out to. At first, there was a bit of awkwardness between the tribe and the Young Explorers, but that was soon left behind when we started to play a bit of football. We were pleasantly surprised by the skills of the little kids! We had the chance to give them a water filter system that was sponsored by our wonderful friends at Katadyn. I believe that this will help to better the general health of the people who live there.
We enjoyed another scenic cruise back to PANGAEA on a local pirogue. Mike decided to bid Santa Isabel goodbye with a flourish of our vessel’s sails! We grinded the main sail into place as we headed downstream. This is the first time that a sailboat of this size has traveled this far upriver. The locals were really interested to see such a majestic boat!

Sailing downstream gave us time to appreciate the beauty of our surrounds. Dark clouds were looming on the horizon. Flickers of lightning lit up the sky as we began our journey to Belem. The wind started whipping through our hair, warning us that a rainstorm is approaching. Within minutes the heavens opened and we were soaked in our attempt to clear away our dinner plates! The Amazon has really proven the power of nature and the elements! It was so humbling to stand under an endless, flashing sky as we sailed into the darkness of the Rio Negro.

Blog written by Julia

Today in the mooring, after breakfast we separated into two groups: one called Starboard and the other called Port. The first exercise was to jump in the water with the rope, each team with 5 people, the objective being to hold on for as long as possible. The team that wins is the one which loses only 2 of the 5 people. I was in the Starboard team and we make a strategy, I was in front of the rope, and the stronger boys were at the back, so they can reserve more energy for the end. The strategy was good and my team won. But in the next exercise, a team can lose 3 of the 5 people, and in this exercise, the Port team were more intelligent and they won. After these exercises on the amazing Rio Negro, we did same push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups on PANGEA.

When we had finished the physical activities we stopped the boat in Santa Isabel, a small city on the banks of the Rio Negro. As we rounded the corner at first we could only see small houses with simple people living from the river. However, we soon found a big bridge and a relatively large city to moor PANGAEA. Mike told us that there was nothing here when he last visited 20 years ago. It was incredible to see the development which leads to devastating deforestation. We spoke to the local indigenous people and tried to set up a meeting to see the Yanamanis Tribe. Unfortunately they do not like too much contact with the outside world so they did not want us to visit them.We explained that we only wanted to exchange cultures peacefully and that we were group of 10 young people from all over the world, however they still did not oblige. After returning to the boat, we went to the Chumbinho`s houses to talk to the man who organises the tribes interactions with the outside world. Later, we managed to contact the chief of another nearby tribe of Santa Isabel, who were more obliging and would like to meet us tomorrow!

Since I was a child I have always been fascinated by the indigenous people that live in the Amazon and I dreamed that one day I would meet them, to see how they live and to learn from them. I cannot believe that tomorrow this dream is going to become a reality!

Every day during this trip we learn something new. It is an amazing experience and I am learning more than I have ever learnt in my entire life from Mike Horn and the PANGAEA team with other young explorers from all across the globe!

Blog writen by Bobby

I woke up today at 7:30 am dangling fifteen feet from the ground in the Main Sail’s bag. There were probably twenty wasps buzzing around me in the confined space of the long and narrow bag! I had to carefully climb out dodging wasps in my bare feet.

Mike called us over to learn how to trap animals weighing up to 200 pounds! I learned that the simple traps are often the most potent. To trap something as big as a jaguar it only takes 10 feet of rope, a machete and some bait. There are so many resources in the rainforest that the options are limitless. We saw that with a machete and the forest the locals trap anything that swims in the water. We saw huge structures that were built by the native people that were designed to trap fish. Made out of vines and wood they made something similar to a crab trap. We squeezed into the trap. We felt the piranhas that were trapped in there swimming around and between our legs.

We came back and I took the wheel of PANGAEA. It is a weird feeling having the responsibility of a 14 million dollar boat in your hands. You learn to feel every small movement the boat makes when you turn the wheel. You have to watch the currents in the water, so you know how much to turn the wheel. When the current is coming from the right, and you spin the wheel to the left you have to spin it a lot harder than normal. When you see that the depth is the very minimum PANGAEA can go, you learn to spot the rough water and the calm water. The rough water is where it will be deeper, and the smooth is where it will be shallow. You start to see rivers within rivers.

The day was now nearly over. Then much to our surprise we were told we were going to do a rely race on the boat. We were split into two groups. When the whistle blew the two teams jumped off the boat at the front. We then swam down current to the back of the boat (which felt like we were flying!) We had to pick up our wooden kayaks and paddle back to the front of the boat. Then we climbed up the anchor in the front of the boat. We had to push our teammates up the anchor because it was very slippery. All of us then climbed as fast as possible up a rope on the Main Sail. We got into the sail bag, crawled through the sail bag, and it was finished!

At the very end of the day I finished up my blog. As I was going to give it to Luke, I went to open the door at the same time as Christian who happened to be carrying a bucket of water, we clashed, and now I am half a sleep re-doing my blog!

Blog written by Alex Minder

We all woke up at 7.30 this morning, refreshed after a long night’s sleep and psyched for the day to come! The day started out in the way which has become routine aboard Pangaea, deck cleanup from 7.45 to 8.00 and then a breakfast of homemade muesli for breakfast. Christian’s cooking is delicious.
After breakfast, we started moving up from Barcelos, and came upon a small little community along the Rio Negro and purchased three pirogues for very generous prices from kindly riverside boat vendors. We now have enough pirogues for 6 young explorers, and so by combining this with the paddle boards we have enough tools to all move through the jungle swamps together.

Lunch was a delicious affair, with a couple of the young explorers making great spaghetti with tuna sauce. After lunch, it was into the river with our newly purchased pirogues, to learn how to paddle them from the most qualified teacher in the world. A man who has traveled 100s of miles, spent weeks moving upstream, a true ‘paddle master’: Mike Horn. After learning how to paddle the pirogues, we moved onto an exercise where we would learn how to empty a submerged pirogue without touching land. Mike told us about the time he was paddling across Lake Victoria and was caught in a storm. He had to figure out how to empty his sunken canoe, whilst still 600 km from shore. Hearing his experiences inspired us and helped us realize how important these survival techniques are.

We ended the day with a foray into the jungle. Mike taught us how to clear an area with our machetes, how to lay a basic snare trap and how to assure that your catch will stay in your trap. We then made several attempts at scaling a tree to set a trap and it was a very successful afternoon. We are now back on board Pangaea, our tremendously happy moods dampened only by the thought that we are already halfway through the expedition.

Blog written by George Legget

We often forget the day begins at 12am and not at the hour we wake up. Nine times out of ten, we are sound asleep, dosing peacefully in our beds. However on this expedition, almost every day has begun at 12am. In order to make the most of every minute of our time with the intrepid explorer Mike Horn, our sleeping patterns have somewhat been altered. After hearing stories of Mike’s incredible adventure down the Amazon, we made it to sleep around 1am.

A short but sweet rest of 6 hours was enough to refresh us for the day ahead. A beautiful view of the township of Barcelos accompanied by the sweet kick of a Nespresso coffee sparked the fire for a very long day of bargaining and discovery. After putting the finishing touches to our harpoons for spear hunting, we headed into the jungle city in search of pirogues for the final leg of our journey up the Rio Negro. Little did we know how difficult it would prove to be to bargain for the Amazonian kayaks. We spent all day going from shop to shop, asking the locals where we could find the best boats. Finally we found a small gathering of pirogues and began to bargain. After several hours of discussion with the local people and heavy bargaining for aged pirogues, which felt like cardboard, we stopped to reassess the situation.

After we roamed the streets in search of renowned locals, telephoning people and stopping motorcycles, we finally found an old lady who was known for her treasures. After a long discussion, a test drive of the boats and some hard bargaining we thought we had come to a conclusion despite the language barrier. Just as we were about to hand over the cash, the old lady was suddenly nowhere to be found and we were unsuccessful in the purchase of the pirogue. We will continue up the narrow channels of the upper Rio Negro as far as possible until PANGAEA can go no further, where we will explore the most inland reaches of the South American continent with the dinghy’s and our harpoons at the ready.

Blog written by Tim White

5:30 a.m. – Time to wake up before sunrise because we can sleep once we are done exploring the Amazon! Like yesterday, we awoke in darkness to begin our daily adventure. We began by scrubbing the decks for two hours until breakfast. Next, we gave our skin some much-needed attention by giving each other natural spa experiences! We completely covered ourselves in clay we collected from the banks of the Rio Negro. Mike taught us that clay can naturally help wounds recover and improve the overall health of our skin.

Being covered in dried clay gave us a great reason to jump in the river! However, this was no leisurely float down a river. All ten of us jumped off the bow of Pangaea (while it was still moving of course!) then grabbed hold of a rope that was towed behind the boat. Our objective: to hold onto the rope for as long as possible while the boat increased its speed! This was so much fun, and proved to me that we are getting better at working as a team and remaining calm in hectic situations. We all showed poise with our heads being occasionally dragged underwater, and we quickly regrouped in the river once we all were tossed from the rope. Just seven days into the expedition, we truly feel like one family.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for our first real hunt, which I am still anxiously looking forward to as I type this log! We spent the rest of daylight learning how to prepare fishing gear using simple wooden reels and piranha-proof fishing wire (metal so the piranha can’t bite through the line). At nightfall, Mike took us through the flooded jungle in an inflatable dingy to search for the right wood to make spears and harpoons. We found the right materials but it was not an easy search! We had a great time speeding through thickly wooded areas, dodging massive spider webs, and avoiding razor-sharp bladegrass.

Right now, we are all about to set out on this hunt! We will be moving through the jungle on standup paddleboards in search of caiman, fish, and other small targets for our harpoons. Let the search begin!