From Nicolette Meyer, Mongolia YEP
Singapore

I’ve heard so many stories, videos and photos about the Pangaea. These documented experiences were those, that make you want to see the boat for yourself, run your fingers along its aluminium hull and experience sailing aboard it.

After going to the Mongolia selection camp, I immediately jumped at the opportunity of visiting this legendary boat. And the boat didn’t disappoint. When arriving at the One°15 marina club where the boat was docked at, it was the first boat I saw: it was grey among white boats, it was towering above us all with its 35m high mast and it had of course the magical words at the front of the hull: “Pangaea”.

The boat itself wasn’t the only highlight of my visit: I also had the opportunity of meeting Mike Horn for the first time. The day we were allowed to sleep over on the boat, Mike was telling us stories about his recent climb of Broad Peak as well as his other explorations and adventures. Even into the early hours of the morning (1am!!!) we were listening to his every word, totally mesmerised. I will hang on to every single story that he told that night, and remember them for the rest of my life…

Another exciting experience on the Pangaea was when Mike brought some of us Young Explorers onto a nearby island aboard the dinghy. Our little boat cruised across the channel and we soon arrived on the beach of Pulau Tekukor. Mike had already told us the aim of our visit: to see the pollution just in our backyard, which we could barely believe as Singapore is said to be a “clean and green” city. When I first saw the beach I thought it actually looked quite clean. I looked into the water and amongst the coral rubble there was actually some live coral. I thought, “This may not be so bad”. But of course, it was just an illusion. Once we got off onto the beach, I could truly see what Mike was talking about: everywhere, there was just garbage. The rubbish ranged from plastic bottles, to fishing nets and even a television and part of a World War II ship’s hull. I was truly disgusting to see how we humans don’t put in the effort to keep our oceans and beaches clean. And of course as Young Explorers, we knew we have to do something about this small stretch of polluted beach: in the coming weeks, we will organise a beach cleanup involving YEPs from the region. One day, we’ll take out a boat, clean this beach along with a few friends, separate the rubbish and bring it back to the marina. We will hopefully have the press there, to show Singapore how polluted our seas truly are and that something needs to be done to clean up our waters.
 

From Elena Kiseleva, India YEP
Russia

For the last year I managed to visit Switzerland, UAE, India, Baikal, and only thanks to the Pangaea project. Recently I found myself in Singapore, one of the most incredible countries I've ever seen. Being a member of Pangaea family is an opportunity to meet people with the same goals and ideas from all over the world. So, I was invited to Singapore by Basil, a participant of Himalaya expedition. As we knew that the boat is on Sentosa island, we decided to meet the crew one day.

Frankly speaking, after India expedition I was afraid of the fact that I will never see Mike Horn team again. It's a feeling when you consider yourself as a part of something important and don't want to lose it. All of us were deeply surprised to know that Mike is on Pangaea as well. Moreover, about 20 journalists from different countries were invited for the Pangaea project's presentation. So, our visit of Pangaea became a wonderful adventure.

It's difficult to describe my feelings when I was staying on the top of the boat again like six months ago during India expedition. There were not «my» young explorers around that made me sad but anyway, I'm sure we won't lose each other in the future as there are too many things that connect us.

I managed to speak with Mike Horn about his plans regarding Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest lake, which I visited in March as a Pangaea ambassador. It is located in Siberia, where West meets East. If you arrived from Asia, it would be worth adding «Welcome to Europe», and if from Europe – «Welcome to Asia». But the most amazing and magical thing of this place is unforgettable nature which has to be protected. I hope we'll be able to start any environmental project there and attract other young explorers to this part of Russia.

Well, my report comes to an end and I want to add just one more thing. A several days ago before visiting Pangaea I turned 20, and my new friends from Mongolia selection camp, Basil and the crew made me a celebration right on the boat! I bet it was one of the unbelievable presents that I could get! I got added evidence that everything is possible in this life.

From From: Basil Tan She Jeeng, Himalaya YEP
Simgapore

The visit to the Pangaea made me understand what it would be like to live on a boat! I am extremely fortunate to visit the Pangaea so often as it is currently docked in a marina in Singapore. The friendly crew, the smell of the boat made me feel at ho! me despite the fact the I have never lived on a vessel before.

Meet ing Mike: It has been more than 1 month since I last met Mike Horn! It was a pleasure meeting him again. However, this time was different. The Mike I knew 1 month ago was not here anymore. This Mike I know, successfully scaled another 8000M peak without the aid of oxygen after three attempts. The wealth of knowledge he has gathered after this 1 month can be seen through his soul and spirit. Scaling the summit was not for personal glory, it was a journey of self-discovery. It would be this journey that would provide him with the tools to educate us, the young explorers. I am thankful that I had a chance to meet him again!
 

From Li Jie, Mongolia Selection Camp YEP
Singapore

Dear Mike Horn Team,
 
Being aboard the Pangaea was the best way to experience my maiden trip on a boat. One word describes my experience: Amazing. That was how I felt throughout the trip. I was in awe when I first saw Pangaea docked at One Degree 15 Marina in my country, Singapore! It was the most colourful and massive boat among the rest of the boats docked there. The crew members were so warm and friendly. I am blessed to have visited the Pangaea 3 times and each visit was memorable in its own way.
 
The tour of the Pangaea gave me an insight of how the Young Explorers lived during their expeditions. Through my own experiences on the boat, a exciting sailing trip out in the southern Singapore waters and a sleepover onboard the Pangaea, I could understand the Young Explorers experience on the boat better. I also had hands on experience with raising the sail and cleaning the deck. It was as if I was one of the young explorers on an expedition.
 
Elena, a Russian girl, from the India expedition was also there to share with us her experiences on Pangaea and how she felt coming back again. I am fascinated by how Pangaea is specially built with environmental features such as solar panels, rubbish compressor and cooling system using seawater.
 
During one of the visits to Pangaea, I was so surprised to see Mike on the boat. Nicolette and I thought that Mike would only arrive in Singapore in the next few days. When we saw someone sitting there quietly, it took us a few seconds to realize that the person was actually Mike. We were so surprised to see him.
 
The reason for my amazement was because I had never met him up till that day. Before that, I had only heard about him and saw a part of his documentary during the camp, so it was an honour meeting him in person. I was also blessed to have the opportunity to hear his vast experiences of his expeditions which also included his latest summit success in Broad Peak. It was so interesting to hear his stories and we learnt a lot from him which we would neither get from books nor from the classroom.
 
There were much more to tell but time didn’t permit him to go on. Even though I wasn’t selected to go on the Mongolia expedition with him, I am very happy that I had the chance to meet him here in Singapore.
 
During his story telling session, he told us about his plans for the future after the Young Explorer program. It was so exciting to hear that there are more projects coming up. Mike also opened up my eyes to a side of Singapore that I have never been too. It was one of the islands off Singapore. This uninhabited island is inaccessible unless you have a boat and permission from the authorities. He showed us the rubbish accumulated on the shore and this has encouraged us to have a cleanup project on this island as soon as possible. He also showed us the difference between an island where people often visit and the uninhabited island.
 
Through this short trip by dinghy, he has educated me about the environment. It truly lives up to his motto: explore (the island), learn (about the effects of the rubbish and oil spill) and act (clean up projects).
                                                                                        
I truly want to thank the Mike Horn Team for the opportunity given to me. Thank you once again for selecting me for the selection camp. Pangaea has indeed opened up the world to me! It has exposed me to different views of the world. It also has let me experience many exciting and wonderful things which I have never done before. I am truly lost for words as it has indeed been the best summer of my life. Now I will start sharing with people around me about my experience and the importance of doing our part to save the environment. A very big thank you to all of you!
 

On Wednesday the 28th July the YEPs will unite again to spread the Pangaea Message. Members from the Young Explorer Community will meet up for yet another YEP meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. The main aim of this meeting will be to raise awareness for the endangered sharks of our oceans. Distributing flyers and eye-catching activities will be the means to achieve this.

Interested in joining us and want to know more?…. Contact Akira at [email protected]

See you at 11:00 am at the meeting point at the giant clock at Zurich Main Train Station [We'll finish at approximately 6pm] ……JOIN US!!!!!!!!

It was a hard decision for the Mike Horn Team.The Gobi Young Explorers have been selected !

Congratulations to the following YOUNG EXPLORER`S selected to join Mike Horn for the Gobi Expedition:

From left to right: Lucas Lovell 18 yrs, AU, Constantin Vogt, 19 yrs, DE, Magdalena Gründl, 18 yrs, DE, Tirza Niklaus, 18 yrs, CH, Nicolette Meyer, 17 yrs, SG, Martin Añon, 20 yrs, AR, Akira Biondo, 19 yrs, CH, Inge Pieterson, 20 yrs, ZA
 
It was an emotional event at the announcement. Shortly after this the Young Explorer found themselves saying fairwell to their new friends all prepared and packed ready to return home.

Day 10 – Blog written by Martin and Rebecca

The last 48 hrs have been a concentrated dose of emotions, action and tons of fun – an awesome end to the greatest experience of our lives!

The "Raid", the legendary 30 hours challenge through the Swiss Alps, that includes Hiking, Cycling, Via Ferrata, Team-work Exercises, Kayaking and Flying Fox (to mention a few), took place as a finishing challenge to our intense week. We were divided into two groups of 8, were given a map, compass and co-ordinates of the check points, and were set free in the wild. It was extremely hard for some of us and we had to try our best to push our selves to our limits. We discovered a whole new level of exhaustion, both physically and mentally. One of the main factors we learnt was how important group support and team-work is. When you are biking at 2am in the morning, wet and cold after summiting a 2160m mountain, having people around you who support you is vital to push you to your max. All we thought about was that we had to go on and not give up.

Our day started at 00:00 in the Alps, hiking in the rain, trying to get to the camp as soon as possible. We were not allowed to sleep anywhere else and if we arrived too late we wouldn't have enough time to sleep and recover . We arrived at the camp site at 3am carrying 15 hours non-stop exercise on every muscle of our body. After a fantastic 3 hours sleep and a quick delicious breakfast we were ready to go! The final day of the Raid started by kayaking to the next check point where we had to get on our foots again and started the last 6 hrs of the challenge. Finally both groups arrived with hurting feet and blisters at the Hotel de Ville around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. After all the effort the satisfaction of knowing that we pushed each other through all the way made everything worth it.

All in all this has been a great experience – we have gone from frustration to shouting with joy thousands of times. We learnt a lot about the environment, team work, and ourselves. Struggling through the elements (sun, snow, thunder showers and wind) truly gives one an opportunity to reflect on everything and find yourself within your environment.

We learned a lot about teamwork, including the fact that a group is only as fast as the slowest person. We got to know to our individual limits and our friendship grew stronger and stronger, since we had to trust each other and work hand-in-hand. We have been welcomed into and truly feel a part of the Pangaea Family. We all gave our best and enjoyed the ten days endlessly. We now know that our presence here demands responsibility to show the rest of the world what Pangaea is really about.

It's not about being selected for an expedition, it's about working together and believing we can make a change. We would all like to thank the Mike Horn Team for these ten days, for giving us the chance to live an experience that we will remember for life! Thank you!!

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Day 9 – The day the YEP's have all been waiting for – the start of the famous Pangaea Raid! At 13h30 the YEP's set off equipped with helmets, maps, compasses and harnesses – ready for two strenuous days of challenges in the Swiss Nature. Which team will show rthe most common sense and teamwork to sway the judges votes? More tomorrow…..

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Day 8 – Blog written by Joanna and Tirza.

Today we started another wonderful amazing day with sleeping (until 6.30 ☺) Then of course we did some more exhausting physical exercises… 🙂

At 7.00 o’clock 16 motivated Explorers ran to the climbing hall. Martin shared his chalk with us and that made the climbing so much faster and better. We tried to climb up without using hands which was pretty funny and not so easy…

Then we split up into two groups: The first one was doing horse riding in the morning while our boss Martin taught the second one how to handle a compass.

Joanna’s memories from horse riding :
Horse riding was an amazing expercience today. Even more, it was the first time doing horse riding for most of young explorers. Also, those who were experienced in this sport could learn a lot from Marie Tabarly, one of the best horse riding trainers ever.

I personally think I got an incredible chance to try new things and learn a lot from Marie. At the begining we played in ball game (some horses were really scared of the ball and everytime I tried to catch the ball Wachita- my horse- ran away to the farther corner and didn’t want to move in any direction. We also made a little trip around the beautiful Swiss mountains. These moments will stay unforgettable in my mind. Thank You.

Tirza’s experiences with map working:

Maps, compasses, pens, rulers lay on the table and we all got a script with a lot of text. But because you learn better by doing than by reading, we soon started to practise. We looked for checkpoints at a 1 :25'000 and noted the bearing. I was not unhappy to discover that it’s much easier than it looked… 😉 After we proved our skills inside, the real adventure started. Equipped with only a map and a compass we searched some checkpoints around Chateau-d’Oex. Dimitri and his camara took some good shoots (he told us to look intelligent, what was not so easy… ;-). We had a lot of fun under the blue sky and some of us got a new hairstyle (kind of flowerpower in their hair, check the pictures… !

After dinner – as tasty as ever – we all finnished in a hurry our power point presentations and short movies to promote the Shark T-Shirt competition, good work of everyone !

As you see are we busy all day, every day. It's just crazy with so many new and unforgettable impressions, with so much fun.

We’re excited about the Big Pangaea Young Explorer Raid tomorrow… all our friends are asleep already. We wish YOU a good night (or good morning).

Have fun and enjoy your life as much as we do here in Château-d’Oex !!!

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Day 7 – Blog written by Constantin & Agnieszka

Today we were split in two groups. The first one had to wake up earlier because directly after the breakfast they were going paragliding. Already the drive up with the van was wonderful because we could enjoy the landscape around us. Some of us have never seen "so much" snow at once which made the whole trip even more exciting. The feeling of going in the air is unbelievable and the flight just indescribable. After 5-10min flight we were all keen on a new run, but sadly we didn't get the chance to repeat this awesome experience. Afterwards we had to speed back with our bikes for our lunch in the blazing sun.

Meanwhile the second group was struggling with biking the most difficult track I have ever seen. We had to go uphill and then down through the forest with a lot of corners full of roots and other obstacles. Finishing the mountain biking we had a horse riding lesson, for some of us the very first. Learning how to set up a horse and to ride it, we all gave our best and did well. Unfortunately because of the lack of time we weren't able to ride outside.

In the afternoon the group switched and the other group tried to do paragliding. We didn't have luck with the weather because a thunderstorm started when four people still had to go up. Luckily they will get a chance tomorrow morning and we all hope that they will get the possibility to experience such an extreme sport, too.

During this time the first group learned everything about horse riding and even made a small trip outside. It immediately started to rain heavily and we got totally soaked. Everyone was motivated and we enjoyed the horse-rain-riding.

In the evening we got one interesting presentation about sharks in South Africa, which was held by Michael, the new Mike Horn team member. After dinner Young Explorers from previous expeditions shared their wonderful experiences with us and we got to see many incredible pictures and videos. There was not just general information, but also funny clips like all the "Moose cuts". We had a pleasure to meet Nora and Alexandra from the Antarctica Expedition, Simon from the New Zealand Expedition, Florence and Lucie from the India Expedition and Alex and Tiziana from the Himalayan Expedition. Thank you so much for visiting us!

It was an unforgettable day with horse riding, for most the first time in their lives and getting to go paragliding. We are now working on our projects and videos and really looking forward tomorrow's activities and presentations.

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Day 6 – Blog Post by Sophia and Akira

With ‘Waka Waka’ blasting us out our comfy beds, our sixth day in Château-d’Oex begins.

After completing the two fairly exhausting days of the Mayo Clinic Testing, we were looking forward to a further MTB experience. The route was longer, speedier and did not demand “The African Way” of cycling.

Two full hours of river rafting kickstarted today’s adventure. Having been instructed by Martin and Nico (our Argentinian rafting expert) we made it down the rapids and bumpy parts of La Sarine safely. We stopped several times to jump into the 10-degrees water. However, thanks to our sophisticated wet-suits, we did not feel that cold, although we had ‘swimming pools’ in our shoes. At the lower part of the river, we could try steering the boat ourselves and commanding the others like our instructors did before. Our group ‘managed’ to lose one paddle and brake another in just ten minutes. Hence, we had to finish with just six people rowing instead of eight.

So after all that water surrounding us for hours, we fled into the forest for our picnic lunch break. Refreshing Oranginas and delicious sandwiches prepared us for the even wetter afternoon.

It was marked by 16 alien-like Young Explorers in purple-green-blue overalls and orange helmets. These extraterrestrials successfully fought their way through the canyon; floating, sliding, swimming, climbing, jumping and simply enjoying ourselves. It was a wholly new experience for most of us and we were all baffled by the natural beauty surrounding us. Even though we would have been able to go on for ages, one could see us walking (like penguins) towards our starting point.

Short after getting back to the hotel, we were ‘forced’ onto our bikes again, this time heading for our BBQ-dinner by the river. Highlights were: Martin the BBQ-master, lots of good food, watermelons, delightful games and interesting conversations. It is not surprising that the calm atmosphere kept us there too long, so we hurried back to start with editing the videos we had been shooting the past two days.

Moreover, we are happy to welcome three former Young Explorers: Alexandra from the Antarctica expedition, Florence from the one to India and last but not least Alexander the Pakistani. We are looking forward to learning about what they experienced on their selection camps and expeditions.

Can’t wait for tomorrow: horse riding and paragliding are on the program.

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Day 5 – Blog written by Lucas and Magdelena

Our day once again started with a 6 :30am wakeup, heading out into the forest on a mountain biking tour with Martin. We were all given bikes and helmets to use and were quickly found racing through the streets of Château-d’Oex before finding single tracks in the pristine alpine landscape. Despite finding it a little bit difficult due to differences in cycling experience and ability, everyone enjoyed the ride.

After having breakfast, we once again divided into the two groups from yesterday and split up to go to our morning activities. These were to be reversed in the afternoon session.

The first session included further testing with the Mayo Fitness Clinic. This consisted of a variety of different tests, including body composition, lung function, balance, strength, flexibility, agility, power and endurance. The main points of talk after the testing where the balance test and the famous ‘Cooper Test’. The Cooper Test required us to run as far as we could in 12 minutes – probably the most dreaded 12 minutes of the camp! Due to the soccer pitch being refurbished, we had to undertake the challenge in a freshly mowed field underneath the Château-d’Oex cable car. It did however mark the end to an interesting, yet physically demanding set of tests.

Whilst the first group were doing the fitness testing, the second group had a seminar on first aid run by Martin and Claude-Alain. This intially involved learning about the required contents of a first aid kit, before moving on to using equipment and belongings to perform a successful rescue. We were introduced to the ‘Sam Splint’ and learnt how we can use certain items to perform a rescue if someone is injured, ranging from neck/arm/leg support and creating a stretcher out of backpacks.

This was then put in to practice when we were driven out to a canyon, and required to abseil a cliff and perform a rescue. It was the first time abseiling for many of us, but everyone took on the challenge and enjoyed the experience.  Once we all reached the bottom of the canyon, we set up a mock rescue and put in to practice the skills we had learnt prior.

Once the day's activities were complete, we were given a presentation on water sanitation by one of the official sponsors of the Pangaea Project, Geberit. Two representatives from Switzerland informed us about water sustainability and the various sanitation projects that they are supporting in conjunction with Mike Horn and the Pangaea Project. It was a very stimulating discussion that made us all think about the water situation in our own communities and the kind of projects we can undertake to improve it.

After a scrumptious pizza meal, Daniele Oppizi from iLand presented his transportable solar panel product that the YEP’s used on the recent Himalaya Expedition. This revolutionary technology was amazing due to its efficiency, durability and practicalness.

Everyone is getting an early night before a big day white water rafting and canyoning tomorrow !

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Day 4 Blog written Jen Ho and Nicolette

“Keep on going!”, “You’re doing great!” and “Keep those legs pumping!”… These were the phrases which echoed through the Swiss Alps throughout the day.

These words first began when we set off on our morning exercise along the winding pastoral roads of Chateau-d’Oex. We had no idea that we were embarking on what would be the most strenuous morning exercise yet. Up the road, up the hill, and up one steep slope after another we went. Only teamwork kept us going, as we supported each other in times of exhaustion. Nevertheless, it was all worthwhile as the view from the top of the hill was breathtaking.

After a satisfying breakfast, we split ourselves into two groups – one to the gym for the Mayo Clinic fitness tests and the other to learn the art of filming from the 師 父 (pronounced as sifu, which means “master”), Moose. Then we had a break for our sumptuous lunch of lasagna and switched our activities.

The Mayo Clinic test evaluated our body composition, i.e. BMI, bioelectric impedance (which basically tells you how much fat you have), waist to hip ratio, breath holding and VO2 max, which is the maximum rate at which the body takes up and utilises oxygen during exercise. For the VO2 max test, we had to run on a treadmill, the speed and gradient of which increased progressively every two minutes. We had to run until our breaking point. It was inspiring to see the perseverance and endurance shown by all of the Young Explorers and Martin and Alexis. It was also interesting to find out how fit we were as both of us had never done a fitness test before. Here are what some of our fellow YE’s had to say about the test:

“It’s a good experience to get pushed to our limits by the support of our friends.” – Tirza

“I have never experienced a test like this before. For me it was really worth it to get to know my limits and to push them.” – Joanna

Meanwhile, the other group was given a crash course on the various ways of filming: from storyboards to panning, and from crash zoom to time lapse. We got to view some of the Himalaya camp videos for inspiration. And off we went gallivanting into the countryside, a video camera in hand and bursting with ideas.

Later we went back to the hotel where we had a surprise in store: we were to go out somewhere for a mystery activity that was nowhere to be found on the schedule. Together, we walked to a nearby field where we found two pairs of wooden boards to which we strapped ourselves. Our task was to waddle as gracefully as was humanly possible across the field, around a cone and back to our original position, and with the lead of Martín Añón and Lucas respectively, we worked great in our teams. Truly, teamwork and communication are key in reaching our goals.

Before we finally floated into dreamland (on the super comfortable Hotel de Ville beds), we had yet another surprise. We could watch the World Cup semi-final match between Spain and Germany (after all, half of us YE’s here are German supporters!). Later, we all went to sleep contemplating the just as exciting day ahead!

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