Explora Parques , led by Ramón Ossa Federico took ArcticTropic on an adventurous excursion to Parque Nacional El Leoncito. The first activity was dry land sailing on Barreal Blanco, a dry lake bed located at the foot of the  Andes.  The video above was taken as we drove at 100 mph ‘160 kph across the lake bed.

The lake bed is parched as it rains or snows only a couple of times a year.

No sound except for the wind.

The wind dies down, so the sailing is a bit slow.

The technique is not much different than water sailing.

Entrance to the giant park.

A valley oasis.

Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO), where we will vist at sunset.

A cooling waterfall. There may well be gold in the rocks.

Will almost no rain,these rocks take eons to form.

Springtime in the oasis.

Some rare clouds.

The park is near the Chilean border – the mountains offer huge mining potential as well.

As darkness fell around 8 PM we arrived at Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO). There are three times as many stars to view in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. The high Andean deserts in Chile and Argentina offer the best viewing in the world  due to high altitude,clear air and a total lack of light pollution due to being one of the more remote areas of the world. Even with some volcanic dust in the air from Peyhuehe the viewing was incredible. Above is a photo taken with a radioteescope.

Comet Halley in 1986.

Planet Venus in the West.

The radio telescope is for the astronomers only. We were treated to views from a smaller but very powerful telescope outside. The roof above retracts.

A friend of ArcticTropic  – Ninel Cristina Raven Armada-Taylor of São Paulo, Caracas and New York went to Maputo, Mozambique on a business trip for a top international Brazilian company. While the US and Europe twiddle their thumbs on ” What to do about Africa”  Brazilian companies are aggressively building infrastructure in the former Portuguese colonies. Years of war and destruction mean starting from scratch.

Giant Lobster form the Indian Ocean.

The fish market in Maputo.

Giant crab.If combined with Portuguese cooking , the meal would be delicious.

Into the interior. ArcticTropic is currently seeking partners to bring adventurers to Mozambique.

Living conditions are difficult, to say the least.

Thirty years of brutal war set the country back by centuries. Finally peace has arrived and the country can be rebuilt.

Giant Brazilian trucks get ready to build a road in the interior. ArcticTropic currently features 4 providers in Mozambique – Now is an excellent time to visit.

The Wakhan Corridor is a panhandle shaped territory that serves as a buffer zone between Tajikistan,Pakistan and China. According the the New York TImes, it is the “safest’ part of Afghanistan , meaning there no warfare because the area is not strategically important to the warring factions in other parts of the country. Mountains top the 24,000 foot range and the first snow falls in August. Noshak is the highest at 24,580 feet.

Obviously the area is extremely hard to reach. Kabul based Great Game Travel offers 11 day trips beginning at about $6000 per person in a small group.

From the Great Game website : ” You will be met at the Ishkashem border and from there you will drive for 2 days to Sarhad. From there, we leave behind our 4×4 vehicles, and trek with Yaks and horses into the heart of the Wakhan corridor, taking a circle route around the Big Pamir knot, before ending up again in Sarhad. From there we backtrack to Ishkashem.
This tour can be combined with the Afghan Adventurer trip to Bamiyan and Balkh or Afghan Explorer trip that includes Herat as well. You can also combine it with trekking in the Fann Mountains (Tajikistan) or with a jeep tour to north Tajikistan/Uzbekistan or along the Pamir Highway to Kyrgyzstan”

From September 5 th to 14th , the Paris based Dakar Rally will stage a 4500 km off road race from Kazan to Ashkabat.

The world famous Paris -Dakar Rally – which began every New Year’s Eve from 1978 to 2008 in the Place Concorde, finishing in Dakar ,Senegal about three weeks later, was discontinued this year because of terrorist threats. It relocated to Chile and Argentina during Southern Summer and the Silk Way Rally will be the adventure for Northern Summer. ArcticTropic will have periodic updates and perhaps will particpate in the race in 2010.

Paraguay is the forgotten center of the South American continent. It is best explored by four wheel drive vehicles to travel the Chacos and jungles.

ArcticTropic links to 2 adventure travel destinations in Paraguay. CLICK HERE.

The German cites of Swapkomund and Windhoek seem out of place in the stark deserts and freezing coasts of Namibia. Namibia is unlimited adventure –safari, mountain climbing, desert treks, four wheeling, surfing and even exploring for diamonds on the Skeleton Coast.

Your native guides will enable you to enter this world for a few precious days. Spend a night in a nomadic encampment and share this ancient way of life – you may drink camel’s milk, hear traditional music, and meet lovely people happy to welcome you to their home.

Mozambique is an excellent nation to go on safari – at fraction of the cost in Kenya. Just now returning to the world exploration stage, after 35 years of war, Mozambique is a country where one can travel independently without fear of running into a large tour bus group. The Tete Highlands and the Lebomo Mountains are fascinating.

About 2 hours after leaving Palmas, the capital of Tocantins State, the paved road ended. We had a delicious lunch in Ponte Alta, where the dirt roads begin. Brazilian food is heavy – meat, rice, beans, bread, potatoes, farofa, at almost every meal.

After lunch we took a short walk through the town .

About 20 minutes out of town, we were driving through baking hot scrubland. The temperature was about 42 C, 108 F. Although this is “winter” south of the equator, it is the hot dry season. When the rains come in “summer” – December and January the temperature might only get to 33 C, or about 91 F. There is no humidity – so 100 degrees is like 80 in Miami or New York – quite comfortable. By night the temperature drops to the 50s – and to near freezing in June and July.

As we went thought the scrubland there was little shade, the fields were motionless in the heat. At that point we stopped and walked into a field and we could hear water rushing. We walked down a hill and noticed a small crevice. As we followed it the divide became wider and we then climbed down into an underground river. The temperature was at least 30 degrees cooler 25 C or 77 F and there were refreshing waterfalls everywhere.

Back on the Korubo truck we headed out into an absolute wilderness. No towns, or even houses for hundreds of kilometers. The land is flat and sandy, broken by mesas and buttes. Fires race across the land, consuming the thin cover of grass and brush.

At sundown (6 PM) we arrived at Korubo Safari Camp.

Here is a quick tour of the camp. Korubo is completely eco friendly. The Rio Novo is perfectly clean due to no human or cattle habitation in the surrounding terrain.

Water from the river is used for cleaning, cooking and drinking. You can drink directly form the river. There are no plastic water bottles here, unless they are being recycled.

There are fixed tents that never need to be taken down, due to the consistency of the weather.

The shower water is heated by fire, allowing to hot water at the end of each day. Toilets are similar to those on a boat – all waste is dried (far from the camp) and taken to an incinerator in Palmas.

Food is tasty and plentiful. Beer and caiprinhas are served with dinner. Nighttime activity can be gazing at the Southern Hemisphere stars or reading in the tent under a solar powered lamp.

All power in the camp is solar – I even charged my laptop from a solar generator. Korubo may be rustic , but it is run with professional perfection. Check out their website HERE.

By the way , you can avoid 8 hour drive by flying to a nearby airstrip – but that would take away a lot of adventure.

FOR ADVENTURES IN BRAZIL, CLICK HERE

From MIA last night, I boarded TAM for São Paulo. We landed at 6:30, on a late winter morning . GRU was 48 degrees- refreshing. At 8 I was on another plane North to Brasilia. As it turned out I had a 4 hour layover, so rather than hang around the airport, I took a public bus into town.

Brasilia – 1960’s Utopia

Planned utopian cities were the dream of many a 1950’s urban planner. Luckily most of them remained dreams. However, the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s Jetsonian masterpiece became reality when it was finished in 1961.

Seen from the air at night the city resembles a giant jet plane.

The entire city is laid out into sectors. In the “Pilot Area” is the Presidential Palace – pictured at the top of this post – double buildings next to flying saucers. Government buildings go down the fuselage. The wings are residential. All shopping is in one center, all hotels in another sector, etc.

This video was taken this morning from the Torre TV 75 meters up.

Life is calm and pleasant – no traffic, garbage, pollution and very little crime – in other words not like Brazil at all. Unfortunately there is little of Brazil’s excitement and culture. Like New Yorkers forced to work in Albany, government workers pack the planes south to Rio and São Paulo every Thursday night and back again on Monday morning.

For those who enjoy modern architecture and urban planning, Brasilia is a must –see.

After 3 hours I went back to the airport and took to the skies again – this time to Palmas, about 500 miles North of Brasilia.

The roads we will be on tomorrow !

We had to abort our first landing attempt due to high crosswinds blowing in from the desert. The second attempt was successful.

Our group of adventure travel experts, from the USA,England,Germany,Russia,Portugal and Canada, as well as a leader from EMBRATUR was picked up by Korubu.

For the next six days ArcticTropic will be on expedition. There will be no posts due to no satellite,internet,even cell phone – ArcticTropic will practice what it preaches – True Adventure !
Next Tuesday, September 2nd there will be many posts on each day afield.

FOR ADVENTURES IN BRAZIL, CLICK HERE