We rode these camels for about 20 km. Not uncomfortable. They speak with a nasal sound similar to a whining dog.

For adventures in Mongolia, CLICK HERE

This is the first video upload for Mongolia. More are coming -we are finally in a hotel that has decent wifi speed. While we have a fair amount of horse riding experience,we cannot say the same for camel riding. We had a guide to take us across the trackless steppes of the Northern Gobi.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE

We have been in Shanghai for the past two days and just now the photo uploading is working properly. Getting here was not easy. Our connecting flight from Beijing was cancelled ( as were all flights to Shanghai ) and we had to take an overnight train. Today we leave for Guilin and the wilds of Guanxi Province,South China. Here are some random photos. ArcticTropic will catch up when we arrive in Hong Kong late next week. We have been shooting beautiful video with the GoPro, but the videos would take hours to upload on slow hotel speeds.

Lamasery Ulanbaatar.

Roadside on the way back to Ulanbataar.

At the Statue of Genghis Khan.

Boom Town Ulanbaatar.

On the Plexiglass floor 1000 feet above Pudong from the Shanghai TV Tower.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE

At long last ArcticTropic is posting. We have been in a very remote area of Mongolia for the past 5 days,with no internet access, much less electricity. Our Mongolian Adventure , with Tour Mongolia began after an overnight train trip from Beijing. We also have great video which will be posted when there is adequate bandwidth.

Home for two days, with a nomad family. Gers ( yurts) are comfortable houses for the summer, when herding takes place.

The diet is almost entirely meat based. Usually lamb,goat or beef, but on this day Marmot is served !

In the nearby town the summer festival of Naadam was observed.

Horse racing took place all day.

Marmot is a local delicacy.

Camel riding is another form of transport. This brief post will be added to soon, as we are now preparing for a morning trip to Shanghai.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE

Venezuela will be in the news a lot over the foreseeable future, as the geopolitical power player decides its’ new direction. Caracas is only 2 hours from Miami. There used to be 15 very cheap flights every day, but with political tensions, the flights became few and expensive. ArcticTropic last visited there in late 2003,several years before the site launched. Above is the aerial approach to the Littoral – the incredible Caribbean coastline.

Even the common people have an ocean view.

We stayed at the Circulo Militar – a military hotel on an officer’s base. Upon entry I saw Comrade Hugo himself !

A 45 minute flight from CCS to Margarita Island brings one to the cheapest island in the Caribbean. One resort is $ 50 a day – including a nice room, beach,tennis,windsurfing,unlimited food ( lots of meat and fish ) and unlimited Venezuelan Rum and Beer.

A lonely lighthouse on the empty island.

Margarita Island has a total desert climate, so it has the most sunshine in the Caribbean – 350 days a year.

An ArcticTropic friend, Siham Sharples, who lives in Dubai, recently travelled by auto with her family to nearby Musandam, Oman. Musandam is at the northern tip of the country,where the Straits of Hormuz join the Persian Gulf.

Fortress towns dot the countryside.

The Khasab Castle is built upon an old Portuguese fortress from the 1700s.

Coastal highways afford beautiful views. At this time of year the weather is dry and mild, about 22C ( 73 F), while in the summer it is ferociously hot, up to 50C ( 122 F ).

Beautiful old fishing boats,known as Dhows, ply the waters of the Straits between Oman and Iran.

Snorkeling and diving look like excellent possibilities.

The 1969 mile ( 3169 KM ) border between The United States and Mexico is the world’s busiest. These photos were taken on both ends- California/Baja California Norte and Texas/Tamaulipas-Nuevo Leon in 2002- before anti-immigrant hysteria took hold – creating the failed attempts to make the border the world’s most fortified.

Texas ( North ,upper photo) and Tamulipas , on the Rio Grande from the air.

The Sierra Madres north of Monterrey.

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon

World’s busiest trade corridor – $ 1 billion a day – Laredo.

Foot traffic – Laredo.

I-8 Yuma, Arizona.

Looking into Calexico,California from Mexicali, Baja California del Norte.

Mexico from California.

TJ- Tijuana.

Pacific Ocean – San Diego CA.

A Middle Eastern friend posted this beautiful picture on Facebook last week. The European cold snap has now slipped over North Africa, creating this rare snowfall in the Libyan Sahara Desert. Libya has excellent Adventure Travel potential. Any providers in Libya should contact ArcticTropic immediately.

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.

ArcticTropic was the guest of  Doña Pipa  Cabañas in Barreal, Calingasta in western San Juan Province for two nights and a day. The Inn is owned by two brothers , Ramón and Diego Ossa Federico. Ramón runs many eco and adventure tours through Explora Parques – which leads excurions to four National Parks spread out over thousands of square miles – some of the trips last several days. ArcticTropic made use of limited time by going to nearby Parque Nacional Leoncito.

The Posada is comfortable and casual – reminiscent of being in the Western United States, but with delicious Argentine food and wine.

THe rooms are simple and quiet – bu there is wifi !

ArcticTropic took a bike ride up one of the dirt roads in town on a beautiful spring morning.

Riding is also offered – with Western saddles.

A healthy and tasty dinner awaits in the restaurant – welcome protein after a long day trekking and riding. It is open till midnight.