ArcticTropic has just Acquired the GoPro Hero 3 Camera with 1080p 60 fps quality. it will greatly improve our video presentations from upcoming expeditions. Above video was taken in the Florida Everglades,west of Miami, for testing purposes – editing on FinalCut Pro.

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.

Today ArcticTropic was invited on a private yacht tour by a renowned Istanbul artist who will later be featured in the Blog.Time and bandwidth constraints in the hotel make posting difficult at this time. Today was an incredible fall day with temperatures in the 70s – in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

From Asia looking to Europe.

Turkey is extremely patriotic – the nation controls a good portion of this part of the world.

The entrance the Black Sea.

Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz pops in for a visit.

On the morning of 10/28/11 I travelled from São Paulo to Bogotá on my way home to Miami. The flight takes off from the second biggest city in the world, and within a couple of hours is flying over one of the most remote areas on the world.

Avianca’s twice daily A 340 flight is about 6 hours.

Vegans who want to save the world – guess what ? Soya farms are eating up the jungle !

Western Amazon.

Down below, Lost Tribes gaze up at the Big SIlver BIrd – too high for their poison arrows to hit.

The cloud cover thickened over the rain forest and we did not see anything the last two hours – missing views of the Colombian Andes until we landed at El Dorado Internacional.

Time to connect for Miami !

This past June ArcticTropic and family took an extended Western journey covering California,Arizona and Nevada. One of our stops was Death Valley, the second hottest place on Earth – with an all time high of 134 degrees. In Libya 136 has been recorded, but Death valley has 130 + temperatures more often.

In general there is almost no vegetation. Years can go by without any significant rainfall. Water can arrive in the form of floods from far away cloudbursts or snow melt.

As it was only June the temperature was just 110 in the shade, 130 in the sun. This picture was taken at 8:30 in the morning.

The lowest place in North America, 282 ( 87 m) feet below Sea Level.

Dried up sea bed – all salt.

Those who don’t plan in advance will pay through the nose at the only gas station.

Skateboarding though Death Valley.

Onwards to the snowy Sierras !

FOR ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, CLICK HERE

The Philippines offer extreme adventure and incredible vistas . The island nation is easily accessible from Hong Kong for shorter getaways and is well worth the trip from Europe and North America for longer expeditions.  Above is a volcanic lake not far from Mt.Pinatubo.

Palawan, Northeast of Borneo in the South China Sea is excellent for mountaineering and diving . The Coral Reefs are pristine and mostly undisturbed.

ArcticTropic will be adding several new providers in the Philippines today. Reminder to current providers : Keep your websites up to date, or you lose your opportunity to reach our adventurers !

An ArcticTropic friend,Tom Stires, took this shot of Reykjavik Harbor last Saturday morning.The first snow of the season dusts the hills overlooking the city.  Iceland , only four hours from New York, makes an ideal getaway for a long weekend. One can stay in town and take day excursions to glaciers,volcanoes and geysers. The nightlife is also great – and in just a few weeks – the nights will be 22 hours long.

Panama is the crossroads of the world – only 52 miles from Atlantic to Pacific. Only 2 and a half hours from Miami ! From the air one can see both oceans at once. The Pan American Highway – running from Alaska to Tierra delFuego is interrupted for 100 miles into Colombia in the almost impenetrable Darien Gap.

ArcticTropic links to 5 adventure travel destinations in Panama. CLICK HERE.

Ancash is the Shangri-La of South America – high in the Andes, far form the tourist tracks. Though it is well within the tripic , the incredible height has the region buried in snow almost year around.

FOR ADVENTURES IN PERU, CLICK HERE

The Philippines have a lot to offer beyond the beach resorts developed for Hong Kong tourists. Just 2 hours out of Hong Kong one can be in the most remote volcanic mountain jungles, with primitive tribesmen and unihabited islands with beaches accessible only by sailboat.

FOR ADVENTURES IN THE PHILINES, CLICK HERE