On July 4th the Naadam Festival was held at Gurvanbulag, a nomad village in Bulgan Aimag. Music, horse racing ,wrestling and a gathering of families and friends from all the region to celebrate the midsummer holiday.

Winners of a 25 kilometer race.

Village Elders.

Watching the Races.

Exchanging Snuff.

Mongolia’s National Sport.

For adventures in Mongolia, CLICK HERE

Horses are central to Mongolian nomad life. They provide transportation,clothing,meat and milk. The horses are small but very strong and have a wider head – related to Prezlowski’s Horse ( re-released into the wild a few years ago) – these are the horses ridden by Genghiz Khan.
Special thanks to our Horse Guide Tanj !

For more adventures in Mongolia, CLICK HERE

Expeditions for the rest of the year are in the advance planning stages. Above is the flight pattern for June-July.

The flight pattern for October -November, above.

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.

We arrived in Barreal late at night. The next day was for adventure – but first a tour of some  wineries and inns, so we could see where adventurers might spend comfortable evenings enjoying gourmet food and wine.

Piedras Bayas , in operation for about 5 years, creates excellent boutique Malbecs and Shiraz.

Only about 25,000 bottles a  year are produced and unfortunately not available outside Argentina at this time.

A rich Malbec reflected in the warm desert sunshine.

We went on to a delightful desert inn – Posada Don Ramon.

The adobe hallway.

Satellite internet is available at 256 k .

Posada Los Patos is an excellent getaway.

In winter  the entire inn is heated b y fire. In the day it is 15 C , about 59 F , but at night the temperature drops to -15 C or about 8 F.

Incredible views from bed !

FOR ADVENTURES IN ARGENTINA, CLICK HERE

On Saturday morning we drove one of the world’s best highways – Autopista 95 – 368 kilometers from Mexico City to Acapulco. We started from Cuernavaca, about 85 km from the DF. Because of the very high cost – over $55 to drive the whole length – few people can afford to use it , making the Autopista seem like a private highway. From the high cold Metropolis, to tropical Pacific beaches , through mountains,forests and desert – the entire trip takes about 3 .5 hours ( many people drive at well over 160 kph ) as opposed to 8 hours on the free highway. Due to YouTube upload problems, this is a video of a video.

Calatrava style bridges over the arroyos.

An old,but daring standby – the Acapulco Cliff Divers – this man is diving from 155 feet. The divers pray to statues of The Virgin beforehand. Due to YouTube upload problems, this is a video of a video.

Waves smash into sea caves.

A sunset horseback ride on the beach at Pie De La Cuesta, where we stayed at the very excellent Hotel Casa Blanca – whom we hope soon will be an ArcticTropic partner once booking begins in two weeks.

Pictures and video by Nicholas Zuver.

ArcticTropic has many adventure links in Mexico. Click HERE.

An associate of ArcticTropic, who works very hard for our country, travels frequently to Afghanistan. A link to his site.