On our first day of the Pre-Summit 2016 Adventure our group departed Anchorage on the Alaska Railroad for a beautiful three hours journey to Talkeetna. After lunch we arrived at the local airport for an incredible flight to the Mt.Denali basecamp. Until recently known as Mt.McKinley , it is  tallest mountain in North America, at 20,310 feet. 6249 Meters.

K2 Aviation flew our group in 2 planes.

At Talkeetna the temperature was a relatively mild 53 degrees. At the Basecamp it was 20 degrees  ( -7 )C ) with 3 feet  ( 1m) of fresh powder .It is always winter here.

TotalAdventure – On Top Of The World.

Extremely difficult ice walls – some of which have never been climbed. K2 Pilots are highly skilled – most have been flying the route for over 20 years. Weather is dangerous at all times of the year and quick decisions have to be made.

TotalAdventure may return to Denali next week with more footage.

Tomorrow Morning TotalAdventure boards American Airlines in Miami for a three hour flight to Dallas. After a two hour layover, TA boards a 6 hour and 45 minute flight to Anchorage , Alaska, finally arriving 12 hours after leaving Miami. We are taking part in next week’s Adventure Travel World Summit  following the Press Trip sponsored by the State of Alaska. It is promised that there is WiFi in all hotels – so stay tuned for daily updates of Alaskan Adventure !

On Month From Today – TotalAdventure will board an Alaska Railroad train from Anchorage for a National Parks Adventure. Our group – the guests of the Railroad and the Alaska Tourism Corporation will fly with K2 Aviation over glaciers in Denali National Park, and Zipline with Denali Zipline Tours . We’ll then travel by luxury train to Seward and on to Kenai Fjords National Park where we will board a glacier and wildlife cruise. Our group will also hike back country at Exit Glacier .  Later on the third day we board the Glacier Discovery Train to kayak and ice climb with Ascending Path on the Spencer Glacier. Our final night is at Alyeska Resort.

The National Park Adventure leads up to this years’s Adventure Travel World Summit , starting on September 19th in Anchorage , Alaska. The Summit, with leaders of the world’s  top adventure travel companies, is in an exciting new location every year – in the recent past – Chile,Ireland,Namibia,Switzerland,Mexico,Canada,Brazil,Norway and Seattle.

More updates as the adventure approaches. During the trip TotalAdventure will have daily post,videos and photos.

The flight from Miami to Havana is only 45 minutes, but it’s a trip back in time. To 1959.

TotalAdventure flew on the newly relaunched Eastern Airlines – actually a charter by Havana Air. Real commercial fights will start later this year.

Arrival at  Aeropuerto José  Martí.

TotalAdventure was in Cuba in order to research how to set up eco-friendly and cultural trips to be led by local individuals. TotalAdventure operates just like AirBnb – with adventures instead of apartments. Our challenge is finding reputable guides offering unique experiences. One of the biggest difficulties is limited internet access – Wi-Fi is very expensive for the average person and it is generally not available in private homes.

The view from TotalAdventure’s $ 47 a night AirBnb apartment.

As the economy slowly transitions, Total Adventure does it’s best to patronize and work with individuals and families. Instead of a hotel, a local apartment or house. And always a private car and driver – whether a city taxi ride, a long trip from Havana to Trinidad and back , or a day tour in the Trinidad region.

Taxi from the airport to apartment – 1953 Chevy !

The neighborhood in Habana Vieja.

Cuba is the world’s largest renovation project !

All the Cuba posts were uploaded on the sameday, after return to Miami, due to limited access in Cuba. The final post is “Cuba Road Trip 2016”  – a real life video !

For current adventures in Cuba CLICK HERE.

BEL-MAO-MIA   In the morning TotalAdventure packed ( still carrying  ski jacket from Chile ) and boarded TAM for the 2 hour flight to Manaus – Amazonian Capital – and  hopping off point for many jungle and river adventure trips.

Coming into Manaus.

Time To Return Stateside –

The 4 1/2 hour journey offers beautiful aerials of the Northern Amazon, Venezuela’s Gran Sabana, the Guajira Peninsula, Cuba and finally into Miami.

As the Owner and Producer of ArcticTropic Adventure Travel, I have been to over 75 countries ,beginning when I was 8 years old. I have saved every passport. Follow my journeys from Europe in 1967 to expeditions over 6 continents today. I’ve just begun a new passport which will fill up quickly upon the launch of our new app later this Summer 2015.

Early this morning ( March 19 ) ArcticTropic departs Miami for Boston, spending the day there. At 2135 we depart Logan for Keflavik – arriving just in time for the Total Eclipse on the Equinox !

For adventures in Iceland, CLICK HERE

The 2 flight, cross country journey was the easy part of the trip. Above, mesas and canyons of Northern New Mexico.

The High Sierras south of Tahoe.

Across The Pacific.

For adventures in Australia, CLICK HERE

This morning ArcticTropic departs Miami for Sydney, Australia, a 10,016 mile ( 16260 km ) journey via Houston and San Francisco. Tonight’s SFO-SYD flight is 15 hours , leaving at 10:35 PM PST and arriving in Sydney at 8:35 AM Thursday morning.

For adventures in Australia, CLICK HERE

2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.