Category: Argentina šŸ‡¦šŸ‡· (Page 2 of 2)

When international flights were cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Juan Manuel Ballestero solo sailed across the Atlantic for 85-days from Portugal to Argentina to be with his 90 year old father

When flights to his native Argentina were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, 47 year-old Juan Manuel Ballestero devised an ambitious plan to be with his parents Ā» to single-handedly sail his small 29 foot Ohlson 29 from Porto Santo, Portugal, 12,000 kilometres across the Atlantic ocean, to Mar del Plata, Argentina.

BBC Ā»

Explorer’s Web Ā»

What do you do when youā€™re prohibited from international air travel but canā€™t fathom being away from your aged father? Sail 12,000km across the Atlantic, of course.

Juan Manuel Ballestero lives on the small Portuguese island of Porto Santo. When Argentina cancelled all international flights in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he reasoned that the best alternative to reach his 90-year-old father was by sailing. Ballesteroā€˜s voyage from Port Santo to Mar del Plata took 86 days. He arrived on June 17 to a celebrityā€™s welcome.

NY Times Ā»

So he said he loaded his 29-foot sailboat with canned tuna, fruit and rice and set sail in mid-March.

ā€œI didnā€™t want to stay like a coward on an island where there were no cases,ā€ Mr. Ballestero said. ā€œI wanted to do everything possible to return home. The most important thing for me was to be with my family.ā€

ā€¦

Sailing across the Atlantic in a small boat is challenging in the best of circumstances. The added difficulties of doing it during a pandemic became clear three weeks into the trip.

On April 12, the authorities in Cape Verde refused to allow him to dock at the island nation to restock his supply of food and fuel, said Mr. Ballestero.

ā€¦

While he didnā€™t get to celebrate his fatherā€™s 90th birthday in May, he did make it home in time for Fatherā€™s Day.

An update of Emil and Liliana Schmid from Argentina

Emil and Liliana Schmid have been travelling in the same Toyota Land Cruiser since they started on 18 October 1984. They are back in Argentina.

From Primera Edicion Ā»

Ā« Translated from Spanish Ā»

Going back to certain places, they find it disappointing. “Now it is very difficult to enter the countries, many closed borders, many procedures,” protested Emil assuring that before, that did not happen. For her part, Liliana considered that in South America ā€œthere are a lot of people, tourists, buildings. There is a lot of garbageā€¦ people don’t care about the environment, and that hurts us ā€.

However, there is something that does not change for them: people. Despite the many crises, wars and hardships, “the people are still just as friendly and happy as the first time we came.”

The journey continues.

More Ā»

Six rowers become the first to cross the infamous Drake Passage unassisted

Six men, rowed their 29-foot (9-meter) rowboat for 13 days, to become the first to cross the Drake Passage unassisted.

Amanda Lee Myers, Associated Press via Time Ā»

Six men fought for 13 days to make history, becoming the first people to traverse the infamous Drake Passage with nothing other than sheer manpower.

They dodged icebergs, held their breaths as giant whales breached near their small boat and rode building-sized waves while rowing 24 hours a day toward Antarctica.

The team of men from four countries finished crossing the Drake Passage on Wednesday in just under two weeks after pushing off from the southern tip of South America.

Video Ā» Wild Patagonia

Suzette Barnett Ā»

My adventure in Patagonia has been an incredible one, primarily for the vast landscapes and diversity of the regionā€™s scenery with glimpses of every season within a period of just 13 days.

Guided by a National Geographic Expeditions Leader my time there was spent hiking, filming and shooting the time-lapses now used to create to this short film which has been graced by a stunning instrumental from musical geniuses. Please allow me four minutes of your time and turn your sound on.

I hope you can feel what I felt.

Adventures in Argentina’s Rugged Northwest

 

Michaela Trimble, writing for National Geographic, has some adventurous suggestions for the region surrounding Salta:

  • Overland to Tolar Grande and the Puna
    • Nine hours south of Salta to Argentinaā€™s high-altitude Puna
  • Hike to Hidden Rock Art Galleries in Guachipas
    • Two hours southwestĀ of Salta
  • Cycle the Wine Region of Cafayate
    • Home to beautifulĀ red-rock canyons
  • Llama Trek in Purmamarca and Tilcara
    • This area is a UNESCO World Heritage site

Read More

First luxury world cruise to stop at all seven continents ā€” including Antarctica

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Amsterdam, the long way around.

Is this the ultimate glam trip? This doesn’t meet my personal definition of adventure, but we all have different comfort levels.

Prices for the 140-day globetrotting trip, scheduled for 2020, on the 382-passenger luxury cruise ship range from Ā£49,000 (US$69,000.) for a basic cabin to Ā£180,000 (US$253,000.) for a stay in the luxurious ‘owner’s suite’. Per passenger.

Daily Mail:

TheĀ Silver Whisper ship will set sail on January 6, 2020, from Fort Lauderdale in Florida before heading on to Argentina.

From there, the cruise liner will dip down to the Antarctic Peninsula, so passengers can spend a morning soaking in the other-worldly landscape.

A stop at the world’s coldest continent is currently scheduled for February 5, 2020.

Continuing on its journey, the boat will head on to Chile, Tahiti, Singapore, Mumbai, Rome and Dublin before finally docking in Amsterdam on May 25.

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