Video: Drone Flight Over Bolivia in 4k

Bolivia is one of the South American countries that often gets forgotten when competing for attention against the likes of Peru, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. But the country has a natural beauty all of its own, and plenty of great opportunities for adventure. This video was shot using a drone and a 4k GoPro Hero4 Black camera. It captures a variety of landscapes from Bolivia in fashion that is both oddly mesmerizing and incredibly tranquil. Shot at 3000 meters (9842 feet) in altitude, the video shows fantastic shots of the famous salt flats, as the altiplano stretches out before you. The soothing music only adds to the experience.

Flying Bolivia in 4K from Octocam on Vimeo.

Freya Hoffmeister Completes Circumnavigation of South America by Kayak

One of the major events that took place in the world of adventure while I was away in Egypt was Freya Hoffmeister's completion of her attempt to circumnavigate around South America by kayak. The German paddler reached Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 1, bringing to conclusion at long last her nearly four-year long effort to become the first person to accomplish that feat.

Freya originally set out from Buenos Aires back on August 30, 2011. Traveling south along the Atlantic coastline, she eventually navigated through the treacherous Strait of Magellan and around the infamous Cape Horn, to reach the Pacific Ocean. At that point, she turned north and paddled all the way up South America's Pacific Coast before turning east to pass through the Panama Canal. From there, she managed to return to the Atlantic, and started the long arduous journey back to starting point.

Regular readers of this blog will know that this isn't Freya's first circumnavigation of a continent. She also managed to paddle completely around Australia back in 2009, becoming just the second person to do so. But that epic journey wasn't enough to keep her off the water for long, and she soon hatched an idea to circle her second continent by kayak. The South American journey got underway two years later, and now it is finally finished.

Upon arrival at the finish line last week, Freya was met by an array of Argentine dignitaries and will-wishers. Several ships escorted into the harbor in Buenos Aires, where a small crowd was on hand to welcome her.

It is unclear if this will be the end of Freya's waterborne adventures at this point, but I wouldn't put it past her to be planning another epic journey in the future. For now, I'm sure she's happy to have completed this expedition at long last, and is enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation.

Congratulations to Freya on a job well done. She is an inspiration to many.

Freya Hoffmeister Approaches End of Kayak Journey Around South America

German paddler Freya Hoffmeister is approaching the end of her epic journey around South America in a kayak. According to her most recent updates, she is now less than 350 km (217 miles) from reaching the finish line in Buenos Aires, the city she set out from nearly four years ago.

According to her own estimates, it should take Freya about 18 more days to complete her expedition. That seems like a conservative estimate however, as she has been making good time recently, and is likely to finish ahead of that schedule. I'd expect her to press on to the end in a little more than two weeks, as she wraps up what has been one incredibly long and difficult journey. By the time she is done, she'll have circumnavigated the entire continent – including passing around the treacherous Cape Horn – by kayak, covering some 24,000 km (14,912 miles) in the process.

Freya is no stranger to long distance journeys by kayak. Previously she has paddled around Iceland and New Zealand, and even became the first woman to circumnavigate Australia as well. After completing that massive challenge back in 2009, she started looking for other places she could paddle as well. Somewhere along the way she came up with the idea of traveling completely around South America, and in August of 2011 she set off to do just that.

In her original estimate she expected it would take about 24 months to complete her expedition, beginning and ending in Buenos Aires. It has taken considerably longer than that however due to logistical challenges, taking some time off to go back home, and overcoming personal obstacles along the way. But now, the end is in sight, and Freya is poised to make history once again.

Normally I would have waited until she was a bit closer to the finish line to post an update on her progress, but at the end of the week I'll be leaving the country once again, and it is likely that Freya will finish her impressive journey while I am away. So, with that in mind, I'd encourage everyone to follow her progress at FreyaHoffmeister.com. Her final journal entries should prove memorable, as will the dash to the end.

It is always interesting to see these long expeditions wrap up at long last. I've been following this one since Freya set out all those many months ago. I'm glad that she is closing in on the end at long last. I'm sure the sense of relief and accomplishment that she'll feel will be overwhelming.

Video: South America by Drone

Adam Humphrey, the filmmaker behind this beautiful short film, spent five weeks backpacking through South America, covering more than 19,000 km (11,800 miles) in the process. Along the way, he shot some amazing video – with the help of a drone – in Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. The results speak for themselves, as viewers are treated to fantastic shots of some of the most stunning landscapes on the continent, if not the world.

South America by drone from Adam Humphrey on Vimeo.

Endurance Athlete is Running from Vancouver to Buenos Aires

As a daily runner, I pride myself in slipping on my running shoes each and every day, and heading outside to put in a few miles no matter what the weather. But my running addiction is nothing compared to that of Jaime Ramsay, a British adventurer who is currently attempting to travel from Vancouver, Canada to Buenos Aires, Argentina on foot. That's a distance of more than 18,000 km (11,185 miles), of which he has already completed 6500 km (4038 miles).

Jaime has broken this epic running journey down into three stages. The first stage began in Vancouver and consisted of him running down the Pacific Coast of the U.S. That section of the run covered a total distance of 2700 km (1677 miles) before ending in the Mexican town of Tijuana. He completed that stage last fall, and immediately moved onto the second, which is a more challenging and dangerous excursion across Mexico and Central America that will eventually end in Panama City. covering some 6400 km (3976 miles) in the process. As I write this, Jaime is in the midst of that second stage, having reached Guatemala a few days back.

The next stage of the expedition will be even more difficult and dangerous. After he reaches Panama, Jaime will face the extremely remote and wild region known as The Darien Gap. This 100 km (62 mile) stretch of his run will cross through dense rainforest populated by drug runners, guerrilla fighters, dangerous animals, and incredibly difficult terrain. How exactly he'll navigate through this part of the world remains to be seen. Even he says he'll have to determine the best route once he arrives. But needless to say, it will be one of the more trying parts of the entire expedition as he passes through a place that is amongst the most dangerous in the world.


After The Darien Gap he'll pass into South America proper, where he'll begin the final stage of his run. That will be a 7750 km (4815 mile) leg that begins in Cartagena, Colombia and ends at the finish line in Buenos Aires. Along the way he'll have to cross the Andes Mountains, a challenge unlike any that he has faced so far.

When he's all said and done, Jaime hopes to have completed the entire journey in about 600 days, running a total of 428 marathons as he passes through 14 countries. But as he says on his website, he isn't doing this to set a record or become the "first" to accomplish something. Instead, he is making this run to prove that determined people can do anything that they set their mind to, and accomplish some impressive things while doing so. That's the kind of spirit that we love here at The Adventure Blog, which is why I wanted to share Jaime's story.

The intrepid runner is also using his journey to raise funds for several charities. Among them are WaterAid, an organization dedicated to helping developing nations get clean drinking water; We Are MacMillan, which provides support for cancer patients; and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which strives to prevent male suicide in the U.K.

You can follow along with Jaime's progress on his website at JaimeisRunning.com, where you'll also find links to how you can donate to his causes. You can also follow him on Twitter at @jamieisrunning too. https://twitter.com/jamieisrunning

Video: Traveling Along La Ruta de los Gringos in Peru

Peru is a country with a surprising number of unique environments and landscapes. Ranging from the dense Amazon Rainforest to stark deserts, to the snowcapped peaks of the Andes, it is a land of startling contrasts. All of those settings, and more, are captured nicely in this video, which was shot over a three-week journey through the South American country. It is a wonderful travelogue that documents all of the fantastic things to see and do there, reminding us why Peru is a top destination with adventure travelers the world over.

Perú - La ruta de los gringos from Guillaume JUIN on Vimeo.

Aconcagua Speed Record Smashed Again!

It seems I missed quite a bit while I was away.

Back in December, Spanish mountain runner Kilian Jornet impressed us all with his amazing run up and down Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America at 6962 meters (22,841 ft). At the time, Jornet destroyed the old record by more than three hours, posting a total time for the roundtrip at 12 hours and 49 minutes. As impressive as that effort was however, the new speed record was short lived, as it has already been broken by another very talented mountain athlete.

According to reports, Ecuadorian-Swiss sky runner Karl Egloff shaved nearly an hour off Jornet's time, by running to the summit and back in a mind-blowing 11 hours and 52 minutes. Both men used the same route up and down the mountain, covering some 40 km (25 miles), and notching up 4062 meters (13,327 ft) of vertical gain in the process.

While not quite as well known as Jornet, Egloff continues to add to his impressive resume. Back in 2013, the Spaniard ran up and down Kilimanjaro in just 7 hours and 14 minutes. Egloff would later break that record as well, besting Jornet by more than 30 minutes.

It seems that Jornet has a rival to keep him on his toes at long last. The Spanish runner is busy preparing to attempt a speed record on Everest this spring, and is probably completely focused on that  effort. Both of these men are supreme mountain athletes of course, and I'd love to see them compete head-to-head on a trail with one another. For now though, we'll probably have to be satisfied with each of them pushing harder on these speed record runs.

Freya Hoffmeister Reaches Rio in South American Circumnavigation Kayak Expedition

It has been far too long since we last checked in on the progress of Freya Hoffmeister, the German paddler who has spent the better part of the past four years kayaking around South America. A few days ago Freya reached a major milestone on her quest to circle her second continent when she reached Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. She is now ready to start the final leg of the journey, which will return her to her starting point in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Freya reached Rio on February 8 and has already returned to the water as she continues her slow, methodical march towards the finish line. So far she has spent 775 days on this expedition, of which roughly 550 have been spent out on the water. To date she has covered approximately 24,400 km (15,160 miles), averaging roughly 45 km (28 miles) per day. It has of course been grueling at times, with plenty of unique challenges, but the latest leg of the journey has seen improved conditions. She now finds herself with beautiful beaches to camp on most nights, and the heat and humidity has dropped in recent days as well. 

You may recall that Freya became the first woman to kayak around Australia a few years back, completing that expedition in record time no less. She was able to complete that voyage in 322 days, of which 245 were spent paddling. That journey included a 575 km (371 mile) open water crossing across the Gulf of Carpentaria that managed to shave days and kilometers off of her time. The only other person to have completed a circumnavigation of Australia is New Zealander Paul Caffyn, who did it 361 days.

After wrapping up that impressive expedition, Freya took some time off before deciding what she wanted to do next. She didn't stay at home for too long however, and in August of 2011 she set out on her attempt to circumnavigate South America. The journey first took her south along the Atlantic Coast, where she eventually rounded the treacherous Cape Horn. From there, she passed into the Pacific and turned north, eventually passing through the Panama Canal. She has since been making her way back along the Atlantic side of the continent as she pushes towards Buenos Aires once again.

At this point, she is approximately 2300 km (1430 miles) from the finish line. If she maintains her average speed, she should return to her starting point in early April. We will of course keep an eye on her progress as she nears the end of what is turning out to be yet another impressive padding expedition. 

Video: I Lived in Aconcagua

While back I posted a video from filmmaker Guido Patrignani in which he trekked through the Himalaya while Counting Stars. Now, he's back with another fun video, this time taking us on a hike up Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America. As in his previous video, Guido is singing all the way, while the fantastic scenery of Argentina is revealed around him. Check out his latest fun clip below and get a sense of what it is like on one of the Seven Summits.


I Lived in Aconcagua by guidopat

Polish Explorer Planning Trans-South American Expedition via The Amazon

Polish explorer Marcin Gienieczko has announced a bold new expedition that will get underway on May 1 of this year. The adventurous photographer and journalist intends to cross South America by bike, canoe, and on foot, with his route that will take him to the very heart of the Amazon Rainforest and along the mightiest river on the planet.

Marcin is calling his expedition the Solo Amazon (site in Polish and Spanish), and he will begin the journey with a 750 km (466 mile) bike ride from Lima, Peru to the small town of San Francisco. From there, he'll begin an epic canoe journey that will eventually cover more than 6130 km (3809 miles) beginning at the Apurimac River and the very headwaters of the Amazon itself. He'll then proceed downstream to the Enge, Tambo, and Ucayali before paddling out onto the Amazon. He'll follow the river until he reaches Belem in Brazil, at which time he'll complete his journey to the Atlantic Ocean on foot, running all the way while carrying the Polish flag.

Passionate about photography and exploration, Marcin is no stranger to long distance adventures. His previous expeditions have taken him down the Yukon River in Alaska and the Lena River in Siberian Russia, as well as several other long distance floats in those locations, as well as Canada. In 2009 he even crossed Siberia on foot in temperatures that routinely plummeted to -50ºC/-58ºF. Crossing South America will be an entirely different challenge however, as the unique environments of the Amazon will create obstacles that he hasn't seen on his previous journeys.

While the expedition is called "Solo Amazon," Marcin will have a guide for part of the excursion. In the most dangerous section of the trip – when he'll be passing through a region mainly under the control of drug lords – he'll be joined by Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera, who accompanied Ed Stafford on his historic expedition to cross the Amazon on foot a few years back. Cho has become the "go-to" guide in the Amazon since those days, and he'll help lead Marcin through some perilous parts of the route.

Marcin says that he is looking forward to the start of the expedition, although he knows that it will be a physical and mental challenge. The journey will be a long and difficult one, but his past experience will help him survive in the wilds of South America. We'll see how he fares when he gets underway in a few months time.

Good luck Marcin!