Ed Stafford is currently WALKING THE AMAZON. He is an expedition leader and friend, who we’re supporting as much as we can on his epic journey. We’re chuffed to bits that Ed has found the time to write a guest blog for us – good luck with everything Ed, we’re behind you 110%!

The “last great feat of exploration”.

If I see the above line again describing an expedition I might just keel over from sheer exasperation.

From circumnavigations to pole attempts, the amount of people claiming to be doing the “very last” expedition before everything is tamed, manicured and utterly explored is comical.

Unlike many I do still think that men and women who brave the elements to drag themselves and their sleds to the poles are explorers. They are pushing back the boundaries of human achievement with every new record attempted and they deserve to be up there with the famous names of yesteryear for their achievements. They are wondrous and inspiring people, who make me want to leap up from the sofa, throw my TV remote vehemently into the waste bin, and attack all my previously unresolved problems with renewed vigour.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not talking about those who enter organised races across oceans or over icecaps. These men and women, commendable though they are, do fit better in the more generic category of “adventurer”. I’m talking about people who are slowly chipping away at the boundaries of possibility.

I read recently that due to the fact that ocean rowers don’t meet new people or cultures that they shouldn’t be called “explorers”. What?! Such an anthropogenic stance completely ignores pitting oneself against nature and fighting for one’s very survival. If its never been done before – how can it not be exploratory?

Recently I received a nice support message from Sarah Outen. She was at sea for 124 days and in 2009 became the youngest woman to row solo across any ocean. She conceived, organised and conducted the expedition herself and she succeeded. Is she an explorer? Too bloody right she is.

As long as the human brain is free to imagine and dream there will always be new expeditions, new adventures and new world-firsts to be attempted. Lets stop trying to draw a line under each one to pretend it’s the last. As a race we are not nearly as close to completing all that is possible to achieve on this planet as we think.

Long live exploration and all it embodies.

Ed

While this is a wonderful thing for sure, it is important to remember that if we are to do this, we must adopt an attitude that may be slightly different from what we are used to. It is likely that your expedition or journey will take you to a part (or parts) of the world that is fundamentally different from where you call home in thousands of ways, and it is important that you prepare yourself for this. Fortunately, there are a few rules of thumb that apply to just about anywhere you might want to travel, and, once adopted, you can rest easy knowing that you are not just an “annoying tourist.”

First, you must be sure that you adopt an open mind whilst on your expedition. No matter your destination, you are likely to run into certain types of cultures and traditions that differ drastically than your own, and you have to go into the expedition knowing and expecting this. If you do not, you will likely be shocked and made uncomfortable, which is not beneficial to you or the native population you are interacting with. If you happen to witness something that you feel would never be found happening in your country of origin, try your best not to think too deeply into it, as chances are it is the norm in the country you are visiting.

Second, be receptive to the locals of wherever you are visiting, as technically you are guests in their native land. If you are offered food that you may be unfamiliar with (cuisine in Asia, for instance, is drastically different from that of the UK), you should do you best to try it, even if it goes against what you may be used to. Chances are you may enjoy it and wonder why you had any anxiety over it in the first place! The bottom line is not to be rude to the people who are friendly enough to be inviting you into their culture, as this is morally wrong by everyone’s standards.

Finally, use you common sense! Always use logic and be safe in situations that are foreign to you, as you should never put yourself in a situation where you sense danger. A dark alley in a foreign country is just as dangeous in South East Asia as it is in London, don’t stagger around drunk as you will be even more of a target to people with evil intent and lastly, don’t flash around obvious signs of your wealth.  This last point isn’t just for your safety, it can also make people who are nice and friendly towards you become uncomfortable and feel like they must treat you differently or better than their current best efforts.

The team here at S2Si would like to let you all know about our new South America Expeditions. We have now opened up an office which is based in Santiago, Chile and is staffed by an old friend of ours and his Chilean wife (they will be making their introductions soon, don’t worry!).

When it comes to expeditions South America has it all – jungle, mountains, coast line, deserts, fast flowing rivers etc. That is stating the obvious really, considering the size of the continent!  However, we have chosen Chile and Bolivia as our base of operations for the majority of the South America expeditions.

Chile has in the south the most amazing mixture of mountains, lakes, rivers, coastal islands and adventure in the southern hemisphere.  You can go from over 5000m high snow capped mountains, across the plains of Patagonia, down rivers, into lakes, into the sea and then spend time amongst a huge network of islands.  In the north Chile dries out to become the driest place on the earth (the Atacama Desert) and is home to more snow capped volcanoes which then border Bolivia.

Once inside Bolivia the high Andean plateau continues with lots of quality mountaineering and trekking for activities, the, suddenly a big drop. The Andes stop suddenly and to the east lies the Amazon Basin.  An hours flight from the capital, La Paz, puts you in the Madidi national park, home to pristine Amazon rain forest and all the biodiversity that goes with it.

South America expeditions can last, with S2Si, for as little as a week where you come screaming out of the Andes in Patagonia, Chile, strapped into a kayak, then a mountain bike, then on a horse…. until you reach the coast…. or you can take a more leisurely month to explore the Andes in depth, from Chile over into Bolivia, finishing up at lower altitudes as you canoe down Amazonian rivers looking for wildlife.

It is not only the adventurous or the super fit that can take advantage of our South America expeditions, people on a gap year, families, people looking for an exciting way to make money for charity can all fly on over to Chile or Bolivia and have some fun.

There are so many places in the world that you could visit, the possibilities are virtually endless. In order to begin planning, you should first talk to people who are experts in adventure vacations or do a little research online. What does your dream vacation look like? Do you want to be exposed to the cultures and traditions of the people on your vacation? How do you plan on doing that? These are all great questions to get the process started. For instance you might decide that you want to go camping and you want the kayak to be your main source of travel. From there an expert can tell you where you will have the most success with those types of adventure vacations. They will also tell you what to expect in the region you will visit and exactly what you need to take. You may also want to seek someone out that knows the area and hire them to be your guide.

When you go ‘off the beaten path’ you will want a full rundown of the kinds of wildlife and possible dangers that exist. If ‘going it alone’ you will want to check with the appropriate government departments to see what the health risks and social unrest is like in that area. Adventure vacations ‘off the tourist trail’ can lead you into challenging areas so check all aspects regarding your own safety.

Traveling and tourism has changed. Adventure vacations and tours have changed. People do not simply want to find themselves in a sheltered resort being waited on by locals anymore. They want the full experience of the area they visit. For this reason, vacations are becoming more helpful to the world as a whole. They are helping people become exposed to a new way of thinking and seeing fellow human beings. The untrodden parts of the world are also the purest parts of the world.

The human race of today is more sedentary than it has ever been since the history of it’s evolution. The corporate lifestyle that so many of us have adopted, in which we sit for upwards to ten hours a day in front of a computer, has literally changed the physiology of us as a race of human beings. With the rising cost of living in some many parts of the world, some of us don’t even have the option to take a weekend off, as second jobs are becoming more and more normal as times go on. For these reasons, it is important that we engage in character building exercises that allow us to experience personal growth and productivity. One of the best ways to go about this is to participate in an expedition.

Many of us have dreamed of venturing to parts of the world that we have never seen before, yet don’t feel that we have the money or the time to do so. Fortunately, there are plenty of organizations and companies that specialize in putting together expeditions, which makes it easier than ever for the average person to finally experience what they have only imagined to be impossible. This is a wonderful resource, as these types of expeditions tend to be exactly what people need in order to refresh themselves and get a new lease on life.

Expeditions are good for character building for many reasons. For one, it throws the individual into a place he or she is likely unfamiliar with, causing them to become a bit disorientated. While this may not sound like a positive thing, it truly is, as it forces the individual to use their own logic to figure out how to adapt to their surroundings. When we live a humdrum lifestyle in which every day is the same this trait is all but lost for most of us. Naturally, it can be very refreshing to regain this sense of responsibility.

Responsibility is the other key factor here. On an expedition, many times the individual’s actions directly determine the outcomes that may or may not affect other members of the group. There are plenty of applications in the real world that are related to this, however these extreme situations force you to really think things through so that the perfect decision can be made.

The best thing about taking an expedition is possibly the end result. After everything is all said and done, you are able to walk away with the empowering knowledge that you were able to survive something that beforehand you thought was most likely impossible. This sense of empowerment can be carried with you far beyond the expedition, along with everything else you learned, and will truly change you as a person. Many people come back from environmental expeditions feeling like a new person and are able to go back to their jobs with optimistic viewpoints on life – there’s no better way to recharge!

Although this is somewhat hard to back up with hard evidence, it is fair to say that with every square foot of untouched territory we discover as a species, we become more worldly and knowledgeable. Just look at explorers such as Christopher Columbus – without the journey that inevitably ended in the discovery of America, who knows when the country would have ever been found? Discoveries of the past have always served as a catalyst for change and innovation, which is why one should never underestimate the importance of exploration.

Many people think that because we have become so advanced and familiar with the majority of the planet that there is no longer any need to explore. This couldn’t be more false and is extremely unfortunate, as it has caused a bit of lethargy for many people when it comes to heralding new expeditions. The fact is, there are still many areas on the planet that have literally never been touched by human footprints. Thus, it is impossible to make an educated decision as to what we may have to learn from these areas. This is precisely the reason why it is extremely important that we continue to explore, just like in days of old.

If exploration was to stop completely, then it is safe to say that the evolution of our society’s culture would one day (perhaps soon) become stagnant to the point of boring. The notion that there is nothing left on earth to be discovered is depressing to say the least, and can be extremely discouraging. Who knows what interesting discoveries may lay in these areas that we have yet to explore? Perhaps there are elements that are yet unknown by the human race, some of which may even hold the cure for common ailments such as cancer. The problem is, most people dismiss these possibilities as being very small and not worth the risk or money that would be required to field such expeditions.

Fortunately, there are still a fair amount of individuals that believe in the importance of continuous expeditions. Perhaps if we can unify these people into a single, cohesive group, it would be possible to convince the naysayers that exploration still holds an immense amount of importance, no matter who you are or what part of the world you call home.