My Journey North of Antarctica

As I reflect back on this remarkable journey, it is with some awe. To be modest, and yet factual, I have left my footprints on every continent of this planet after my journey to the Antarctic. It is one of the few places, if not the only, that Man has not desecrated by its presence. The sheer beauty and inhabitants of this natural environment are wondrous.

Antarctica was only part of this journey. As a backpacker, I experienced one of the most enjoyable moments one can have. That is being reunited with a close friend along the journey – with mine living in Argentina at the time. She invited me to spend time in a magical part of the Patagonians on Lago Puelo. I also had the great fortune of staying with one of her friends who is a forest ranger in the vast area that borders Argentina and Chile. This remote area lends itself to know more about the gaucho and the way of Argentineans who live outside of Buenos Aires.

Another moment that will always stick with me is having my feet spread across the line of the equator. No, I didn’t feel like Atlas holding up the planet, but I couldn’t help but feel I was truly connected to both hemispheres. Unique events and encounters continued as I journeyed to the Galápagos Islands where nature dominates and Man is limited.

This adventure progresses further north into Central America, experiencing different ways of life. It was also an opportunity to witness the ruins of past civilizations, many of which would make today’s leaders envious.

I am so grateful to have seen these regions of our amazing planet, and I hope that in some way reading the adventures I have experienced, will be as rewarding and inspiring to the reader as it was for me.

So many people helped make this adventure and book possible. However, the most important person was my wife Marietta. If not for all her hard work, this book would have never been made.