by Ian | Nov 29, 2011 | Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
With just a few days to go before we head off on our expedition, I thought I’d give you a quick overview of who is going and what we are planning to do on our 4 week expedition to Central America.
The team consits of 11 members including 3 leaders, 3 network and 5 explorers. The team is as follows:
- Ian
- Mark
- Charlotte
- Max
- Tom
- James
- Clare
- Adrian
- Zach
- Aaron
- Colm
We are going to be based at a conservation charity called Wildtracks, on the North-Eastern tip of mainland Belize in a village called Sarteneja.
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by Ian | Nov 19, 2011 | Belize 2011/12
[wp-tube vid_id=”Ao8tqwNpA4Y” /]
by Ian | Jan 24, 2011 | Atacama, Expeditions, Team HSX
teamHSX on Atacama recieved emails today with details on the course…
It makes for interesting reading..
Distance of Each Stage
The approximate distances of each stage are detailed below. There are checkpoints approximately every 10 kilometers / 6 miles along the course where volunteers and a medical doctor are stationed to give you water and support. Each checkpoint also has a tent providing shade.
Stage 1 – 35.2 km / 21.9 miles
Stage 2 – 41.8 km / 26.0 miles
Stage 3 – 40.0 km / 24.9 miles
Stage 4 – 42.8 km / 26.6 miles
Stage 5 – 73.6 km / 45.7 miles
Stage 6 – 16.0 km / 9.9 miles
Terrain
The terrain is varied. You can expect salt flats, sand dunes, loose rock and dirt, grassy plains, canyons and hard-packed dirt tracks. There are also a few water crossings throughout the week.
Altitude
The course starts at its highest altitude. Camp 1 is just over 3,000 meters / 10,000 feet. Each Stage takes competitors to a lower level, with the week finishing in San Pedro de Atacama at 2,443 meters / 7,780 feet.
Climate
The climate of the Atacama Desert is hot and dry. Course temperatures can reach higher than 40°C / 104°F (with lows of 5°C / 41°F at night).
Good luck to us….. 🙂
by Ian | Dec 15, 2010 | Belize 2011/12
The Belize team will be hosting the annual HSX Christmas dinner this weekend.
by Ian | Sep 23, 2010 | Peru 2010
Fearne Cotton is off to the Inca trail on Saturday, so who better to give her advice than the HSX peru team. Joe and Katie spent a couple of mintues chatting to Fearne giving her all the advice that she could ever need for the trail!
by Ian | Aug 30, 2010 | Peru 2010
After the Inca trail we made our way to the nearby town of Aguas Calientes for a couple of days rest and relaxation before we returned to Cuzco. Our first afternoon was spent visiting the many local shops and markets to look for souvenirs ranging from chess sets to ponchos to the ever popular stripy trousers. The leaders explained to us that we would be given a certain amount of money a day per person to buy our own meals, something which was enjoyed by everyone, as we found a wide variety of foods to suit our own tastes (and budgets).
The next morning we visited the hot springs at the edge of the town. It was particularly enjoyable to sit in the hot, slightly yellow, water and feel the assorted aches and pains from the Inca trail be soaked away. Several people decided that moving from the coldest pool to the hottest at high speed was a good plan, leading to some pretty funny reactions when they realized that the hot pools felt somewhat hotter.
After another afternoon of browsing the shops and markets, it was time for us to leave for Cuzco, which meant a train journey from Aguas Calientes to Ollyontambo, and then a bus trip from Ollyontambo to Cuzco. The train journey turned out to be quite different from one in the UK. We where first treated to a demonstration of a local dance, in which the train staff would dance up and down the isles which was brilliant. Near the end of the journey the staff started to do a catwalk down the isle with Peruvian clothes that you could buy!
We arrived in Cusco late in the night and fell straight to sleep as the journey had been very tiring. We got up late in the morning as everyone decided they wanted a rest. We changed hotels that day to a smaller hotel but it meant that we had the run of the place. That night we went out to celebrate Alex´s birthday in a pizzeria in which we consumed many family sized pizza´s. The Snake patrol (originally the Owl Monkeys, changed because the snakes are cooler) presented Alex with a toy snake to remind him of his patrol in Peru. Also Alex had a massive cake which he soon plunged his face in! We left the pizzeria to go to a karaoke session where people (Bertie, Joe D, Joe B, Ross and James) attempted to sing “living on a prayer”, “livin la viva loca” and “breaking free”. This sent the tone for the rest of the evening.
On the 28th we went to visit different scout units across Cusco, me, Dave, Katrina, John and Will visited the La Salle scout unit. Even though their was a language barrier the scouts made us feel very welcome and involved in all of the games we played with them which included duck, duck goose and kick the bucket. We did flag break and flag down with them in a similar fashion as we do in England but they say a prayer each time. Nearer the end we exchanged Scarves and email address´s so that we would remember the experience.
Rafael had arranged for us to go to a restaurant in Tipon (A town close to Cusco) to try Guinea pig. Most people had half a Guinea Pig, it tasted similar to rabbit and was accompanied by stuffed peppers and salad. It was definitely a great experience and something that everyone wanted to try, it is also a great thing to tell my sister that I have eaten a Guinea Pig as she has two of them!
Andrew, Joe D
