We’re headed back down to South America to spend the next two weeks in remote Peru, visiting with the Machiuengan and Ashaninka people in the community of Timpia (12 04 50 S – 72 49 18 W) located on the Urabamba River. Our first visit to this vast and bio-diverse region was two years ago when we went into the Amazon to meet with these tribes and learn about their ever-changing environment. We made great friends while there and learned that these incredible people share many of our concerns for the environment and it’s future. “Something is wrong with the fish” is what we were initially told so we’re in to help them figure this out.

When we first arrived at the Urubamba River, we were told . “Something is wrong with the fish.” So we’re in to help them figure this out. (Photo by Mary Marshall)

Our meeting with the Tribal Leadership and members from the area while there will help us lay the groundwork the official kick-off of our NIK Project – the Network of Indigenous Knowledge, which we’ll have up and operational when we return to Peru in the fall. Creating an environmental network among the people of this region and the Alaska Native and Canadian First Nations people is the start of the global connection, and the true focus of The Healing Journey. This network will ultimately combine the collection of modern scientific environmental date with Indigenous knowledge from Indigenous societies around the globe, creating an accurate, informative and colorful picture of the condition of our planet.

The cultural exchange will be phenomenal and an integral part of this process and we are simply thrilled to be so close to actually connecting via satellite and other technologies these tribes who literally are worlds away from one another, yet who often share equally impactful environmental challenges.

Beginning on 23 May, you can go to our SPOT link to follow us on this latest Journey.

A satellite view shows where the Tribes will gather for one of the
Healing Journey and NIK meetings. (Map from Google Earth)

Watch for an update here in mid-June during the National Geographic Explorers’ Symposium on how things went in Peru and what the People of Timpia have on their minds. Also, become a part of this! Offer your suggestions, insight and ideas regarding our efforts in Peru! This is all about our connections!

As always, thanks for reading ~
Jon

NEXT: More From Jon Waterhouse

Titan looking up into the trees overhead (Photo by David O’Bryan)

Lisa O’Bryan is in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, where Jane Goodall began the first studies of chimps in the wild. Lisa is in the forest to try to better understand the calls chimps make, to help discover just where the line is (or isn’t) between sounds and speech.

Though the chimps have been searching far and wide for any high quality food that might be available, all they have been turning up with is a mouthful of hard, bright green fruits. Thus it wasn’t surprising when one of the chimps went in pursuit of a more satisfying meal.

My focal target for the day was Titan, one of the adult male chimpanzees at Gombe National Park. After spending the morning crunching on unripe fruit with his group mates, Titan climbed higher on the ridge to try his luck solo. While perched on top of a dense sea of shrubs he suddenly dropped to the ground and wriggled underneath the vegetation. Casually coming to a stop at the base of a large tree he peered upwards through the dense ceiling of leaves.

This action didn’t catch our attention until we spied a troop of red colobus monkeys resting in the highest branches. Clearly his behavior caught their attention as well since they immediately began leaping through the treetops to safety. While the odds were clearly not in his favor, Titan pursued, slinking through the undergrowth below the fleeing troop.

Scrambling on top of a fallen tree to get a better view of the action, we saw the monkeys congregating in a nearby tree nervously scanning their environment. Suddenly, Titan’s huge form broke free of the vegetation below, setting the air a-buzz with flying primates. Titan immediately zeroed in on one of the smaller monkeys, hurtling through the branches and plunging back into the bushes below.

Titan enjoys the fruits of his labor while Fanni scores some scraps (Photo by Lisa O’Bryan)

Chema waits for scraps of meat to fall from the chimps feeding above her (Photo by Lisa O’Bryan)

Though he emerged a few minutes later empty-handed, he clearly wasn’t ready to give up. While climbing back into the tree he grew more brazen, making a grab for a pair of monkeys as they raced by. While one quickly fled, the other put up a fight, shaking branches and lunging at the provoking chimp before running off. Undeterred, Titan sauntered through the trees after the fleeing troop.

As the action continued into the next valley, we made a break for the trail leading down the steep ravine. Halfway down, chilling screeches broke out from around the stream bed, hastening our travel. As we skidded to a stop at the bottom of the gorge we saw what all the commotion was about. Perched high in a tree, Titan was holding the body of a young monkey. Now in the company of two females attracted by the commotion, Titan remained in the tree for the rest of the evening, savoring the best meal he has had in some time.

As the rainy season fades away, these hunts will likely increase in number, particularly once the chimps start traveling in larger parties. Until then, those bold enough (or hungry enough) to go it alone may be rewarded with a hearty meal to help them weather these lean months.

NEXT: Read All Gombe 2013 Blog Posts

Learn More

National Geographic Jane Goodall Archives

The São Tomé and Príncipe Reedfrog (Hyperolius molleri) is the only amphibian species found on both islands. It occurs from sea level up to over 1200 meters elevation and will breed just about anywhere (even a water-filled pig trough!) Photo by Andrew Stanbridge.

With the recent discovery of offshore oil, São Toméans will soon face the challenge of reconciling rapid economic development with preserving their natural heritage.  Young Explorer Rayna Bell will return to the island with a team of expert scientists to discover just how many species occupy the habitat and how rare and irreplaceable they might be.

——–

Unlike birds and reptiles, amphibians are usually absent from oceanic islands because their moist skin makes them sensitive to salt water and they can’t survive a long journey at sea. One reason the oceanic islands of São Tomé and Príncipe are so remarkable is that they host not just one but seven endemic amphibian species (six frogs and one caecilian). Although seven species may not sound very impressive, there are no endemic amphibians in either the Hawaiian or Galapagos Islands, but those archipelagos have only been around for a few million years while the island of Príncipe is over 30 million years old!

The mystery of how and when frogs got to São Tomé and Príncipe is what initially inspired my interest in these unique islands. For the past four years I’ve been trying to figure out which mainland African species successfully crossed the Gulf of Guinea and evolved into the São Tomé giant reedfrog and its sister species, the São Tomé and Príncipe reedfrog.

Biologists Rayna Bell and Bob Drewes searching for the São Tomé and Príncipe Reedfrog in “pristine habitat”. Photo by Andrew Stanbridge

There are over 120 species of reedfrogs in Africa, so choosing among candidates is a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack, but I’ve been using genetic methods to guide my search. The basic idea is to compare the DNA of candidate “ancestor species” with DNA of the island species, because the true ancestral species should be the closest genetic match.

So far, the best genetic match is a species called the cinnamon-belly reedfrog that is found throughout Central Africa. Now I’m trying to narrow down my search even further to pinpoint the exact location of the population that dispersed to the islands sometime in the past 30 million years. It’s still too early to say for sure, but it looks like the source population is somewhere along a major river drainage in Gabon, an equatorial country located only a few hundred kilometers away from the islands.

When I first started this project, I figured my chances of actually finding the ancestral species, let alone the specific source population, were slim to none. But the presence of seven endemic amphibians on two tiny oceanic islands serves as a constant reminder that with enough time, anything is possible!

Watch Rayna, Bob, Velma and Andrew attempt to catch frogs in Príncipe:

NEXT: The Quest for Giant Treefrog Tadpoles

———

Iraqi Kurdistan is home to several groups of nomads, ethnic Kurds and Arabs who migrate between winter villages and summer pastures.

“In winter, we live in houses, but in the summer, in the wild, in tents,” says Ali Tahir Ibrahim, part of a family of Kurdish nomads from the Nerway tribe.

On a recent spring day, he and his brothers were bringing their sheep to drink from the Duhok River in Northwest Kurdistan, just above the Duhok dam.

“We are just passing through here,” he explains. “The sheep can drink it, and even some people drink this water. We live far away from the water; we [usually] transport water by trucks.”

An Arab nomad girl plays by a tanker used to haul water for her family and their sheep. Photo by Julia Harte.

Hauling water to their tents is not an easy process, however. A sheep requires at least half a liter of water per day, so an average-sized 2,000-liter truckload of water will last a flock of 2,000 sheep just two days.

Ali’s family used to haul water from the Tigris for their sheep. But as the river level drops, they have been forced to travel to more distant water sources.

“Ten years ago, the water was much higher than the last two years,” says Ali. “This has affected us badly, since we have to spend more on fuel for our trucks to get over these roads. It has also affected our animals.”

Kurdistan’s nomads are an elusive group. These days, they seem to be dropping in number, possibly attracted to a more settled life in city centers by Kurdistan’s growing prosperity. Even seasoned fixers in the region find them difficult to locate.

Akram Hallom Hussein, an Arab nomad who camps near the Domiz camp for Syrian refugees in northwestern Kurdistan, says he only knows of ten nomadic families like his own. Like Ali, he and his family also migrate seasonally and haul water from afar for their sheep.

An Arab nomad woman walks through her family’s camp, near the Domiz refugee camp in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo by Julia Harte.

Akram and his family get most of their water from the reservoir created by the Mosul Dam, which was built on the Tigris River in the 1980s.

To Akram’s knowledge, Arab nomads have been coming to Kurdistan for more than one hundred years. He and his family used to camp outside of Kirkuk, but moved to these parts in 2007.

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Kurdistan has become peaceful and prosperous, while central Iraq remains mired in sectarian conflict.

Nowadays, many Iraqi Arabs are moving to Kurdistan, says Akram Rasul, who heads Kurdistan’s General Directorate of Dams and Reservoirs within Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.

“Many people immigrated due to insecurity, having no security from the middle, south [of Iraq], coming here. Okay. They are welcome,” he says.

Farmland and grazing animals are seen on the banks of the reservoir created by the Mosul Dam. Photo by Julia Harte.

But if Turkey’s dams create a water crisis in Iraq by lowering river levels and increasing the salinity of the water that remains, Kurdistan may receive more migrants from Southern Iraq than its existing water resources can support, Rasul fears.

“If the Ilısu Dam is completed, it will be taking more than 50 percent of the Tigris River,” Rasul explains.

“That will affect very badly on the region. The Tigris River comes parallel to the Duhok area, which belongs to the Kurdistan region. It goes to the Mosul Dam.”

As Kurdistan’s economy grows, the region’s agricultural sector is declining, according to Talib Murad Elam, Advisor for Agriculture and Food Security in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Northern Iraq.

“There were generations of farmers for thousands of years,” he says. “But now people have started going to work in the towns, and villages are changing from a producing unit to a consumer unit. Coupled with a shortage of water, this will kill us.”

In Kurdistan, nomads are already grappling with the effects of the diminishing rivers.

Women from Akram Hallom Hussein’s family stand in the entrance to their tent. Photo by Julia Harte.

“If [the water] is stable, it is good for us, but when the water gets lower, it is more polluted,” says Akram. “We drink bitter water when the sweet water is gone.”

The Kurdish government is building its own new network of dams to ensure the region’s water supply, according to Rasul.

“It means we’ll have sufficient water for agriculture, domestic use, industrial use and so forth, and we will have enough water to send for the middle and south of Iraq,” he explains.

But if water levels in the Tigris and other rivers in Kurdistan continue to decline, Ali says, his family’s way of life will end. “We don’t have any other options — we will have to move to the cities,” he says.

Already few in number, Kurdistan’s nomads are one of its most distinctive and unusual communities. As water levels drop, theirs will be one of the first cultures here to disappear.

An Arab nomad child runs toward her father as he brings their sheep home from grazing. Photo by Julia Harte.

This project is also made possible by a Dick Goldensohn Fund grant from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

NEXT: Two Views of the Tigris: A Syrian and an Iraqi Kurd Discuss Turkey’s Dams

In 1999, he was also a member of the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition, on which he found the body of George Mallory, legendary climber who never returned from his 1924 attempt to be the first human to summit Everest.

Heading to the top of Everest takes more than a strong body and supplies. Your head can be your biggest asset, or your most dangerous obstacle. (Photo courtesy Conrad Anker)

While Anker has had many successful expeditions, he’s also had close calls and faced difficult questions of whether to proceed or turn back, based on countless factors, which brings up the question of risk. While there is always risk involved in such adventures, sometimes the biggest danger is your own decision making in times of stress.

Join Conrad and legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin as they discuss risk and adventure on a LIVE National Geographic Google+ Hangout Monday, May 2oth at 2 p.m. EDT (7 p.m. UTC).

Send in your questions for the explorers and they may be asked on air. You may even be invited to join the Hangout and ask your questions live. Submit your questions by:

• Posting a question on Google+ or Twitter with #LetsExplore or
• Commenting directly on this blog post below.

Learn More

Risk-takers Photo Gallery 
Quiz: Are You a Risk-taker?

Available From National Geographic Books

Buzz Aldrin: “Mission to Mars: My Vision of Space Exploration”
Conrad Anker: “The Call of Everest”

May 16th marks the feast of St. Brendan, an Irish monk from the 6th century known for establishing churches in Britain and Ireland and voyaging (with other monks) to various islands in the vicinity. According to legends and ancient descriptions, he also went a good way further than the vicinity, all in a tiny currach, a traditional Irish boat with a wooden frame wrapped in leather.

In the tradition of some older Irish myths and legends, tales grew around him and his travels, culminating around the 9th century in a book in Latin generally known as “The Voyage of St. Brendan” full of exploration, religious symbolism, and strange fantastic tales. In it, Brendan is an esteemed older monk who decides to seek the Promised Land itself, trusting that God will guide them there if it be His will. (Read about “Ireland’s Saintly Women and Holy Wells”.)

It was known widely in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, to the extent that Christopher Columbus used it as a reference to guide and support his assertion that lands were reachable across the Atlantic.

When Columbus and others returned, people began to reexamine the already ancient story of St. Brendan and look for correlations between its islands and the newly discovered lands to the west. Today, skeptics see it all as fantasy with a few coincidental similarities with the New World. Optimistic interpreters see possible evidence of the author’s knowledge of far northern sea ice, the vast Eastern Woodlands, and even the low sandy islands of the Bahamas.

Is It Even Possible?

In 1976, adventurer, writer, and historian Tim Severin decided to follow in the wake of Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki voyage, and build a traditional ship and see if it could match the accomplishments in a legend. Using traditional design and building techniques he fashioned a modern currach, christened it Brendan and set off from Ireland to reach North America. Successful in showing that it could have been done, Severin published a book and an article in National Geographic Magazine, and a 1500-year-old tale was given new life.

The video below features Tim Severin describing the Brendan Voyage in 2005 in a free public lecture at Gresham College, London. Their lecture series began in 1597. That’s pretty long ago, but it was already 1000 years after St. Brendan’s life and whatever actual journey he made.

Did It Have to Be Brendan?

Just because Tim Severin made it across alive, that doesn’t mean an Irish monk by the name of Brendan in the 500s A.D. did as well, but it does show that it’s possible, and it hints that at least some of the descriptions in the “Voyage” may in fact describe New World locations. Some scholars point to the similarities between the written “Voyage” and older Celtic myths as an indication that knowledge of western lands may go back even further, and simply have been re-told with Brendan cast as the lead.

Significantly, the basic form of the currach goes back thousands of years, so indeed, the true pioneers may have lived as long before Brendan as he did before us.

Atlantic Navigators: The Brendan Voyage – Tim Severin – Gresham College Lectures from Gresham College on Vimeo.

Why It Matters

While reading early medieval manuscripts does leave one with the impression that earlier generations may have been overly credulous, journeys like Severin’s show us that current generations may be a bit too skeptical. One may suit your attitudes better, but both can lead to major misconceptions about what actually happened. While believing everything you find in an old manuscript will make you believe some things happened that didn’t, believing none of it may lead you to believe that things never happened which actually did.

The story of the voyage of St. Brendan (and Tim Severin’s modern crossing) stands as a reminder that it doesn’t take modern equipment to make major accomplishments. People have always explored and have always used their available resources in remarkable ways.

Columbus made a voyage that reunited long-separated branches of the human family at a scale probably never seen before. The Vikings made a similar voyage that simply didn’t create the same kind of large-scale, long-term interactions. It is very possible that Brendan did as well. It is even possible that someone had before him, and that tales of that voyage inspired him just as his inspired Columbus.

And while we’re at it, Dennis Stanford of the Smithsonian Institution still champions the idea that stone-point styles in North America and paleolithic Europe are just too similar not to raise the possibility that trans-Atlantic voyages may go back to the very dawn of modern human cultures in Europe and North America.

A Day for Exploration

So, you need not be a Cave Man Voyager, an Irish Monk, or Modern Currach-Builder, but with St. Brendan the Navigator having been celebrated for centuries on this day, it’s a nice time to embark on an exploration of your own, or at least to explore the realization that modern humans have taken on many incredible expeditions in the past 200,000 years, and whatever traces may or may not remain buried in the dirt or buried in old books, for every tale we know, there are countless more we may never even dream of.

NEXT: Bringing North American Vikings Back to Life

We spoke with NG explorer, blogger, lizard expert, and photographer Neil Losin on his thoughts going in to this year’s event.

This isn’t your first BioBlitz. What is it you love most about them?

I’ve been to two previous BioBlitzes: Biscayne National Park in 2010 and Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012. Those two environments could scarcely be more different from one another, but the spirit of the event is the same. Everyone participating in the BioBlitz is excited — excited to make new discoveries (as we inevitably do) about the nature in our own backyards, excited to meet new people, excited just to be outside for the day.

Neil at the 2012 BioBlitz in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. (Photo by Krista Schlyer/iLCP)

Have you ever been to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park before?

No! In fact, I’ve never been to Louisiana, apart from driving through it on I-10. This will be a really fun BioBlitz for me, because I’m really not too familiar with the environment. I haven’t spent much time in the kind of swampy forests that we’ll be exploring this weekend, so a lot of the wildlife should be new to me!

Are there any particular science questions you’re hoping to answer?  

This year, I’m leading bird inventories, and since birds are pretty well documented, there aren’t any pressing science questions that I’m aware of. I hope that many of the participants in the BioBlitz will experience inventories like the bird walks I’m leading — where we’ll probably be able to identify every bird we see — as well as inventories of less “charismatic” creatures like aquatic invertebrates, where even the experts might be stumped by some things they find… We know some groups a lot better than others, and I think participating in both kinds of inventories can be really fascinating.

What’s a favorite memory of exploring nature near you when you were growing up?

When I was growing up in Virginia, going out into my local parks in the spring and experiencing all the signs of spring became an annual ritual. Things began in April with the blooming of the first wildflowers — bloodroot, spring beauties, trout lily. By early May, the neotropical migrant songbirds were passing through, and the treetops would be filled with colorful warblers, vireos, and tanagers. There’s something incredibly satisfying about knowing what plants and animals you’re likely to see next as the seasons change! And every year you go out to observe nature, you become more aware of everything that’s going on in your natural surroundings.

Is there one piece of wilderness you feel you know the best and feel the closest to?  

Wherever I’ve lived over the years, I try to get to know a local piece of nature — ideally a place to which I can walk or ride my bike — really well. Growing up in northern Virginia, that place was the humble Lake Accotink Park. Lake Accotink isn’t a big lake, or a pristine one, but I managed to learn an awful lot about nature from exploring that little patch of green in the midst of all the suburban development around it.

How do you stay aware of or in touch with the natural world around you on a daily basis?  

Whenever possible, I try to go out with my camera on a regular basis. I find that I experience nature very differently when I’ve got a camera with me. The camera forces you to slow down and really appreciate what you’re seeing. To capture a good photograph of a plant, animal, or landscape, you really need to spend time with it… to see it from different perspectives, and in the case of an animal, to observe its behavior. And through that process, you can really get to know the nature around you.

Each individual BioBlitz may only last 24 hours, but there’s always more to learn! Follow along on Facebook and through the NewsWatch Blog!

NEXT: Read All BioBlitz 2013 Blog Posts

Known for classic high adventure and discovery, National Geographic is redefining what it means to be an explorer in a new age of exploration. Around this time each year, NG selects a small group of movers and shakers called “Emerging Explorers” that are defining the way we explore new frontiers. Each Emerging Explorer receives a $10,000 award to assist with research and to aid further exploration as well as an invitation to the annual NG Explorers Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Past Emerging Explorers include personalities such as Monster Fish TV host Zeb Hogan, world-class climber and photographer Jimmy Chin, and modern day Jacques Cousteau Enric Sala (now an Explorer-in-Residence).

This year marks an unprecedented class of diverse and uniquely talented explorers. A roboticist, an astrobiologist, a glaciologist, a planetary geologist, an entrepreneur and an artist are among the 17 visionary, young trailblazers from around the world.

Meet the 2013 Class of Emerging Explorers:

Conservation Biologist Steve Boyes champions protection of Botswana’s uniquely pristine Okavango Delta as well as parrot species on the brink of extinction throughout Africa.

Conservation Biologist Erika Cuéllar empowers local people with scientific conservation skills to help protect the wild environment and rich biodiversity of South America’s Gran Chaco region.

Anthropologist Jason De León documents clandestine migration between Mexico and the United States to provide new insight into the complex, multilayered border-crossing phenomenon.

Planetary Geologist Bethany Ehlmann searches our solar system for once habitable environments, now using the Curiosity rover to analyze Martian rocks for clues of conditions that may have supported ancient life.

Archaeologist Sayed Gul Kalash strives to preserve one of the world’s oldest, most unique cultures and languages, her own critically endangered Kalash, still surviving in a remote region of Pakistan.

Computer Scientist and Roboticist Chad Jenkins works to make robotic technology more accessible, easy to use, and helpful to the public at large by teaching robots to learn from human demonstration.

Wildlife Filmmaker and Photographer Sandesh Kadur creates documentary films and books to raise awareness about the world’s threatened species and habitats and inspire his audience to protect them.

Artist Raghava KK blends creativity and technology to develop interactive art that considers issues from multiple perspectives, challenges perceptions, inspires tolerance, and engenders empathy.

Humanitarian Lale Labuko fights to end the ritualistic killing of infants and children in Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley and provides safe shelter, care, and education for the children he rescues.

Innovator and Entrepreneur Tan Le develops EEG innovations and a data-sharing platform that could dramatically accelerate research and understanding of the human brain.

Conservation Biologist Andrea Marshall leads groundbreaking research and conservation programs to save globally threatened manta rays and other vulnerable marine megafauna, and their critical habitats.

Science Educator and Astrobiologist Brendan Mullan inspires a new generation of scientists by making astronomy education and communication more accessible, engaging, and entertaining.

Geophysicist and Glaciologist Erin Pettit pioneers innovative techniques to aid in glacier exploration, analyzing findings from the ice to help understand and predict changing climate and rising seas.

Computational Geneticist Pardis Sabeti unravels complex genetic codes to detect evolutionary mutations that allow disease to spread and humanity to survive.

Engineer and Conservation Technologist Shah Selbe identifies innovative technologies that can be used to protect the world’s seas from illegal fishing through better monitoring, tracking, collaboration, and surveillance.

Data Artist Jer Thorp translates complex data sets into novel representations that make information more digestible, understandable, meaningful, and ultimately more human.

Adventurer and Conservationist Gregg Treinish connects research scientists with outdoor adventurers to collect data in hard-to-reach areas, using their findings and his own expeditions to advance conservation worldwide.

NEXT: 2012 Class of Emerging Explorers

Ashes are drifting across the gray agricultural field, purposefully set ablaze some time ago. In the field, stone and earthen mounds are visible at regular intervals. In this setting, we’ll be working for the next few weeks at the site of Aguas Buenas, located to north of the city of Juigalpa. The Central Nicaragua Archaeological Project is an ongoing archaeological investigation to shed light on the prehistory of Nicaragua, in particular its extraordinary indigenous tradition of monumental stone sculptures and its poorly understood ceremonial complexes.

As part of this, the Aguas Buenas archaeological site holds special interest. Our recent explorations of the site have revealed its unequalled architectural characteristics and extraordinary number of mounds, spread out over the hilly Chontales landscape by means of wide concentric semi-circles. Current knowledge of prehistoric monumental architecture in Central America cannot tell us anything specific about why this site looks like it does. Nor is there a significant amount of previous archaeological research in the region to help us out in understanding Aguas Buenas. We’re basically working from scratch.

Students label various finds from the archaeological site in Nicaragua. Photograph by Alex Geurds

Today we kicked-off our 2013 field season featuring students from Leiden University, the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua and the University of Calgary, geared towards completing our GPS mapping of the site and excavating several of the more than 500 mounds. What are these mounds actually? When were they built and how? Do they serve a purpose as individual mounds or rather playing a role in the larger complex of the site itself? These are just some of the questions fuelling the effort to withstand scorching heat, prickly shrubs and the occasional snake and scorpion.

The day started around 6 AM, filling the pick-up with excited students, as well as shovels, sieves, levels, and the like. Rolling into the site a little bit later, everyone took a moment to take in the impressive landscape and trying to spot some of the mounds. Standing among the mound, one would never guess the 600-meter diameter semi-circular patterns these mounds clearly follow from an airborne perspective. We determined the mound to be excavated by working on creating an understanding of when distinct sectors of the site may have been built and how comparable the contents of mounds really are.

Having selected the most suitable mound, the actual excavation went underway around 9 AM. By lunchtime we had scratched the surface of the mound, working through Level 1. The deeper levels revealing the content of the mound are up next..

Two amigos on a National Geographic Expedition from San Diego to Cabo – one of the planet’s longest and most isolated peninsulas.

It always starts with a crazy idea, doesn’t it? Let’s quit our jobs. Then say goodbye to the comforts of home finding new horizons to experience each passing day. It’s a common enough story, but the path chosen to achieve this might be the most interesting detail. The amount of self-inflicted hardship folded into the equation speaks volumes about the constitution of the traveler.

This is a borderline insane adventure by all accounts. Let’s start with the numbers: 1,000 miles down a remote peninsula, traveling a coastline until it ultimately gives way to the sea. That sounds manageable enough, perhaps like a vacation many might be pining to take. Now let’s get into the terrain: mostly desert, covered in cacti and inhabited by more poisons creatures than people. The language: not your own. The method: walk the first half then swap boots for a stand up paddle board going headon into an intolerant and often tempestuous sea.

To track down the two unflappable individuals wild enough to attempt this extreme journey, I rent a car in Phoenix. Of course you never tell the rental agent that you’ll be taking their compact across 2,000 miles of undomesticated bush; it’s a secret they just don’t need to know. The long drive takes a little over 18-hours, a distance that has taken these two men 10-weeks to reach. Now, they’re half way to their goal.

Justin Deshields (left) and Bryan Morales eat surprisingly little, a result of conditioning their bodies to living without large meals during the remote expedition.

Justin Deshields and Bryan Morales have selected this path of uncertainty. They wait for me the a dusty forgotten town of Mulegé, Mexico (though I doubt the town was ever known by that many). My lovely girlfriend and I will join the friends as they walk onto their stand up paddle boards for the first time. Up to this point they’d traveled by foot from San Diego, CA. We break into their hotel room after midnight, the friends are quick to wake. Grizzled and happy despite the intrusion, they cheerfully offer a celebratory sip of tequila.

Not only will this be their first time on new boards, it’s their first time trying the sport! Stand up paddle boarding or SUP as its commonly known is a rapidly growing pastime seeing the same commercial growth that sea kayaking witnessed about 10 years ago. Deshields and Morales will attempt to SUP 600-miles along a coastline known for its punishing winds. In a kayak you sit lower to the ground, reducing the drag, and maximizing any kind of gain in a strong headwind. When you’re logging SUP miles without much experience, wind is fatal to progress.

Departing though this sleepy town at dawn, the men epitomize abnormality. Their glitzy boards offer a stark visual contrast to the muted pre-dawn streets. Smiles are exchanged by community members who are unaccustomed to such a site.

Feral dogs prove to be one of the greatest threats during a 600-mile walk down Baja California.

Ours is a shaky start. Everyone falls off their board as hours pass during a mounting wind storm. High pressure winds blow 30-knots and seas build to 8-feet. Each day is a battle endured with endless smiles. Evenings are spent cooking lobster on the fire and preparing chiviche with rationed limes (seafood the boys caught by hand). We see 100 pelicans for every person, and when the wind dies the warm air wraps around you like a favorite blanket. These are the insights between the hardships. The moments of bliss between the blisters.

Deshields and Morales expedition is sponsored by a grant from National Geographic. Above is a short video introducing the expedition. The boys will produce a documentary film that will highlight the beauty and mystery of Baja. To follow along visit What is West.

NEXT: Suburbs to Shantytowns: 1,000-Mile Trek Down Baja Mexico

Justin Deshields and Bryan Morales feel the full force of a Norte wind, Stand Up Paddling the Baja Peninsula.