Up Close to Cape Horn

By Jonny Blair

The magic of Cape Horn - this is basically the last part of planet earth as you head to the South Pole that you can realistically live on! Any further south and it's just too cold to live. Michael Palin once managed to step foot here on a BBC Documentary a few years back and now it was time to make the trip to Cape Horn.[]

Cape Horn is in Tierra del Fuego. A series of islands owned jointly by Argentina and Chile, however Cape Horn is on the Chilean side. What a great name - Cape Horn - it just sounds inspiring and makes you want to see it. That was the plan and we were on our way!

it's expensive to visit the Cape of Horn. For some reason Michael Palin didn't pay for it - it would all have been covered by a generous BBC budget for the purpose of filming. My trip was on a much lower budget and I managed to backpack my way to Antarctica - the trip to visit the Horn, even just to see it on the way back was such a bonus. However the Chilean marine authorities don't let ships close to it - they issue a proximity maximum of around 12 - 13 miles except in special circumstances.

We left Argentina behind for Antarctica sailing on the MS Expedition which was built up in Denmakr, had been registered in Africa at Liberia and was now making these regular trips down to the white continent. Everyone on the ship was asleep (except the crew) the night we headed south on the dreaded Drake Passage, so getting up close to Cape Horn wasn't happening - we were much too far east for that anyway and we had one intention - arriving in Antarctica[]

There were rumours circulating on board the ship that we would be calling at Cape Horn on the way back up to Argentina. This all began by the crew showing us an intriguing documentary about Cape Horn as we headed back onto the Drake Passage, however nothing was confirmed.

But it became obvious that the plan was to change direction so we could catch a glimpse of the horn. I noticed that we were making fast progress (there was a live map on board the boat near the reception, where we could all see where we had been and where we were going) and in fact had suddenly changed direction to head north west rather than directly north, following our departure from Elephant Island.

On the evening of our final ascent up the Drake Passage the visit to view Cape Horn was finally confirmed by the crew amid a joyous response. We were told at the recap of the day and the briefing session that we would indeed be sailing close to Cape Horn for a view at 5am the next morning.

So we were all set to see Cape Horn in the flesh and get up close to it but this was also the final night on board our ship. This meant a late one in the bar up toasting to our amazing trip and watching the sunset on one side and rise on the other side of the boat almost simultaneously at 2 am. By 3am I was asleep and ready to be wakened up for the viewing of the magical Cape Horn.

After 2 hours sleep the alarms went off and I was up waiting to see Cape Horn, we assembled on deck and it was by around 6.30 am that we finally got close to Cape Horn - an incredibly exciting moment for all concerned!

Finally just before 7 am we had the announcement that we were on our approach to Cape Horn. We were also informed that the Captain had been in touch with the Chilean authorities and that we were able to breach the normal barrier of 12 - 13 miles within the Cape.

It was straight upstairs to the For'd Deck for the fantastic morning view of the fabulous Cabo De Hornos. In the end we got within 3 miles of Cape Horn! It wasn't even a dream. I saw Cape Horn for real. Totally immense. Been there, done that, didn't stand on the land there.

About the Author:

To read more articles like Seeing Cape Horn head to Jonny Blair's recommended site A Lifestyle of Travel for ongoing travel stories and advice.

Tips For Maximizing Business Travels

By Anne Sharp

Because of the recent global economic slowdown, a lot of businesses nowadays are seeking ways to minimize costs in order to survive. These expenses include business travel. Business travel is an important aspect of running a business, whether it is a small enterprise or a large corporation.

Large corporations, for instance, send their employees to another city or country to meet with clients or investors, or to attend trainings and conferences. Small businesses also depend on business travel to expand their network, market their products or services, meet with suppliers and clients, etc.

So for these companies and businesses that rely on corporate travel for their operations, making a carefully planned business trip is a priority. And amid the economic turbulence, it's still possible to maximize resources for a specific business trip. When it comes to business, good planning and intelligent choices go a long way.

Considerations When Conducting Business Travel

Since business trips require a considerable amount of money and resources, it is important for employees and businesspeople to maximize their business travel. One essential factor to consider is the goal of a particular trip. To prevent wasting time and money, it is necessary to come up with a clear and realistic travel agenda, carefully taking into account the amount of time available in achieving the goal of the trip. There should also be enough time allotted for unwanted situations, such as flight delays and detours.

For better coordination of their travel needs, it's advisable that a company has a person or a department responsible for the task. Working with one reputable corporate travel agency is also advantageous as such firm specializes in dealing with issues related to business travel.

A good travel management company can create solutions to address the needs of their clients-- whether sole entrepreneurs or large corporations. This is why small and big businesses in many different industries find it necessary to employ their service. A corporate travel company also normally has connections with various airlines, hotels and other business entities related to traveling. Therefore, they are able to help their clients to reduce transportation and lodging costs for business trips.

About the Author:

For related articles on corporate travel management or Click here to learn more.

Beginner's Guide To Creating Useful Travel Sites

By Carla Rossouw

Do you like visiting travel sites? Do you find them informative and fun to read? Do you want to be able to create your own? If you do, here are some tips to get you started. This article contains guides that will help you create your own travel site.

Before we talk about the actual steps of writing for a travel site, here's one thing that you should do first - travel. How are you going to write articles if you do not have the experience? First-hand experience is what people are looking for therefore you need to have that. When you travel, you should look for unique places and experiences - things that haven't been shared before. You should always be curious about the place, the people, the traditions and the culture. Explore the place as much as you can. Do not forget to talk with the local people and other tourists to get valuable information and to make friends.

Now that you just have the travel expertise that you just are able to share, succeeding issue you would like to possess could be a platform. Your travel web site will created with completely different hosts like Blogger, Wordpress and Joomla. It's vital to settle on one have additional folks access your web site. Blogger is incredibly easy and it's nearly everything you would like as a beginner. It additionally has choices that may enable you to customise your web log. Wordpress includes a heap of templates, free and paid, that you just will choose between. It's additionally easy, simply somewhat bit difficult compared to Blogger as a result of you is allowed to alter some formats and settings. It's additional versatile than Blogger. If you're a sophisticated user, you'll be able to produce your travel web site victimisation Joomla. This one is difficult however its utmost flexibility in step with your preferences and desires.

Once you've got setup your web site on a platform, succeeding issue to try to is to seek out your genre. You'll be able to try this by reading completely different travel-sites on the net. From what you've got scan, produce your own vogue that you just assume can fit your temperament the foremost. It's important to be distinctive and private. Plenty of websites have already been got wind of so you would like to create yours stand out among the remainder.

When writing, you have to avoid too terminology. Not every individual will comprehend the jargon and also the clich. If you would like more and more people to understand what you're writing, you have to keep it simplistic. Actually, it's useful if one makes it straightforward and conversational. Write just like you are speaking for your visitors. Email share, inform and express. Never write simply to impress people.

Keep your posts as short as possible. Too long posts might be a turn off for many people. Who would want to read a post that is three pages long? Not all people have the time to read therefore you need to be precise and straightforward with whatever you are sharing on your site.

Use catchy titles and photos. Catchy titles will motivate people to read the contents. Great photos, on the other hand, will heighten the interest of the people about the place you have visited and the stories you want to share.

Travel sites are always useful because they contain travel tips for everyone. Make your own and help others.

About the Author:

Looking to find the best Travel News, then visit http://carlarossouw.com to find the greatest travel advices and Restaurants Garden Route.