Adventurer Mike Horn Knows How To Travel!

I've made numerous mentions of explorer Mike Horn, and a couple more on his Pangaea Expedition, on my blog. Mike is a modern day adventurer who has traveled the globe and spent a great deal of time exploring the North and South Poles. On his latest venture he'll be doing that, and much much more, as he climbs mountains, delves into jungles, and sails the oceans aboard his 115-foot yacht dubbed the Pangaea.

Most of the time when we envision these explorers, we get a mental image of them holed up in a tent somewhere, howling winds and fowl weather just outside, as they make a freeze dried meal on their camp stove. Well, clearly Mike has done plenty of that in his days, but he's obviously learned from those experiences for this journey. One of Mike's sponsors is the House of G.H. Mumm, the maker of fine champagnes, and as part of their agreement, Mike will be treated to fine dining, at seven remote locations, with food prepared by world renowned chefs.

The first of these magnificent dinners was conducted back in July, on an iceberg floating in the middle of the Sermilik fjord. That dinner was prepared by two-star chef Sylvestre Wahid. More recently however, Mike dined on another iceberg, this time in the Charcot Bay, just north of the Antarctic Peninsula, in the middle of a volcano on Deception Island. This meal, prepared by three-star Chef Gérard Boyer, and was served exactly in the same spot that Captain Charcot and his crew first popped a bottle of Mumm's back on July 14, 1904, in another expedition sponsored by the House.

And what did Mike and his guests dine on? Well, here's the menu:

Rustic Argentinean potatoes on a bed of Uruguayan caviar
G.H.MUMM Cordon Rouge
Scrambled eggs with Richerence black truffles
G.H.MUMM Millésimé 1999
Merluza negra, a fish from the Antarctic depths (- 1200 m) caught by hook, with Champagne sauce,
served with leeks and black truffles
R.Lalou 1998
Moist Brazilian maracuja biscuit with a passion fruit topping and vanilla ice-cream
G.H.MUMM Rosé

Not bad huh? Sure beats that freeze dried stuff! Sounds like an amazing meal, with an even more amazing setting. The next of these seven dinners is not scheduled to take place until sometime in the middle of 2009, in an equally breathtaking setting. Until then, it's back to the standard fare for Mike and the crew, although I'm guessing they are well stocked on champagne!

The latest updated on the Pangaea website indicates that Mike and his team arrived in Punta Arenas over the weekend. The ship will now undergo some minor repairs, while her captain treks to the South Pole. He's in the final stages of his preparation to begin that journey, and he'll be setting of soon.

As a personal note, I think it's pretty damn cool that Mumm was supporting expeditions and explorers more than a century ago, and they are continuing to do so now. You have to salute a company who has that commitment. I think I know whose champaign I'll be buying for New Years this year!