Jim Regan - Site Reviews
Crossing the Empty Quarter
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The exercise was a successful one - so much so that the team, in cooperation with the Calgary Board of Education, decided to share another adventure with the world. This time, though, their challenge will be a good deal warmer and much less crowded than Everest -- Crossing the Empty Quarter of Arabia.
The Empty Quarter is the world's largest sand desert -- one quarter of a million square miles without permanent road or settlement. Accompanied by Bedouin guides, the three Canadians of the Odyssey team will attempt to traverse, on foot and by camel, a region of the planet not crossed since 1946.
Despite having such modern accessories as radios and GPS units to reunite lost members, the team will not be travelling in luxury. A look at the gear packed for the two month trip (such as one 'emergency' pair of boots between the three) shows that, though their lives may depend on the knowledge of the Bedu guides, this is clearly not a group that has hired an army of local 'porters' to shield them from their adventure.
The strength of the site is, and will continue to be, its content. Before even beginning the journey, the writers have shown themselves to be entertaining, (while recounting an attempted abduction by runaway camels, or describing the tactical use for a Bedu custom of sharing foods) informative, (noting cultural idiosyncracies, such as the Bedu's profuse gestures of greeting, contrasted with almost unnoticed departures) and ... vivid ("ticks the size of acorns swollen with the blood of our camels"). Each entry is abundantly illustrated, and a gallery of archived shots also includes some pictures from the Everest climb -- an interesting contrast with the sands of Arabia.
Like the Everest expedition, this is to be an educational opportunity, both for the travellers ("as we acquire new friends in the humility of our ignorance") and for students around the world. Units of Study are posted for K-12 students, dealing with such subjects as Culture, Exploration, Survival, and Challenge: The Pursuit of Dreams. (Files are available as both Word and PDF files.) In addition to the updates and study units, the site provides a route map, FAQ, the chance to question the team by e-mail, and links to plug-ins necessary for viewing the site. (Judging by the links to the QuickTime and RealPlayer homepages, visitors can presumably look forward to audio and video clips in addition to the regular journal entries.)
Living vicariously through traveller's tales probably dates back as far as language itself, and this most recent development in the tradition has added an immediacy never before possible. But even with the latest technology, the Odyssey Adventure team hasn't forgotten that the greatest advantage of travel, and the greatest advantage of sharing those travels with others, is the chance to learn.
Crossing the Empty Quarter can be found at http://www.alwaysadventure.net/.
Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e-Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.