What happened to a Hangzhou couple and their 4-year-old son who traveled across South America for 4 and a half months?
Metropolitan Express reported on March 14, 2017, Hangzhou Xu Chenghua, 35 years old, from Liaoning, was nicknamed "Laoji" because he loves playing extreme sports. He has entered Tibet and Xinjiang dozens of times for outdoor adventures. His wife, Xiaozhu, also met and fell in love while traveling. Their son was conceived while traveling in Africa, so they named him Little Simba, hoping that he would be as strong as the Lion King. The picture shows Laoji arriving in Antarctica with his wife and 4-year-old son Simba.
Lao Ji has engaged in dozens of outdoor activities at home and abroad, and ultimately regarded kayaking and canoeing as his favorites. Lao Ji said that these two sports have high water requirements, and Qiandao Lake in Hangzhou has the best water quality in the country. So in 2015, after taking his family on a motorcycle trip around the world to the Arctic and returning home, Lao Ji settled in Qiandao Lake and opened a kayaking club.
Son Simba likes animals very much. In 2015, when Simba was two and a half years old, Lao Ji took him on a three-wheeled motorcycle to the North Pole through 12 countries in 180 days to see the furry polar bears. Soon, Simba proposed that he wanted to go to Antarctica to see penguins. So, on November 2, 2016, after making sufficient preparations and plans, Laoji and his family set out from Qiandao Lake in Hangzhou and embarked on a journey from South America to Antarctica.
After flying to South America, they started from Ecuador, the northernmost tip of South America, and went all the way south, passing through Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and other countries, crossing the entire South America. During this period, they rode motorcycles, took cars, and took boats to visit places such as the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon Forest, the Inca Trail, Easter Island, and the Mirror of the Sky. The picture shows Simba playing with a giant tortoise in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Catch and eat piranhas in the Amazon forest.
On February 20, 2017, after completing their trip to the South American town of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, they completed their entire South American trip and prepared to board a ship to the Antarctic. Lao Ji said that many tourists have been to Antarctica, but most of them have not crossed the Antarctic Circle. The Antarctic Circle is a latitude circle of 66°34′ south. In a geographical and scientific sense, only when you cross the Antarctic Circle can you truly reach the South Pole. Laoji said that currently, there are only a few capable expedition ships in the world operating expedition routes beyond the Antarctic Circle, but these companies and insurance companies have a rule: children under 10 years old are not allowed for safety reasons. . The G Expedition expedition ship company that Laoji contacted finally made an exception and allowed them to board the expedition ship when they learned that their family was completing a trip across South America to Antarctica and planned to shoot a documentary.
On February 21, the family boarded the expedition ship, with 134 passengers from all over the world. The per capita price of various cabins on the ship ranges from 70,000 to 130,000 (RMB), with three- and four-person rooms generally being the most popular. After traveling for a day and a half, the expedition ship passed through the Drake Passage, which is famous for its violent waves, and reached the Antarctic Peninsula.
On February 26, with the countdown of "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" on the radio, the expedition ship crossed the Antarctic Circle, and the whole ship burst into excitement. After more than four months of travel, Laoji's family finally arrived in Antarctica. "We are more excited than anyone on the ship because the journey to Antarctica is too long and difficult." Simba, 4, has also become the youngest Chinese to reach Antarctica. "It is certain that Simba is the youngest Chinese to reach the Antarctic." Laoji said, "Whether he is the youngest in the world or not, I dare not say yet. Several expedition ship companies have verified that the youngest person from abroad to reach the Antarctic Circle is 7 years old. "They stayed in the Antarctic Circle for 4 days, and the entire process in Antarctica took 16 days.
Lao Ji said that they spent about 600,000 yuan on this five-month journey. The largest expense was the round-trip ticket to Antarctica, which the three of them spent on 220,000 yuan. Lao Ji felt that it was well worth the money spent.
“In my eyes, the only thing children have to do in their childhood is to play. The biggest task of parents is to accompany them, to lead them, to grow up together. There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. , Traveling is the same, and so is raising children,” Laoji said, “I really hope that our story can inspire Chinese parents to accompany their children to grow up.”
In the next few days, Laoji’s family will. Continue to Brazil's Iguazu Falls and Rio de Janeiro. After the adventure in Rio, the trip ends and returns to Hangzhou on March 23.