Freya Hoffmeister Resumes South American Circumnav By Kayak

The Queen of the Kayak, Freya Hoffmeister, is set to resume her epic journey around South America tomorrow as she returns to the water once again in Valparaiso, Chile. The woman who has already circumnavigated around Iceland, New Zealand's South Island and Australia, is hoping to become the first to paddle completely around South America as well.

Freya set out from Buenos Aries, Argentina last September and spent the next eight months covering roughly 8000km (4970 miles) following remote coastlines. First heading south, she was successfully able to paddle through the notoriously tricky waters of Cape Horn, which are well known for their turbulent seas and nasty storms, before turning north. In May she reached Valparaiso and elected to take a break and return home to Hamburg, Germany. There she was able to rest, resupply and take care of the logistics that will see her through the second stage of the journey.

The plan now is to return to the water and cover another 8000km, paddling past Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela before taking another break in Georgetown, Guyana. To reach that point she'll have to kayak through the Panama Canal, dodging heavy shipping freighters along the way. If all goes as planed, she'll complete this second stage by April of next year. Stage 3 will then begin in September of 2013, when she'll finish the circumnavigation and arrive back in where she started in Buenos Aires.

While she's out on the water, Freya posts regular updates to blog that help chart her progress and experienced along the way. You can find that blog by clicking here.

Thanks to ExWeb for the tip!