March 2020 Pole to Pole Circumnavigation Update “I’ve learned that at some point you have to either accept the risks you can’t control or simply walk away. I choose to keep flying. The opportunity to expand the boundaries of general aviation, to inspire present and future generations to live their impossibly big dreams, and to be able to fly in the name of world peace, makes all the risks worthwhile.” Robert DeLaurentis The world has changed dramatically since our last update in January. The coronavirus pandemic has slowed down the pace of living for many (all “nonessential” business owners and employees) and rapidly increased the pace of living for others (healthcare workers, ventilator manufacturers, vaccine scientists). The Citizen of the World Polar Circumnavigation is still moving forward. Assuming there is a lightening up of quarantine restrictions within the next 30 days, I plan on flying over the North Pole in May when the weather warms up. And if that doesn’t happen, we’ll figure out the next step when we get there. As I put my own “Zen Moments,” into practice, I’m learning when we do the emotional and spiritual work of holding inner peace, and trust the Universe to show us the next step, Life works with us rather than us against Life and the path eventually becomes clear. We will find our way through this together and be stronger on the other side of it. BIG NEWS: Where in the World is Robert Now and What’s the Plan? Many of you have contacted me asking where I am, how I am and how the pandemic will affect me and the circumnavigation. First of all, thank you for checking in. It helps keep me inspired as things are changing day to day. I am currently quarantined in Sitges, Spain in a home I was fortunate to rent after the hotel I was staying in closed due to the quarantine and then the Monastery I moved to also closed to guests due to the quarantine. The President of Spain just extended the Quarantine from March 31st until April 15th. Spain still continues to be a virus hotspot here in Europe second to Italy, with the United States soon overtaking the world in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths. Stay safe out there and stay home if you can. I’ll begin flying again as soon as the quarantine ends, and in the meantime I am working remotely like so many of you: ● Writing my third book Peace Pilot: To the Ends of the Earth and Beyond ​ ● Publishing our new children’s book, The Little Plane That Could (described below) this month ​ ​ through our adventure publishing company, Flying Thru Life ● Working on the six-part documentary series we hope to sell to Netflix. Some of this footage can be seen here: https://youtu.be/9qox9jVJwew ​ ● Interviewing with international media on the Citizen of the World mission and being an American quarantined in Spain during the coronavirus pandemic Robert DeLaurentis | Author, Speaker, Pilot http://flyingthrulife.com | 619.368.9410 | [email protected] ​ Spring/March, 2020 Polar Circumnavigation Update | Page 2 of 9 ​ ​ ​ Monasterio Budista Del Garraf, Olivella, Spain ​ ​ Quarantine Decisions Some of you have asked why I stayed in Spain and didn’t come back home to San Diego. I made the decision based on several factors at the time including my safety, the timing of the North Pole weather; the plane needing some repairs before going over the Pole and having my fellow circumnavigator and mechanic Michel Gordillo, who lives in Spain help me; wanting to effectively manage travel and expenses with an unknown quarantine timeframe; excellent hospital and healthcare here if I were to contract the virus, and trusting that when the quarantine lifted it would be easier to pick up and continue on through Europe to complete the mission. We shall see. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes. Citizen of the World Aircraft The Citizen is at the Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid sitting on the tarmac at a cost of 25 Euro a day. The airport has great security and some support services that will help with repairs. I misaligned the valves and it stressed the tank to the point where it can’t hold fuel so I need to remove one of the ferry tanks before going over the North Pole. BIG NEWS: The Explorers Club Grants our Polar Expedition the Right to Carry Their Flag This polar expedition would not have been possible without the efforts of the entire Flying Thru Life Team ​ including Dr Dimitri Deheyn of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography who is leading our atmospheric plastics testing program across the globe. Robert and Dr. Deheyn testing the sticky tape for the microplastics experiment. Robert DeLaurentis | Author, Speaker, Pilot http://flyingthrulife.com | 619.368.9410 | [email protected] ​ Spring/March, 2020 Polar Circumnavigation Update | Page 3 of 9 ​ ​ ​ With Dr. Deheyn’s help, the legendary Explorers Club has awarded me the right to carry an Explorers Club Flag for the scientific research and contributions made on the “Citizen of the World” Polar Circumnavigation. Watch a brief video interview with Dr. Deheyn on this experiment. ​ For those of you not familiar with The Explorers Club or the significance of carrying a flag, it’s helpful to ​ ​ know a little bit about the Club. “The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Since its inception in 1904, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide. Founded in New York City in 1904, The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences.” “To obtain permission to carry the flag, a Club member must show that the expedition holds the promise of scientific results. The flag must be exhibited at every suitable opportunity on the expedition, and must be returned to the Club along with a written record of the expedition, called the Flag Report.” th st Members include some of the greatest adventurers of the 20 ​ and 21 ​ centuries including Mt. Everest ​ ​ explorer Sir Edmund Hillary, astronaut Neil Armstrong, marine biologist Sylvia Earl, and oceanographer Dr. Walter Munk. I was fortunate to be inducted as a member of the Explorer’s Club in 2018 on the recommendation of oceanographer Dr. Munk, also a world-renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientist and geophysicist, prior to his passing in 2019. Flags are numbered and as of this writing, 202 expeditions have carried flags. Some flags are retired when they are returned; others are assigned to future expeditions. “Citizen of the World” will be carrying Flag #44, which is one of the oldest used by the Explorers Club and has been a part of many epic global expeditions for the betterment of the planet since 1918 (see photo for details). I am honored to be recognized as part of such a distinguished group of world explorers. Robert DeLaurentis | Author, Speaker, Pilot http://flyingthrulife.com | 619.368.9410 | [email protected] ​ Spring/March, 2020 Polar Circumnavigation Update | Page 4 of 9 ​ ​ ​ Route Update Since Rounding the South Pole After successfully navigating the most difficult leg of my polar circumnavigation—rounding the South Pole— in late December, I made stops in the cities and countries listed below before landing at the ​ ​ Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport in Madrid Spain on February 15, 2020, where Citizen is now parked. Cities are numbered based on stopovers since departure in November. January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 9. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 19. Cairo, Egypt 24. Menorca, Spain 10. Recife, Brazil 20. Tbilisi, Georgia 11. Dakar, Senegal 21. Sofia, Bulgaria 12. Accra, Ghana 22. Genoa, Italy 13. Maun, Botswana 23. Madrid, Spain 14. Durban, South Africa 15. Plaine Magnien, Mauritius 16. Mahajanga, Madagascar 17. Nairobi, Kenya 18. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Friedrichshafen Airshow Cancelled The Citizen was scheduled to be on exhibit for AOPA April 1-4 in Germany at the Aero Frieidrichaphen, the biggest annual general aviation event in Europe with 40,000 attending but due to coronavirus concerns that event has been cancelled and moved to April 2021. BIG NEWS: Citizen of the World Documentary We’ve been filming interviews wherever we can and it has been incredibly enlightening, inspiring, humbling and connecting, which are some of the reasons why we’re so excited about the documentary: If you haven’t visited my Facebook page in a while, check it out for excerpts of the interviews. While we were in Kenya, Africa, we visited Nature Kenya, the oldest environmental society in Kenya, established in 1909 to promote the study and conservation of nature in eastern Africa and interviewed Dr Paul Matiku (centre) - the Executive Director, and Paul Gacheru (right) - the Species and Sites manager on what it means to be a Citizen of the World for the World. Robert DeLaurentis | Author, Speaker, Pilot http://flyingthrulife.com | 619.368.9410 | [email protected] ​ Spring/March, 2020 Polar Circumnavigation Update | Page 5 of 9 ​ ​ ​ Heading north, I then flew to the Democratic Republic of Georgia, followed by Sofia, Bulgaria where we interviewed two world renown artists—a dancer and a concert pianist. The Arts help promote peace. Robert interviews a Bulgarian concert pianist about what it means to be a “Citizen of the World for the World.” From Sofia, I then flew to Genoa, Italy to reconnect with my Italian roots and visit Cinque Terre for the first time.