The World According to Angie Butler

Author of The Quest for Frank Wild gives us an icy perspective on the world of travel

5 mins

Mountain/desert/jungle/ocean which are you?

Desert.

First travel experience?

Hitch hiking around Europe in the 70s.

Favourite journey?

Antarctic.

Top five places worldwide?

South Africa, West Africa, Madagascar, Mali and Italy.

Special place to stay?

Masoala Forest Lodge, Madagascar.

Three items you always pack?

Kanga (sarong), a special baseball cap and lip gloss.

Passport stamp you're proudest of?

Ukraine Base, Antarctica.

Passport stamp most like to have?

Brazil.

Guilty travel pleasure?

Siestas.

Window or aisle?

Definitely window.

Who is your ideal travelling companion?

Someone who doesn’t pre-book everything.

Best meal on the road? Worst?

Nuts and raisin.

Watching a chicken slaughtered, boiled with legs and head in a pot.

Most surprising place? Most disappointing?

Greenland most surprising. Mumbai the most disappointing.

Where do you NOT want to go?

Belgium.

Who/what inspired you to travel? Any travel heroes?

Attraction to the wilderness and Victor Boyarsky, a Polar explorer who crossed Antarctica, he is one of my heroes.

What do you listen to on the road? Any song take you back to a particular time or place?

I don’t travel with a MP3 player – but I never forget the sound of ice.

What do you read?

Mainly fiction when travelling and only non-fiction at home.

Is there a person you met while travelling who reaffirmed your faith in humanity? Anyone who made you lose it?

Samba Diallo – a Mali guide who watched over me like an angel. I have been fortunate to have had nothing but great experiences travelling.

What's the most impressive / useful phrase you know in a foreign language?

Dobraye utra Captaine – ‘Good morning Captain’. The captain of our Polar ship is Russian.

What is your worst habit as a traveller?

Snoring.

Snowbound in a tent in Antarctica, how would you entertain your companions?

The best and the worse of my travel stories.

When and where in your travels have you been happiest?

Antarctica.

What smell most says 'travel' to you?

My favourite rucksack.

Given a choice, which era would you travel in?

1950s.

If you could combine three cities to make your perfect metropolis, what would they be?

New York, Buenos Aires and Cape Town.

Angie Butler is an author and co-founder of Ice Tracks, a company that specializes in taking clients on polar cruises and adventure trips to the Arctic and Antarctica. Her latest book, The Quest for Frank Wild, is available on Amazon now.

 

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