Amazon adventure: Ed Stafford's trek from source to sea
By Peter Jackson BBC News
When Ed Stafford proposed becoming the first person to walk the 4,000-mile length of the Amazon from source to sea, he was roundly dismissed.
Fixers in Brazil said the experienced trekker would probably die and refused to have anything to do with him.
The expedition community said it was too far: that he would get ill or that the dense forest, biting insects, snakes, bogs, jaguars and fearful tribes would be too much.
'Buzzing'
Desperate to prove them wrong, the former Army captain set off in April 2008, estimating it would take him a year.
Almost two-and-half-years and 859 continuous days of walking later he has completed his epic journey.
Ed is already planning a new, secret expedition challenge for September 2011The 34-year-old from Hallaton, in Leicestershire, told the BBC World Service the feeling of achievement was "mind-blowing".
"I was preparing myself a little bit, mentally, for being let down by today," he said.
"I thought, 'Two-and-half years, you can't really pin your hopes on today being fantastic,' and yet when Cho and I ran into the ocean, I was close to tears.
"The positivity around us here was incredible. The locals came out, they were playing live music, they were dancing on the beach, and the media attention was incredible too.
No comments:
Post a Comment