Walking the Amazon: 860 Days. The Impossible Task. The Incredible Journey
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Spare Kit bag (x 2): 6 x AAA batteries (for head torch), 4 x AA batteries (for GPS), 2 x Deet 100%, spare journal, spare pen and pencil, spare thread for sewing awl, spare loo roll, spare lighter and tree resin.
Cheapest Casio watch (x 2) with light and alarm
Nalgene 1-litre water bottle (x 4)
Metal mug (x 2)
4-piece REI cookset (two small pots and top small lids that fit inside each other)
Learn English book (x 1) (Cho’s)
Bible (x 1) (Cho’s)
Large bags for food (x 2)
Lock and lock lunch boxes (x 2) for eating out of, carrying food that was cooked at breakfast for lunch, using to bail water over self to bathe. About 1-litre capacity.
Food (per man per day) 125g dried beans, 500g rice, bag of various condiments: garlic, salt, oil, vegetable stock, and mixed herbs. Brew kit: Coffee, milk powder, sugar (and ‘zero-cal’ sweetener for when sugar ran out). Flour on short legs as a treat. Fish only when caught. Occasionally took cured or dried meat if likelihood of fishing was low.
The impossible becomes possible. This data provided by NASA and JAXA enabled me to literally see through the jungle canopy and plan a route avoiding the worst flooded areas. Dark grey is terra firma and light grey is flooded forest at high-water season. JAXA/NASA/JPL-CALTECH JERS-1/GRFM ©JAXA/METI.
Oswaldo Teracaya Rosaldo in the Colca Canyon.
With Luke on the summit of Nevado Mismi.
With Luke at The Source – one of two crosses and there were two further plaques – hence covering all bases and summitting Nevado Mismi the following morning.
The Apurimac Canyon – the deepest canyon in the world.
Two Ashaninka hunters just outside Pichari.
Ashaninka mother and daughters making masato, a fermented, mildly alcoholic drink made by chewing yucca and spitting it back into the pot.
Rondero outpost in Pichari, The Red Zone.
Emily Caruso, anthropologist, and her Ashaninka family in Pamaquiari.
The gateway to the River Tambo – this marked the end of the terrifying River Ene.
Donating medicines to the villages along the Tambo – Cho in the background.
Ashaninka men on the River Ucayali.
Andreas and me – pack raft buddies.
The Dongo brothers (Alfonso and Andreas) in their new T-shirts bought when we arrived in Pucallpa.
A home-made shotgun trip wire trap used for small animals such as agouti.
Cutting through the jungle. © KEITH DUCATEL
A village girl in Peru. © KEITH DUCATEL
Crossing the river, towing the group’s bags. This method enabled the local guides’ bags to stay dry. © KEITH DUCATEL
Advancing through the floods. © KEITH DUCATEL
Up to my chest in water, wondering how many more months there were to go until I could have a hot bath at home. © KEITH DUCATEL
Mestiso child in a Peruvian village. © KEITH DUCATEL
Walking into the first flood season. © KEITH DUCATEL
With Keith Ducatel (photographer), sharing a rare crate of beer.
With Ursula (centre) and family in Iquitos.
Spider monkey view of me walking. © KEITH DUCATEL
My favourite time of the day – getting clean again. © KEITH DUCATEL
Aerial view of camp. © KEITH DUCATEL
Crossing a slippery log bridge. © KEITH DUCATEL
Cho fishing with an improvised rod made from a sapling.
Cho and me smoking fish above the fire. © PETE CASEY
Camp life. Warm, clean, dry clothes every morning from above the fire.
The concrete jungle: checking the map and having a quick sit down.
The final river crossing to Belem at dawn – a final reminder of how small and weak we really were. © KEITH DUCATEL
The road to Belem – Crocs and socks – what trendsetters. © KEITH DUCATEL
The final road stretch with a tight schedule meant long days and very little sleep. © KEITH DUCATEL
The sprint into the Atlantic – the happiest day of my life to date. © KEITH DUCATEL
Cho and me in the Atlantic Ocean – godzillaesque drama. © KEITH DUCATEL
The champagne celebration – it was the first time Cho had ever seen the sea. © KEITH DUCATEL
The sponsorship flag – everyone who sponsored us and helped us out were on it. © KEITH DUCATEL
Acknowledgements
I WOULD LIKE to thank those who donated money to the expedition to keep the whole thing going when sponsorship funds ran out. Between them, with donations from £5 to £6,000, they donated nearly £48,000. Any missed off – apologies: this means that either Ba Stafford (my mum) wasn’t notified or I messed up somewhere in my post-expedition tiredness.
In alphabetical order: Lynn Adlington, Ralph Alcocer, Douglas Alexander, Magnus Anderson, Velma Anderson, Sheila Astbury, Richard Atkins, Steve Backshall, Jon Bailey, Mark Barrowcliffe, Caroline Baugh, David Baugh, Raymond Belair, Mike and Sue Berry, Rachael Bibby, Elizabeth Bilton, T. C. Binstead, Dan and Rebecca Birch, Sharon and Simon Bird and family and friends, Andy Blake, Lisa Boggs, Richard Booth, Mike and Joan Bosworth, Jean-Philippe Boudreault, Peter Bowker, Carl and Sally Bradshaw, Mitchell Brass, John and Lesley Bray, Euan Brodie, Giles Brookes, Gill Brown, Crispin Busk, Katie Carter, Pete Casey, Tim Chalmers, Charlie and Lesley Chivers, Robin Cleaver, Sue Clement, Adrian Cole, Richard Comber, Phyllis Constant, Mike Corwin, Alison Cox, Laura Cox, Sven Crongeyer, McDowell Crook, Ralf Darius, Sylvia Davis, Rob and Pauline Dawes, Susannah Day, Andrew Diamond, Richard Dodwell, Nick Dombrovskis, Shawn Douglas, Mike Doyle, Leigh Driver, Ann and David Eardley-Wilmot, Gina Ebole, Joanne Edward, Jonathan Ellison, Lesley Farmer, C. Farrow-Ryue, Anthony Fernandisse, A. J. Firth, Mark Furber, Roger Forrow, Gabe, Di Gaetano, Kieran Gaffney, Gerard Ginty, Kris Girrell, Dan Glasuer, Ann and John Golding, Charli Golding and Tim Williams, Mandy Green, Liz Greenham, Ted Gurbac, Sylvia Halkerston, Robert Hall, Tina Hamilton-James, Philip Hammond, Roger Harris, Karla Hart, Steve Heald, Timothy Heck, Lisa-Mae Hill, Lakota Hillis, Amanda Hilton, Chris and Vonnie Hilton, Ross Hippeley, Cindy Holdorff, Jon Huston, Megan Irving, Chrissie Jackson, Michael Jackson, David Janke, Tan Jingyi, Kenneth Joyner, Andrew Kelly, Frank Kelly, Jonathan Kemp, Sarah Kemp, Steven and Jos Kemp, Fiona Kennedy, J. S. Kent, Joseph Keogh, J. Kratsky, Martin Kratz, George Lamb, Kellyann Lamb, Sue Lardner, John Leen, Matthew Lehmann, Dan Leinenger, Lena from Palo Alto, Devora Leogrande, Sergio Leunissen, Craig Lundeen, Guy and Vicki Macken, Nadine Manning, Mautner Markhof, Mrs S. M. Martin, Carrie Mayor, Barry McCarthy, Cameron McFee, Claire McFee, M. McKenzie, Janet Meek, David and Liz Mitchell, Jodie Mitchell, Mary Mitchell, Charles Montier, Jamie Morris, Leah Morris, Edward Morrison, James Moy, Andy and Robert Nasreema, Sue Nash of GLCS, Huy Nguyen, Mark Noltner and the class of 2-4, Vern Nicholson, Shah Nishit, the 4th Grade of Dryden Elementary, Arlington Heights, Kevin O’Brien, Jon Orantes, OrgoneCrystals.com, Javier Ortez, Matt Ostiguy, Robert Ousey, Rita Partlow, John Phillips, Susan Phillips, Michael Pike, Anthony Polley, Clare Procter, Richard and Penny Pursey, Mrs C. Quinn, Paul Randle, Amy Rawson, Robert Rees, Tim Rees, ReGet Software, Joan and Faber Richardson, Michael Richman, Stephen Ridgway, Tony Ritchie, Tom Rogers, Roy Rollo, Michael Rowton, Mitchell Rowton, Phillipa Rudge, Richard and Susie Russell, Tim Russell, Michael Salguero for Karlene and Shawn, Jerome Scanlon, Bryan Schneider, James Scott Hosking, Oliver Seeler, Vijay Shah, S. Shanagher, Lisa Shaw, Marla Silverman and P.A.N.D.O.R.A., John and Paula Simon, Caroline Sims, Cyril Sirk, Sky 2 Sea International, Cynthia Smith, J. Snow, A. Southgate, Spratton School, St Mark’s Catholic Primary School, Dave Stevens, Edmund Stewart, Georgina Steytler, Stoneygate Rugby Club, Emma Summers (sorry about the flag, Emma), Szesciorka, Tony Talbot, Denise Thorpe, William Throndset, Andrea Thrussell, Tilton-on-the-Hill Produce Show, Jamie Tinker, Ingrid Toppe, Carolina Torres, Richard Tyler, Dirk Van de Werff, Guy and Sue Wakeham, Mike and Sally Wakeham, Jason Warren, Pat Warren, Harry Wass, Moya Webb, Ron Wedel, Guy Weller-Pool
ey, Chloë Wells, Fiona and Ian Widdowson, Wild Lodge School, Patricia Williams, S. Willingale, Carol and Meg Willis, Emma Wilson, Gillie Wilson, Wendy Wilson, Winsp and Mack, Sue Wojcik, Kandy Wong, Sean Woodward, Time Wright, E. Zindy.
Thanks, too, to the following expedition sponsors who gave kit or money to make the expedition happen:
Jonathan Stokes of JBS Associates, main sponsors, who gave more than £34,000 to get the expedition off the ground and keep it running for over a year; Scott Cecil of Save Your World for sponsoring the interactive map; George Meek of Unicorn Media for sponsoring the video blogs; Tracey Harris of AST Satellite Communications for lending me three very expensive BGANs; Clare and Simon from The Energy Brokers for sponsoring the blogs; Anton Bowring, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and all the trustees at the Transglobe Expedition Trust who gave me grants and encouragement; the Sculpt the Future Foundation who donated funds; Macpac – official rucksack, sleeping bag and tent suppliers; Red Flag Recruitment who sponsored us; Altberg – official boot supplier, Rite in the Rain who supplied waterproof notebooks for my diary; Rory and Andy at Embado who helped with the website; Sheri at Alpacka rafts for giving me a good deal; Bruce Chapman for flooded rainforest data from NASA; Ged and Dai from Ex-Med for their training and advice; Tom and Ann from Hennessy – official hammock suppliers; Ralph Martindale – machetes, and Sam Crossley of Nightstar UK – torches.
Thanks also to all those men and women who guided us for short periods and to everyone whose village we stayed in, whose food we ate and whose houses we strung our hammocks up in. Without such hospitality, kindness and understanding we could never have completed this journey.
Special thanks go to Julian Alexander from the Law Agency and Clare Wallis at Virgin Books respectively for their help in getting the book published and support whilst writing, the rest of the team at Virgin for all their work. To Ash Holland for the photos on the original website; Clive Maguire for free board and friendship in Manaus; Mandy Pursey for her help with money-raising ideas; Mel Gow for getting me up and running with social networking; Julio Garro for helping with the Peruvian visa situation; Sam Dyson for coming and walking for a bit and putting up with me; Luke Collyer, without whom I wouldn’t have started the whole expedition; Jason Warren and Clare Proctor for help, advice and friendship in different parts of Peru; Phil Parker for invaluable NLP coaching via satellite phone; Carole and David from Project Peru who, with my mother, who is a trustee of the ME Association, organised the boat party on the Thames before we left; Janet Meek for organising the homecoming party; Nadia Nassif for translating all the blogs and website into Portuguese; Will Mather for designing and making two websites for peanuts and making constant updates and alterations; Oswaldo Teracaya Rosaldo, my original guide; Alfonso and Andreas Dongo – the Asheninka brothers; Raul Inuma Ojanama and Jorge Huayambahua Shuña, who walked with me from Orellana to Nauta; Moises ‘Boruga’ Soria Huane and Juan Rodriguez da Silva who walked with us from Pebas to Colombia; Jeremy Boanson-James for photography in the UK and helping to make the sponsors’ flag; Janie Boanson-James for helping with the Facebook page and being an ace sister who I love very much; Marlene Lopez B for logistics, friendship and translating the whole website into Spanish and translating all the blogs; Keith Ducatel for investing his own time and money to come out, take photos and sort my head out; George Meek for helping with the sponsorship and for being a loyal friend to chat to in times of need; Craig Langman for being my link to all things TV and for hours of unpaid, thankless work editing the earlier blogs and dealing with TV companies; Vikki Rimmer at Press Contact for doing the entire expedition’s PR for free (because she is so lovely) and achieving a monumental amount of publicity at the end; and Chloë Wells for understanding me better than anyone in the world.
The two people I owe the most to are my mum, Ba Stafford, for everything: love, support, financial help, bookkeeping, advice, and huge amounts of hard work and dedication raising additional funds that kept the expedition going; and, lastly, Gadiel ‘Cho’ Sanchez Rivera, the least selfish and most patient person I have ever met.
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Published in 2011 by Virgin Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
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Copyright © Ed Stafford 2011
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Endpapers: This image, provided by NASA, enabled the author to see through the jungle canopy and plan a route avoiding the worst flooded areas. The dark grey is terra firma and light grey is flooded forest at high-water season. (JAXA/NASA/JPLCALTECH JERS-1/GRFM © JAXA/METI)