A British man is celebrating after becoming the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River from its source in Peru through Columbia and Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean.
Having lived off piranha fish, rice and beans, Ed Stafford declared he was ready for a cold beer and fish and chips when he ended his epic two year walk at Crispim Beach in Marapanim in Brazil.
He encountered deadly snakes, 18 foot long caiman crocodiles, suffered 50,000 mosquito bites and was held captive at one point by indigenous people distrustful of outsiders.
‘Job done. 28 months and I have finished walking the Amazon. I always knew it was possible,’ he wrote on his blog.
‘It’s been an incredible journey with some amazing highs, but also some pretty horrendous lows as well. But I just couldn’t consider giving up.’
Speaking after the event he said he was motivated simply because it had never been done before.
Stafford and a British friend began the walk on April 2, 2008, on the southern coast of Peru. Within three months, his friend gave up and he carried on, walking bits of the route with hundreds of locals he met along the way. Sanchez Rivera, 31, joined him a few months into the 4,000-mile walk and finished it with him.
He hopes that the walk will also highlight the fragility of the environment in South America. ‘I think the average Brazilian is a lot more environmentally conscious than the people in power. I think when the next wave of Brazilian politicians come through they will be more conscientious,’ he declared.
Leading explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes described the walk as impressive. ‘On an almost daily basis, he must have faced obstacles which would put most people off. His is a truly magnificent demonstration of the stubborn grit which you need to succeed in such difficult and dangerous terrain,’ he said.
‘Such stories draw much needed attention to the very real problems which exist in the Amazon basin and beyond,’ Fiennes added.
