British man walks entire Amazon river in 2 years
MARAPANIM, Brazil
"It's unbelievable to be here!" Stafford told The Associated
Press the moment he entered the sea. "It proves you can do
anything -- even if people say you cannot. I've proved that if you
want something enough, you can do anything!"
A few hours earlier, Stafford had collapsed at the side of the
road, just short of his destination. But upon arrival at the
Crispim beach -- and his journey's end -- Stafford looked like he had
all the energy in the world, as if walking for 2 1/2 years were
nothing as he jumped into the ocean and hugged anyone in sight.
While he says he is "no eco-warrior," Stafford told the AP
near the end of his journey that he hoped his feat would raise
awareness of destruction to the Amazon rain forest -- but that at
its heart, it was simply a grand expedition of endurance.
"The crux of it is, if this wasn't a selfish, boy's-own
adventure, I don't think it would have worked," the 34-year-old
former British army captain told the AP as he sat under the
Brazilian sun near the jungle city of Belem. "I am simply doing it
because no one has done it before."
There are at least six known expeditions along the course of the
Amazon river, from its source high in the Peruvian Andes across
Colombia and into Brazil before its waters are dumped into the
ocean 4,200 miles (6,760 kilometers) away. But those used boats to
advance their travel.
Stafford and a British friend began the walk on April 2, 2008,
on the southern coast of Peru. Within three months, his pal left.
Stafford carried on, walking bits of the route with hundreds of
locals he met along the way. Eventually, Peruvian forestry worker
Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera, 31, decided to make the journey with
Stafford to the Atlantic.
Stafford said his journey -- which has cost $100,000 and is paid
for by sponsoring companies and donations -- has deepened his
understanding of the Amazon, its role in protecting the globe
against climate change and the complex forces that are leading to
its destruction.
He said he has seen vast swaths of demolished jungle.
"It's the people in power who are benefiting from the
extraction of the natural resources here," Stafford said. "That's
why there are corrupt politicians and laws that aren't enforced and
loads of unconstrained deforestation still going on."
Despite the devastation, Stafford said he hopes things will
change for the better.
"I think the average Brazilian is a lot more environmentally
conscious than the people in power. I'm optimistic, I'm not
pessimistic," he said.
He has lived off piranha fish he caught, rice and beans, and
store-bought provisions found in local communities along the river.
To relax at night, Stafford said he has downloaded podcasts via
Internet satellite phone by British comedian Ricky Gervais and
episodes of the TV show "The Office".
Stafford and Rivera have encountered every conceivable danger,
from 18-foot (5.5-meter) long caiman crocodiles, enormous anaconda
snakes, illness, food shortages and the threat of drowning.
After they were welcomed in one Indian community in September
2008, the leaders offered to radio ahead to the next village for
permission for Stafford and Rivera to walk through their territory.
"The response came back crystal clear. If a gringo walks into
their community they will kill him," Stafford wrote on his blog at
that time.
He decided to plan a route around the village, but he was still
captured by Indians from another village and taken to their
leaders.
After being dressed down and having their possessions thoroughly
picked over -- only a machete was confiscated -- Stafford and
Rivera's repeated explanations of the point of their expedition won
over the Indians.
They were allowed to walk on the land, but only if they hired
guides from the tribe.
Stafford said he plans another expedition in September 2011 --
something nobody has ever done -- but will not provide details for
fear someone might beat him to it.
Until then, a good, long rest awaits.
"This expedition has been our lives. For 2 1/2 years we've done
nothing but walk and walk and walk. To wake up the morning after
and know that we've done it will be a big change," said Stafford.
"I think we'll get used to it though."