Latest Post: The Law of the Jungle
After staying two nights at a unique community called Jerusalem, that sits atop a rare hill with wonderful views across the forest canopy and a large lake, and then several days later stumbling across the tiny village Nova Informa do Uruá, we were now supposedly heading for an island community named Tupi, near the Solimoes river. It was … Read more »
Rivers in the Sky
After two unsuccessful starts with different Ticuna guides, I was looking for a third-time-lucky break. I was resigned this time to doing a solo crossing, after having had to turn back twice, the second time being much more of a challenge. It had taken two days and a looong river paddle to get back to … Read more »
To the Brim
After a long stop in Amaturá re-organising, re-routing, having meetings with Ticuna chiefs, finding a Ticuna guide, having to go to another city to get cash and access WiFi, having various encounters with Federal and Military police and sourcing stuff to repair kit etc, including spending days sewing up all the holes in my mosquito net, here’s … Read more »
Ordem e progresso
We must have looked a sight as we stumbled out of the jungle with our huge packs, our torn and filthy clothes hanging loosely from our emaciated forms. Everyone stared at us as we walked through the city in the afternoon heat to find accommodation, and it was no surprise to me when the police … Read more »
Bridge Over Troubled Waters
By the time you read this blog we should be on our way to Rio Jutaí – the last of the major tributaries of the Brazilian Amazon basin. Before we left Juruá, I sent photos for this blog to Clive Maguire in Manaus. I then managed to write some of the blog via a batch … Read more »
The Emerald City
After leaving Tefe (the city where the famous naturalist Henry Walter Bates based himself for several years) and following an exhausting 7.5K swim across Lago Tefé, my current guide Everaldo and I set off for the long slog to Juruá. Armed with Everaldo’s vast knowledge of the rainforest and my own very modest experience, we … Read more »
The lay of the land
It would have been much quicker walking along the exposed banks of the Solimões (Amazon) river, but the risk of encountering river pirates was very high – so for this latest section, Coari to Tefé, we would just have to grit our teeth, sharpen our machetes, and cut our own path through the longer and … Read more »
Walking under water
The title of this blog is a little misleading. Let me explain… I was surprised to see a vast array of books on the shelves in the small school in the indigenous community of Terra Vermelha. This tiny village, (literally `Red land`) is a protected indigenous area (although I was initially unaware of this), but … Read more »
Time and patience
Finding and organising guides/walking companions has proved to be time consuming and expensive. I have lost weeks – months even – over the course of this expedition, finding and waiting for guides, and I have just lost another month of good low-water walking time doing just that. However, the benefits of walking with a local … Read more »
Castanha do Brasil
Its dry season here in Amazonas now, the tropical downpours are few and far between, but when they do randomly appear they are spectacular. The flood waters have passed their seasonal height and are now receding. The people who live near the rivers say the fishing is good from September onwards as abundant amounts of … Read more »
Come hell or high water
The Juruá-Purus forest eco-region lies in the western part of the Brazilian Amazon basin between the Solimões (Amazon) and Purus rivers. This area lies entirely in the lower Amazon basin, and the terrain is mostly uniform, consisting of flat, forested plains dissected by large rivers that are characterised by endless meanders, frequent oxbow lakes and … Read more »