| DURING FEB 1 - APR 08, 2007 MARTIN STREL SWAM 5,268 KMS (3274 MILES) OF THE AMAZON RIVER! HE DEDICATED THE SWIM TO THE PROTECTION OF THE RAINFOREST. |
Pioneers of the Amazon
Tempers occasionally flare. Our knowledgeable guide, Miguel Rocha de Silva is famous for guiding Jacques Cousteau on his Amazon expedition twenty years ago to study everything from the coco industry to deforestation to global warming. More recently he was the guide for the late Peter Blake during the Amazon portion of his 2001 environmental expedition. Sir Peter was murdered by river pirates near the mouth of the Amazon on the eve of his departure from the region. This fact has given the team a collective lump in the throat.
Martin is now fully recovered from his bout with dehydration, swimming 93 and 89 km over the last two days. He stopped early this morning for a warm reception at Sao Paulo de Olivenca. Earlier, he cut his left hand on the jagged edge of a stick and had to leave the water until the wound stopped bleeding so as not to attract predators. Yesterday morning we had a brief rendezvous with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s “Amazon Revisited Tour.” They were studying the environmental changes that have occurred in the two decades since his father’s expedition. Live web streaming is now available.
>>Matthew Mohlke
Video from arrival to Sao Paulo de Olivenca:
