Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I'm tending to agree—is a bigger obstacle than the poles. Bandits and
hostage takers, swamps, killer wildlife. The most dangerous place on
earth. My crew is dealing with the Colombian government, trying to
persuade it to provide some kind of armed escort. I know the vans
won't be able to accompany me; when I run through that hell hole I'll
be pretty much on my own, apart from, I hope, a squad of armed sol-
diers or police. I don't know what distance I'll be able to cover a day
through that 150-odd kilometres of forbidding terrain, but it won't be
anything like 85 kilometres.
Chris Smith of Radio 2GB rang to interview me today and said
there's a fellow named Grover Logan walking from Albury to Canberra
as part of an anti-carbon dioxide tax rally, and his feet are covered in
blisters. Chris asked me what he should do about them. I told him to
tell Grover firstly to get his head right and to understand that, while
blisters are undoubtedly painful, nobody ever died of one. He has to
walk through the discomfort. That's the harsh reality. I advised him
to rub moisturiser into his feet at night, and I gave him details of my
needle treatment. I also wished Grover all the best. Anyone who puts
themselves through pain for a cause has my vote.
august 14
Today, I left the Gulf of Mexico and started running towards the west
coast of this remarkable country. My route will take me across the rug-
ged Sierra Madre (Mother Range) mountains to the coast, and then I'll
head past Acapulco and carry on south-east to the border with Guate-
mala. It's a distance of about 1000 kilometres.
Mexico continues to delight me. With its gently flowing rivers,
black sand beaches, palm trees, lush deep greens, primary-colour
foliage and exotic animals, it's a tropical oasis, not the parched and
barren desert with cacti and buzzards I was expecting. Its many little
roadside stalls offer those who pass by a rich bounty of pineapples and
coconuts, the best bananas I have ever tasted, fresh limes and lemons,
and of course ice-cold fresh fruit juices. As I run, kids hold out to me
coconuts with the tops chopped off, ready for me to take a deep drink
of milk. Delicious. You can't get any fresher than that! We've also been
able to feast on fresh fish and crabs, lobsters and shrimp: the seafood
in Veracruz was the best I've ever had.
