Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
And what a day it has been! We started at five o'clock at what is
surely one of the most picturesque places on earth: the shore of the
Caribbean Sea, in the village of Carreto. From there we made our way
through the jungle; the guard won't travel along the beach for fear of
being an easy target for terrorists.
We put our backpacks in an army boat and sent it on ahead
towards the border, so that we could move faster. But we still had to
carry enough guns and ammunition to wage a small war. We plucked
bananas and coconuts from the trees we passed and ate them on the
run. I believe you could easily survive in the Darién without taking in a
scrap of food. There are cacao trees (the soldiers have shown me how
to rip off the leaves, break the leaf pod against a tree and eat the flesh
inside), limes, coconuts, bananas, pineapples, wild rice, avocados,
and fruit that I have never laid eyes on before.
It rained again, as usual. But, although we were wet through,
nothing could dampen our spirits today. We are camping in the forest
at the very edge of the Darién.
sePtember 29
I've survived the Darién! I've beaten the bastard. I was in the rainforest
for five days, emerging from it yesterday, but haven't a clue how far I
ran—or, rather, stumbled, hacking my way with a machete the whole
way—because the terrible terrain of thick jungle and knee-deep mud
meant we had to keep zigzagging. I'm in great spirits. I was so worried
about making it through, because it was a huge unknown, with the
well-justiied reputation as the most dangerous place on earth.
When we all emerged safely from the rainforest, and just before
the guard handed me over to the safekeeping of the Colombian police
for the next section of the run, they gave me a shirt which all of them
had signed, then they hugged me and wished me well. Many were
close to tears. Now, I'm sitting in the town of Turbo, on the Colombian
side of the rainforest, waiting to rendezvous with Katie and the vans.
As I've said, I have to reach Tierra del Fuego in time to get to the
Antarctic. Right now, the plan is for me, Brooke and Dillon to record a
Christmas segment for Channel Nine on December 25, and then soon
after for me to fly to the Antarctic for the final race to the South Pole.
