Amazon hiker at halfway mark

Published on Saturday 6 June 2009 19:53

A FORMER British Army captain trying to become the first person to walk the length of the Amazon river has reached the halfway point of 2,000 miles.

Ed Stafford, 33, is attempting the trek from the source of the river in Peru to where the river meets the sea in Brazil to raise money for various charities.

Since setting off in April last year, Stafford, from Leicestershire, has encountered snakes, floods, electric eels and piranhas, and had to navigate swamps and wade through water up to his neck, scrambling over tree trunks covered in three-inch spikes.

He has met some hostile local tribes, one of which held him for questioning about the murder of one of their tribesmen, and another that pushed concrete in his mouth. Stafford has also been chased by Ashaninka Indians armed with bows and arrows, and shotguns.

He has taken on the challenge to raise awareness of the effect climate change is having on the people in the Amazon rainforest, and hopes to raise 125,000.

He said: "Having come this far I am more determined than ever to make it to the end but I know the second half is the hardest and the part nobody thinks is possible because of the floods. The Amazon can flood an area of 100 kilometres (62.5 miles) and 200 people are thought to have drowned in the recent floods."