Ed Stafford on Walking the Amazon

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Ed Stafford on Walking the Amazon

28 Oct 2010

Speakers: Ed Stafford

Ed Stafford, an ex-British Army captain who earlier this year became the first man to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, talks us through the 860 gruelling days he spent on the expedition. He explains how, prior to setting out, seasoned travellers and weathered experts assured him it was a fool's errand, one likely to end in his death. Only his friends and family encouraged the expedition - which was nice of them, Stafford says, but was 'slightly undermined by the fact that they didn't have a fucking clue what they were talking about.' He describes the fall-out with his expedition colleague, Luke, after their relationship turned into 'a bad marriage,' culminating in Luke quitting the expedition after three months, leaving Ed to seek out new guides and companions.

Walking through Peru, Stafford describes the isolation of the communities - notably the Ashaninkas and Amerindians - and their initial aggressive defensiveness towards him. Finding a 16-year-old guide, an Italian anthropologist and a forestry worker (Cho, who ended up walking with him for two years) along the way, Stafford worked his way along all 4,400 miles of the Amazon, completing the feat in August this year.

During his expedition, Stafford encountered both hostility and companionship. Questioning whether the upset he had caused to some of the communities and individuals was worth the personal satisfaction he had gained from his journey, he concluded that living in ignorance was dangerous.