Day 1 - and we have
already heard about a dentist attacked and consumed by a
25ft. anaconda. While waiting in Sao Paulo for our connecting
flight, two American missionaries told us of this man who
was eaten by an anaconda and the worrying thing is that
we are heading for the same area where this happened. For
the moment we are resting in a cheap hotel before moving
on to Vila Bela. However, even our landing in Cuiaba was
fraught with danger. Rumours were circulating amongst the
passengers that we could not land in Cuiaba because of smoke
covering the airport coming from an erupting volcano. In
the end it turned out to be farmers burning the land for
their cattle which, of course, means destroying more rainforest.
Day 2 - We set off early for
the 10 hour car journey to Vila Bela however, our driver
had other ideas and we did it in 5. Nothing too spectacular
to see along the way apart from comparing the different
types of road kill. Ant eaters, Grey Fox and some other
strange looking animals. We have just had dinner with our
guide Badu - seems a top guy - and are now discussing plans
for the big off on Sunday when we climb the Ricardo Franco
to "The Lost World". Actually, the last thing I expected
to find when searching for this Lost World was to hear Celine
Dion "My heart will go on" from Titanic blaring out from
some local cafe. Who knows what awaits us at the top Eminem!!!
Day 7 - Making slow but steady
progress over the top of the Serra Ricardo (Lost World).
Unfortunately we have not much wildlife but then the way
we smell has probably frightened them away. Food has been
very much the same rice, and beans. I hoped we would have
shot some bush meat by now but no luck as yet. One thing
we are all craving for is sweet food. Apparently Colonel
Fawcett experienced the same craving. Since we left the
cliffs traversing the plateau, the landscape is very similar
and not that interesting. Lots of rocks and campo grass
(ideal snake country which is a worry). We tried to get
snake antidote in Vila Bela only to find it could only be
used within the first two days out the fridge. We left it.
Will make a final push tomorrow for the cliffs on the other
side but unsure if there is a route down. No one has been
here before.
Day 12 - Injury and Recovery
my worst fears were realised. An old ankle injury finally
gives way under 25 KG pack and loose rocky ground. I realised
straight away I was unable to continue so we decide to rest
and make next day for the cliffs. There was no obvious route
back down. Fawcett and the characters from the Lost World
all were faced with the same problem. A Plateau with cliffs
on every side was in fact the inspiration for a Lost World
(right now we could do with some of that). Sim, DJ & Badu
each went out to look for possible escape routes, and then
met in the evening to draw a map. We assessed all the possibilities
and agreed to follow the advice of Conan Doyle's Indians
and go for the caves. It was a long dark day but we eventually
made it safely to the bottom. We are now camped at the foot
of a beautiful gorge waiting for a supply drop before continuing
our journey through the jungle by canoe on the Rio Verde.
More problems !!!! Due to unchecked deforestation caused
by loggers and ranchers, the Brazilian authorities are monitoring
this area. This has caused the local ranchers to stop burning
the forest and prevent them from extending there cattle
ranches. They are now refusing to allow any access through
their land to the river we need to reach to continue following
Fawcett's expedition. We will try tomorrow. DX
Day 15-16 - Made it to the
Rio Verde (Green River) which flows on to the great Amazon,
thousands of miles away. Last nights camp proved fruitful
for both moral and wild life. Due to all the erosion the
inside of meanders the banks are almost beachlike with soft
sand. This makes great sites for camp and we have settled
down to enjoy another rice meal. Guess what passed by in
the river? Four cheeky giant otters. Later a Capybara came
into our camp and almost walked into us as we were sat talking.
Still no meat to eat but Badu, our guide got close to some
bush turkeys, stalking them through the forest. Hope to
get some fish tonight as the river is teaming. Two nights
ago while we wrote our last diary ants ate through our tent
and rucksacks. Where are the ant eaters when you need them.
Both DJ and DX woke up with swollen hands after ants also
attacked us. Hope the swelling will go down soon.
Day 17-18 - Yesterday we encountered strong rapids
which meant DJ and me had to portage our bags along the
banks of the river while Sim and Badu dragged the canoe
up. We reached our destination rapid 15, the one that Fawcett
was unable to clear in 1908 and the one Challenger capsized
in the book the Lost World. We checked out what appeared
a good camp site only to find that this (according to Badu)
was used recently by illegal gold miners. His concern was
that they would return and are likely to be well armed.
We decided to cross the river into Bolivia after borrowing
the miners fresh chilli sauce and cooking grill. We set
up camp but were warned by our guide not to stray too far
without a gun or machette, as there were large fresh Jaguar
prints in the sand. We had a welcome break from the heat
later yesterday when a southern weather front locally known
as a Curozo swept over us. The temperature dropped from
30 to 10 degrees C which meant the bugs went and we slept
well. It has now past and back to normal. The river has
provided us with some much needed protein. DJ and me caught
six fish which Badu cooked to perfection, (who needs Jamie
Oliver). However we must be careful as we have already spotted
electric eel and stingrays in the water. Woke up to brilliant
sunshine and a wonderful mug of Jungle coffee. We all washed
our clothes and checked over our provisions and equipment.
The cold weather brought back to life some of the camera
equipment which was starting to fail in the heat and humidity.
While fishing we spotted a troop of spider monkeys on the
cliffs opposite. They impressed us with their climbing ability
as they swung from tree to cliff ledge and upwards into
the lost world. Everybody felt up lifted at the sight of
these wonderful mammals.
Day 19-20 - We set off for the return journey with
a little trepidation about riding the rapids. One mistake
would mean the canoe would capsize with us and all our equipment
and food. All went well up to the point where we rounded
a corner to find a gang of ten plus unfriendly looking characters.
Badu our guide was keen to move us on past them particularly
as this area is notorious for drug running. Safely through
all the rapids we set up camp, somewhat relieved that no
major incident occurred. The next morning we set off drifting
with the current silently for several kilometres enjoying
the splendor and atmosphere of untouched rainforest. Giant
otters swam around the boat, Capuchin monkeys swung from
the trees above us, and a fantastic array of colourful birdlife
musically accompanied us. As night drew in we were visited
by several crocs the largest 2 metres long keen to see who
their new neighbours were. A jaguar growled in the bushes
behind us obviously attracted by the smell of our kill but
never showed it's face. Today we continued to drift but
drew a blank on any notable wildlife until we pulled in
to make camp when a loan giant otter appeared followed by
several boto dolphins. We are now camped at a lake and will
explore for Crocs, Tapir and Anaconda tomorrow.
Day 22 - 25 - Staking out
anacondas when we heard the distant sound of a motor boat
which turned out to be a journalist and a photographer who
have been searching for us for the past 8 days. News had
got to Cuiaba of our expedition and they wanted an exclusive.
Spent the rest of the morning being interviewed and posing
for pictures. We believe it will make a major feature in
this Sundays newspapers. Just canoed on a bit in the afternoon
and made camp. We have now reached confluence of the Guapore
and Verde rivers. Due to unseasonal water levels in the
river canoeing against a strong current is proving hard
work. We flagged down a river boat and hitched a lift for
a few kilometres to ease the journey. We were dropped off
at a Fazenda (ranch) on the river. The people were very
hospitable and inquisitive about our quest. The rancher
was amused to hear about our search for anacondas. He told
us of one he saw recently that measured 25-30ft with a diameter
of about a metre. Apparently the best people to find anacondas
are local Indians who live near by and come down to the
river to hunt them for food. We canoed on and made camp
in the swamp. Final day on the river, we are heading for
our final destination, Betania and small Fazenda up river.
Before arriving we encounter a Bog Monster, actually it
was a rather unfortunate looking ugly man with no teeth
carrying a rifle. On reaching our destination we found several
fisherman who invited us to stay in their camp and eat.
Guess who turned up later, the Bog Monster who turned out
to be a nice man. We enjoy our first meal and are offered
a lift back to Vila Bela which we have accepted and look
forward to getting back to civilization tomorrow.
Day 26-27 - Not looking forward to the arduous journey
home in the back of a pickup truck, we set off to Vila Bela.
Roads, well actually dusty red tracks, are bumpy, full of
pot holes and cover you in a reddy brown dust. Had a puncture
early on which left us with no spare. We pulled into a logging
camp to try and get it repaired. We saw at first hand the
true extent of deforestation. Huge Brazilian mahogany trees
are being stripped and made into planks and posts for local
farming needs. The suprising thing is there is more waste
wood than that being used. Stopped for a break at a ranch
where we were treated to a big breakfast of cake, cheese
and pancakes plus our first taste of chilled water for many
days. Our attention was drawn to the adjoining lake by the
sight of a 15 ft black Cayman (croc). This is by far the
largest and most scary animal we have seen to date. At 2
PM and only an hour from Vila Bela we stopped for a drink
and were tempted to take on our Brazilian hosts at a game
of pool in a roadside shack. While we played Sim and the
driver went to a nearby swamp for one last look for an Anaconda.
They promised to return within 20 minutes while we played
the best of three - England 2 Brazil 1. We waited for an
hour before becoming annoyed as we were keen to reach our
final destination. After 2 hours we became concerned but
found there was nothing we could do without transport and
not knowing where they had gone. We sat and waited until
11 PM (9 hours) until the shack closed leaving us cold and
on the road. We walked to a nearby field where the farmers
had been burning forest to create pastures for their cows.
This we had been very critical of, as it was destroying
the forest, we now found ourselves warming ourselves with
the burning embers. At 11 :30 we saw headlights in the distance
approaching. It was Sim and the driver soaked to the waist
and covered with mud. They had become stuck and had no way
of getting the jeep out. Sim had walked through the jungle
for several hours, pistol in hand looking for help while
the driver looked after our gear. Eventually he came across
a logging truck who came to their aid. How ironic that the
loggers and farmers we criticised were the ones that saved
the situation. Arriving in Vila Bela we were met by the
Mayor and his brother who whisked us off to a wonderful
riverside mansion where we were invited to stay for the
rest of our time here. The news that we had confirmed the
Lost World to be based on Fawcett's descriptions of this
area was seen to be of great importance for the future of
this community. A
six page article had appeared in the Sunday paper about
our discovery. We will now leave a day earlier to meet press,
TV and the State Governor in Cuiaba.
Day 28-30 - A 5.30 AM unexpected wake up call from
our host, a meeting with the State Governor had been arranged
for 3 PM in Cuiaba and we had a long journey in front of
us. We made a quick call to Badu's house to say goodbye
and decided to leave him most of our equipment as a farewell
gift. He had been so good to us over the last four weeks
we felt very sad saying goodbye. We hoped the quality of
our equipment would greatly improve his ability to facilitate
future expeditions.
Left with just the clothes on our back and few odd bits
we were driven to Cuiaba by the Town Mayor, Andre. Arriving
at his city apartment to get scrubbed up we realised we
had nothing better to wear than our jungle clothes. To make
things worse Andre appeared from his bedroom in a full suit
and tie, looking like a Hollywood Movie star. Taking one
look at us he offered us clean shirts and we wiped the muck
from our boots.
Arriving at the office we are met by a barrage of reporters,
photographers and film crews. What it's like to be a celebrity.
The Governor welcomed us and we sat and spoke for about
half an hour. We voiced our concern about the environment
and to his credit he produced a video demonstrating $200,000,000
invested so far in conservation and eco tourism. We walked
out and into a press conference where journalists fought
to ask us questions. Dx shouted out "One question at
a time please", where's the agent when you need her.
After celebrating with a meal and drinks, we returned to
Andre's bodyguards house for the night only to be met by
news that we have been invited to appear on Brazilian breakfast
television. It was an early start again but we obliged,
still basking in our new found celebrity status. We were
ushered from room to room before eventually being asked
to sit on set during an advertisement break. Those studio
lights are hot, and show up the worst of the jungle muck
embedded in our skin. After half an hour of live questioning
we go onto a newspaper office for more interviews. At last
we returned for lunch with just two hours before our flight
home. The phone rang as we quickly packed. Another TV station
desperate for an interview, this time it was for all of
South America so we arranged to meet on the way to the airport.
We left Brazil celebrities and arrived back in the UK as
nobodies, our 24 hours of fame had been and gone. The Plane
was late, we missed our train and the taxi driver knew less
than we did about what had happened at home in our absence.
It was an experience all of us will always remember. Who
would believe that nearly one hundred years after Fawcett
made his expedition to this fascinating Lost World nobody
had ever bothered to follow up his claims, until now of
course. We are 100 % convinced that this indeed is the true
inspiration for Conan Doyle's book. If you ever go there
you will see why. We hope you have been enjoyed following
our expedition. Watch out for the next trip !
