Brazil 9000 is an expedition of over 9000 kilometers by foot, paddle and pedal. Gareth and Aaron have completed the Amazon canoeing portion of the journey after 156 days and 3,000 kilometers.
From their expedition diary: “By now Aaron and I had been travelling by foot and canoe through Amazônia for over 3000km and were just a couple of weeks away from reaching the city of Belém, where the Amazon reaches the Atlantic. We had paddled out of Santarém 18 days ago, now accompanied by a second canoe containing our friends Eric and Colton. All four of us had been knocked back by heavy fevers, nasty stomach parasites and general fatigue, but what worried us most right now was an encounter with the river pirates that troubled the region.
We never wanted to succumb to fear or play on it to add drama to our story, but around here we were receiving countless warnings of bandit activity and first-hand accounts of murder and of robbery. If they preyed on humble homesteaders, poor ribeirinhos, caboclos and fisherman with little to steal… then we were an extremely tasty target. Worse still, people were afraid of us. They lived in fear of attacks on their isolated communities and whilst we definitely did not fit the profile of Amazonian pirates, they simply did not know what else to make of us when we paddled into these backwaters where outsiders with innocent intentions rarely travel…” Continue reading their blog updates here.
