British explorer nears end of 859-day Amazon trek

Former British army captain Ed Stafford is set to become the first man to walk the entire length of the Amazon after an incredible journey that has lasted two years and four months. The 34-year-old is now on the final leg of the 4,300-mile trek which takes him from the Brazilian jungle city of Belem to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where he is expected to arrive today.
 
His trek began 859 days ago in April 2008 at the summit of Mount Mismi in Peru and his escapades since then could have sprung from the pages of a Boy's Own adventure.
 
He and his walking partner had hoped that the journey would take about a year but it soon became apparent that it would last much longer than that. Then after three months his partner quit and headed home, leaving Stafford on his own.
 
He was not alone for long before he teamed up with Peruvian forestry worker Gadiel 'Cho' Rivera, who initally agreed to escort him for five days past drug traffickers and hostile tribes, but has continued all the way to the Atlantic.
 
The pair have encountered dangerous wildlife including electric eels, pit vipers and anacondas, while Stafford had a botfly burrow into his head. He also estimates that he has suffered "50,000 mosquito bites".
 
Even more of a threat than the native fauna were the humans the pair encountered. Stafford said that many of the tribes they encountered on the shores of the river feared white people and that he was warned to stay away from several villages. "There were genuine looks of absolute terror when we arrived in communities," said Stafford, who has been in radio contact with the outside world and has been running a blog of his adventure.
 
In one village he was accused of causing the disappearance of a missing villager and another time he and Rivera were chased by five or six boats full of Indians armed with guns and bows and arrows.
 
"They ran towards us at high speed in a state of panic and aggression," said Stafford. "If we had acted aggressively I have no doubt they would have killed us,"  In the end, the village chief  accompanied the pair for 47 days of the walk. "We became good mates," said Stafford.
 
The trip has cost more than £60,000 provided by sponsorship and donations. Sir Ranulph Fiennes' Transglobe Expedition Trust gave £10,000 and the famous explorer said Stafford's trip was "in the top league of expeditions past and present".

Stafford has admitted his motivation has been somewhat selfish and said: "I am simply doing it because no-one has done it before."
 
He hopes his blog has raised awareness of the environmental issues affecting the region. In it he chronicles times when he and Rivera encountered areas of deforestation where the indiginous people could no longer live. The two explorers had to use their survival skills to get by.
 
Although he is now on the final leg of the trip, things have not been getting easier. In a last push for the finishing line Stafford collapsed from exhaustion by the roadside. He hopes to cover the final 85km in 24 hours to make the finishing line on August 9. In his blog he wrote: "I feel slightly humbled that my system just decided to shut down so close to the finish. Today - the last day - is going to be very long indeed."
 
His next challenge will be to deal with the media and the attentions of publishers keen to sign him up for a book deal. ·