http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233384/The-REAL-king-jungle.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233384/The-REAL-king-jungle.html)
QuoteFormer British Army captain Ed Stafford, 33, is well on the way to becoming the first man in history to walk from the source of the Amazon in the mountains of Peru to its mouth in Brazil. And he's not doing it in the hope of achieving notoriety, nor is he being paid handsomely for his efforts. No, he's doing it out of a sense of adventure - for the sheer derring-do.
QuoteHis satnav is broken and even if he had enough money for guides, he wouldn't be able to get them anyway for this section of his expedition.
The locals are too scared of jaguars
to go into the jungle. The big cats find pickings lean in the dry season and a juicy explorer would be a welcome addition to their diet. Ed is, of course, unarmed. A gun might give protection from the wildlife, but it would guarantee hostility from the people.
My nominee
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/23/man-swims-the-entire-length-of-the-amazon-115875-21616720/
QuoteHe's middle-aged, his ample belly bulges over his Speedos...and he thinks drinking two bottles of wine a day keeps him in shape.
Swimmer Martin Strel would be the first to admit he makes the unlikeliest of athletes.
But the 55-year-old hard-drinking Slovenian just happens to be the greatest endurance swimmer in the world... ever.
He claimed the title by conquering the world's most dangerous river – the Amazon – swimming 3,274 miles in 66 days, non-stop.
"It helps to be a little crazy, to do what I do," Martin admits.
"I told myself that I would swim the Amazon or I would die trying.
"I'm a big man, sure, but the Amazon is so much bigger."
The astonishing story of courage and determination is the subject of a new movie, Big River Man, which opens across the UK next month.
The enthralling film sees Martin brave the constant threat of piranhas, crocodiles and the horrifying candiru fish.
QuoteBut even as he tells how his doctor warned him to give up drinking to lessen the risk of heart attack, Martin simply cracks open another bottle of red, washing it down with a whisky and some beer.
"I told the doctor I have to drink, I have to swim – I am Martin!" says the part-time guitar teacher.