Amazon trek looking for funds

Expedition needs cash to keep afloat

The expedition by an ex British army captain to walk the length of the Amazon from source to the Atlantic is low on funds – and is looking for financial help.

Thirty-three-year-old Ed Stafford, who began the incredible 4,000-mile trek in Peru at the river’s source high-up in the Andes, needs £2,000 per month but 'unanticipated factors' such as slower than expected progress, has resulted in the expedition running on a bare minimum of funds.

Stafford and his trekking partner Cho have now been walking for over 500 days, and have reached the halfway point of their 380-kilometre crossing from Amaturá to Tefé.

The expedition leader describes the spot as being grim: “Low, tangled rainforest no higher than six metres with gnarled, black branches ... every branch we clung to was covered in either spines or ants.”

Stafford compares the Juruá River to the Amazon: “[It] carves out an impressive gauge through the forest ripping palms and hardwoods out of the ground ruthlessly as it constantly alters its course.”

Strafford has a new motivation to complete his goal: his friend, Mark Hale, who has just been killed in Afghanistan. “When I doubt myself and need a role model to emulate as to how they would deal with a difficult situation I think of Mark – he was a great man,” he said.

Anyone can donate to the running costs of the expedition here: http://www.walkingtheamazon.com/donate/