BBC Video On Uncontacted Tribes

Yesterday I posted a story about another uncontacted tribe being discovered in a remote region of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. In that post, I mentioned that there are a number of such tribes in the Amazon, and that the Brazilian government has been taking steps to protect them and their environment from outside threats. It turns out, the BBC documentary Human Planet filmed a piece on those tribes, which you can watch below. The video does a good job of explaining the situation while offering up some fascinating images of these isolated people who continue to live in the same manner that they have for generations.

While watching the video and seeing these tribes first hand, I can't help but wonder what they think about the airplane that is flying overhead and shooting the images. The narrator says that the plane stayed a kilometer away, but I'm still intrigued by thoughts of what that first contact was like for the people in the village.

Big thanks to Ethnonomad for sharing the video with me!

Another Uncontacted Tribe Discovered In The Amazon

Brazil's National Indian Foundation, better known as Funai, has announced that it has discovered a new, uncontacted tribe in a very remote region of the Amazon Rainforest. The organization first spotted a clearing on satellite images, then used airplanes to fly over the region. According to this story from The Guardian, those flyovers spotted four small huts built next to banana trees and surrounded by very dense jungle.

The tribe is said to live in an area close to the border between Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. Experts estimate that there are approximately 200 people living in the village, none of which have ever seen or met someone from the outside, modern world. The discovery brings Funai's official count of uncontacted tribes up to 14, with approximately 2000 people living in those tribes.

The Brazilian government has made it a policy to not establish contact with these indigenous people, and instead they work to protect their lands. Those regions have come increasingly under threat in recent years due to logging, poaching, and mining and other outside influences. There is a fear that contact will eventually have to be established because of those threats.

This story reminds me of a similar one from a few years back. When I wrote that story I remarked about how remarkable it is that these primitive tribes still exist in the wildest places on our planet. We take so much for granted in our modern lives, and yet these people have continued living a simple, yet successful lifestyle for centuries on end. That is such an amazing thing.

Expedition Amazon 2010 Is Underway

A few weeks back I posted a story about Expedition Amazon 2010, the latest adventure sponsored by the impossible2Possible organization. At that time the group, which includes four youth ambassadors along with adventurer and i2P founder Ray Zahab, his partner Kevin Vallely and a few others, were still ramping up for their trip to the Amazon Jungle, but this week they are in Brazil and beginning their journey.

The expedition consists of a 200km (124 mile) trek through the jungle that is expected to take eight days to complete. Along the way, the team is stopping in jungle villages, meeting with the locals, and immersing themselves in the culture there. They are also making the trek to promote Biodiversity, which is the theme for i2P's efforts for this year as 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. The Amazon is one of the richest, most diverse, places on the planet in terms of species of plants and animals.

The team began the trek this past Saturday, and they are now several days in. You can read about their experiences and progress on the expedition's blog, which can be found by clicking here. The posts include some great photos and videos from the Amazon, where it looks like everyone, especially the youth ambassadors, are having a great time.

One of the key elements to any of the impossible2Possible expeditions is their outreach with schools, and this expedition is no different. The team is connecting directly to classrooms through the use of modern satellite technology, and this allowing hundreds of classes and thousands of students to take part in the adventure. Those kids, grades K-12, are learning more about the Amazon, the cultures there, and the importance of Biodiversity.

The expedition should run into next weekend and after that, Ray and Kevin will begin to focus on their planned run across the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is scheduled to take place in January of 2011. Lots of big things planned for this amazing group.

Expedition Amazon 2010: i2P Heads To The Jungle

Over the past few years I've covered several interesting expeditions that have been organized and conducted by the amazing team from impossible2Possible. For instance, last year they sent a group of five young men and women to Baffin Island, while earlier this year an entirely different team went to the Sahara, where they ran across the desert in Tunisia to raise funds and awareness to pay for several clean water projects in remote areas of the world. Each of these expeditions share a couple of common themes, including a healthy dose of adventure, a commitment to addressing a pressing global issue, and an outreach program designed to engage educators and their students.

Now, the i2P team is ramping up for their next big adventure, this time sending another group of youth ambassadors off to a far flung location in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. Expedition Amazon 2010 is set to begin this month, and will feature a 200km (124 mile) trek, spread out over eight days, that will drop four young men and women, along with members of the impossible2Possible organization, into one of the harshest and most demanding climates on the planet.

Like the previous i2P expeditions, this one will have a theme as well. While in Tunisia last year for instance, the focus was on water issues, while this year, it is all about biodiversity. With that topic in mind, it is difficult to think of a better place to explore the subject than the Amazon Rainforest, which is home to thousands of unique plants and animal species. The members of the team will have an opportunity to see that diversity up close and personal while trekking through the dense jungle that is teeming with life. They'll also have the unique, and rewarding, opportunity to stop in local villages and interact with the indigenous people of the Amazon as well.

Also not surprising is that i2P has once again partnered with a number of schools to offer classrooms a unique look at an expedition as it unfolds. The team will be sending back video dispatches, photos, and journals from the field that will allow students in the classroom to feel like they are a part of the adventure. The Experiential Learning Program is an interactive two-way street as well, with the students having the opportunity to ask questions and communicate with the team, even while they are on the trek. These educational elements will give young people the chance to learn about unique cultures, the topic of biodiversity, and the amazing and important natural resource that is the Amazon Rainforest. (FYI: Educators interested in taking part in the program can click here for more information)

We'll all be able to follow along with the team as they post updates and dispatches to their blog in the days ahead.

Having visited the Amazon myself, I can attest to what kind of adventure this will be. Trekking through the jungle is no easy task, and to cover the distances that they have in mind in the time allotted, they'll need to average about 15 miles per day. That's a pretty challenging hike in good wilderness conditions, which the Amazon isn't. Throw in some heat and humidity, and this is going to be on challenging journey.

Walking The Amazon Update: On The Road Again

The last time we checked in with the Walking the Amazon expedition, Ed Stafford and his faithful companion Cho, had made their way into the Brazilian city of Manaus. The pair planned to travel to a nearby town, away from the hustle and bustle, and rest up, repair their rubber rafts, and resupply before heading back out into the jungle. As of yesterday, they are back on the road (quite literally) and continuing their long march to the Atlantic Ocean.

In their most recent dispatch, Ed notes that they are walking the "line of least resistance", which at the moment means that they are sticking to some remote jungle roads that will carry them out of Manaus and towards the heart of the Amazon once again. On their first day back on their feet, the managed to cover 23 miles, but were feeling rather stiff and sore in the process. Walking the roads will help them make good time for the near term though, but Ed says that it is surreal to be walking in civilization again, after so many weeks in the rainforest.

Today is Ed's 681st day in the Amazon, as he continues his march to go end-to-end. If successful, and it's beginning to look like there is no reason why he wouldn't be, he'll become the first person to ever hike the length of the Amazon River. That's a journey of more than 4000 miles through some of the most dangerous, challenging and amazing terrain on the planet. The Amazon isn't referred to as "The Green Hell" for nothing.

I remain in awe of the ambition of this expedition and the tremendous efforts that both Ed and Cho have put into it. They still have a very long way to go, but they're on their final push now, and they'll be wading into the Atlantic before they know it. From there, they can finally go home, for a much earned rest.

Walking The Amazon Update: Ed and Cho into Manaus

It's been far too long since we checked in on the Walking the Amazon expedition. You may recall, this is the unbelievably ambitious project in which British adventurer Ed Stafford, along with his companion Cho Sanchez Rivera, are attempting to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, something that has never been accomplished before. When they've finished this herculean task, they'll have covered more than 4000 miles through thick, oppressive jungle, often referred to as The Green Hell.

Ed and Cho have recently reached the Brazilian city of Manaus, which is the largest city along the Amazon. With more than 1.8 million people, this is a town where they can rest, recuperate, and resupply before returning to the wild. Considering the long days and weeks the pair have spent slogging through the rainforest, it had to have been quite a shock to see an actual large, thriving metropolis for the first time in months. Most of the other settlements they've come across while trekking have been mostly very small villages, although there are occasionally towns of decent size along the river.

According to their most recent blog post, Manaus was indeed a bit overwhelming. Ed writes:

Cho and I wanted a place to recover and rest before our last push to the Atlantic - but Manaus isn’t that place for us. The prices are over double that outside the city limits and the industrial sprawl (now electronics assembly) is dirty and hectic.

Because of this, he and Cho have hopped a bus to another near by town, which is smaller and much slower paced. They'll spend some time there repairing their rubber boats, used to ford streams and rivers, while they regain their strength and prepare to make the final push towards the Atlantic Ocean, which is roughly 900 miles away yet.

At this point, Ed has spent 667 days on this journey, having begun on April 2nd, 2008. I know that the original plan was to end sometime early this year, but the boys have been running a bit behind schedule, and the journey ahead of them will not be an easy one. I suspect they'll be out on the trail for awhile yet.

As I've said before, this expedition continually boggles my mind. It's such a massive undertaking, it's hard to not be impressed with the sense of exploration and adventure. I hope the last long leg of the journey goes well for both Ed and Cho.