In 2010, Gareth Jones and Aaron Chervenak quit their day
jobs and split for the Amazon with little more than a portable canoe,
paddles, cameras, and camping gear. They paddled for weeks, ate piranha, drank coffee made from
river water, set up their hammocks, and drifted off to sleep, or not, to the growl of jaguars. They caught a bug for the region, and two
years later they've returned with a bit more of a goal. In early October, the men
will set off on a 15-month quest to paddle, hike, and bike from Brazil’s northernmost point to its
southernmost point. Here's a bit more on .”
WHO: Gareth Jones, of London, is a fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society. Aaron Chervenak, of Los Angeles, California, is a
filmmaker and photographer.
WHAT: A 5,592-mile (9,000 km)
human-powered expedition that begins on Monte Caburaí, at Brazil’s
northernmost point, and ends in Chuí, at Brazil’s southernmost point. The pair
will hike through dense tropical forest, paddle through the Amazon and down along the
Atlantic coast, walk to Rio de Janeiro, and then pedal through the south of the
country to the Uruguayan border.
WHEN:
Jones and Chervenak plan to head south from Monte Caburaí in early October
and expect the journey to take 15 months.
WHY: “Brazil
9000 will present an unprecedented portrait of Brazil
and the Brazilians; visiting indigenous territories, deforested ranch
lands, industrial ports, deserted beaches, fishing villages, pristine jungle
and huge metropolises.”
“The project will reach a global audience, with content in both English and
Portuguese, through live Web updates, TV and film
productions and a series of photographic exhibitions to coincide with the
Brazil World Cup (2014) and the Rio Olympics (2016). Ideas for an educational
program linking U.K./U.S. and
Brazilian schools are also being developed.”
“Until recently the coastal town of Oiapoque was wrongly seen as marking
Brazil’s most northerly point. It took until 1995 for a Brazilian military
expedition in the remote Amazonian state of Roraíma to officially confirm that
the nation’s true north lay hidden in the mountainous jungle on the border with
Guyana at Monte Caburaí. School text books are slowly being updated.”
“A handful of Brazilians claim to have gone from Oiapoque to Chuí by
foot or bike but they have all resorted to using motorized transport along the
way; taking a ferry for 24 hours across the Amazon delta, for example. This,
combined with the fact that they began their journey at the ‘false’ north,
presents the opportunity to become the first people in history to genuinely
cross the length of Brazil.” —
SPONSORS: The team has listed a on their website, from the Royal Geographical Society to
Arc'teryx.
FOLLOW ALONG: , ,
on Twitter.
—Joe Spring