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15th October 2009 - On our own in the jungle. No satellite navigation, back to using maps.

Ed's GPS network has conked outI’ve led expeditions across the world, but none of them were as far away from medical help as we have been recently. As our GPS (satellite navigation) is broken this is testing my map-reading skills to the limit.

We have to guess how far we’ve gone by remembering how fast we walked before through the through different forest types. We walk on bearings using maps designed for aeroplane navigation. We often have to redraw the rivers on the map in pencil because the map is so rubbish. It’s a navigational joke – if it wasn’t life threatening it would be very funny.

We carry an emergency rescue beacon but, as our medical insurance has been stopped (due to lack of funds), if we pulled the plug nothing would happen. No help would come for us - we are on our own in the jungle.

using a map and compass to find our way


The caiman (alligators) have raised their armoured heads recently too. We’ve had two babies caught in our fishing nets and they could take our fingers off far quicker than any piranha. But its angry mother caiman responding to their young’s cries for help that worries me more.

We finished our food on Tuesday so a resupply was needed. I’ll let the video tell the story…


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