Trekking Deep in the Jungle

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 15.11.2014

The beach side village in which the finish line is located, Mompiche, is an extraordinary place. Bamboo constructions line the sandy lanes and the vibe is one of a hippy surf hub with reggae and salsa music blaring all night; trying to get a decent breakfast is another story. Teams have been cheered in throughout the day as they walked the streets on the way to the finish line by anyone and everyone sitting the bars and cafés.

After yesterdays fiasco with the 4x4 we decided to go back out on the race route from the finish line and try to catch some of the teams further back. At the pre-race briefing Santiago Lopez expressly told the journalists not to go into the jungle on the last trekking section starting in La Y de Cube because it would be nearly impossible to get us out if we went astray. The teams were navigating the forty kilometers without a map, using only GPS co-ordinates.  We hoped that we’d at least find some teams in the transition area to the last kayak section.

Five hundred meters up from the transition in Bocana de Tigua we found a place on the river bank where teams were crossing over, having come out of the jungle. Sliding down the embankment we managed to hail a passing pirogue (as one does) that took us to the other side and we were able to take the trail a little further into the jungle. It immediately became clear why teams kept saying “f-ing mud” when they talked about this stage at the finish line as we were soon calf deep in the stuff.

Playing the waiting game looking for teams we examined our surroundings. Hostile. All at once the birds went wild and this was our infallible advanced warning that teams were approaching. Brazil-Kailash Brou Aventuras grabbed a log flowing by on the river and all four teammates paddled across the river towards the transition area. France Vaucluse Adventures Lafuma came through and hour later and after swimming across the river, Jerome Berruer gave a French journalist who hadn’t crossed the river a very wet, muddy hug.

The two men, two women team Ecuador-Guambras Biosil-Powerade came through the jungle forty-five minutes later. When asked how they were doing, Maria said, “Ready to finish!” Sliding down the muddy embanquement to the river crossing, Daniela Leon just sat in the mud where she had landed and watched her teammates crossed, looking less then enthusiastic about the crossing. (A large group of family and friends were waiting for the team at the transition area and when we came across them later, their spirits had greatly improved.)

From the other side of the river we had to hail another boat to ferry us back across and this time it was a cut-out tree trunk that served as transport. Down through knee-deep mud and into the pirogue we went, four passengers crouched down on their knees in a delicate balancing act. The monetary value of the camera equipment in the backpacks made it imperative not to capsize and world-renowned film maker Martin Papalia gleefully filmed the scene from the other side, looking decidedly dejected when we made it safely ashore.

Trying to catch up to teams further along the last kayak section we went to where the teams came off the water and walked the last three kilometers to the finish line. A group of three teams walking together came up the road. One of the teams was Ireland-Irish AR and we were finally able to ask them what had happened in their race as the last time we’d seen them was at TA4 when Eoghan had been so ill.

Richard Nunan said that they’d had to take him to the race medic soon after they’d left the TA, the medic had diagnosed an intestinal parasite and given him a strong dose of antibiotics. Richard added that “they’d neglected to tell us that Eoghan would pass out after an hour, he did, so we had to stop and wrap him up and take care of him.” So the issue in TA4 was much more then a simple case of bonking or something he’d eaten.

Walking along the paved road to the finish line the team told me of a wild night they’d had out on the trek from San Jose de Minas to Meridiano. Around midnight they’d taken a track that they were convinced was in the right direction and they came across a moonshine distillery.  All of a sudden in the pitch dark lights appeared and a machete wielding man with snarling dogs stopped them in their tracks.

Eoghan immediately started talking to him in Spanish, explaining that they were racers and foreigners and not at all interested in his illegal activities. According to Richard it was a tense few minutes that felt like an eternity and then the man led them back up the path towards his house that they’d passed, sat them down on a bench outside of his wooden house and offered them a sample of his brew.

When they declined he then said that he would walk them back to the track that they should have taken and walked with them for forty minutes through the night until they were back on the right track. How quickly a situation can change from potential violence to incredible hospitality towards strangers. This short-coursed team has now crossed the finish line and are enjoying beers and a good natter.

Racers, families and the press are spread out throughout the village this evening, exchanging stories in various languages. Listening in on one tables conversation, a member of the Swedish team SAFAT asked, “Did you hear about the guy who cut his finger off on the second day”, and his dinner companions immediately asked for details; “cut off, as in off off? Typical dinner conversation in adventure racing, pass the salt.

The race will be ending soon but the story telling will continue long into the winter months as adventure racers digest this extraordinary race they have experienced. Some are happy with their race, other less so, but if you’d seen even a tiny portion of what they’ve done, you’d agree that all can be justifiably proud. It has truly been an epic journey.

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