British man is first to conquer the entire span of Amazon River

When Ed Stafford proposed becoming the first person to walk the 4,000-mile length of the Amazon from source to sea, he was roundly dismissed.

Fixers in Brazil said the experienced trekker would probably die and refused to have anything to do with him.



The expedition community said it was too far: that he would get ill or that the dense forest, biting insects, snakes, bogs, jaguars and fearful tribes would be too much.

Desperate to prove them wrong, the former Army captain set off in April 2008, estimating it would take him a year.



He was joined by Peruvian forestry worker Gadiel "Cho" Rivera, who agreed to escort him for five days past drug traffickers and hostile tribes. He has not left his side since.

Almost two-and-half-years and 859 continuous days of walking later he has completed his epic journey.

Ed's website, with links to loads of videos.