The book “The Four Hour Workweek“, by Timothy Ferriss, is one inspiration that led me to create this blog. I also enjoy his blog, and yesterday Tim posted about a man who swam the entire length of the Amazon River.
Last year on April 8th, Slovenian marathon swimmer Martin Strel became the first man to swim the entire length of the Amazon River from headwaters in Peru to the Brazilian port city of Belém: 3,274 miles. It took him 66 days with a support crew of near twenty people following him in a boat for protection.
He’d already conquered the Danube, the Mississippi, and the Yangtze. In 1997, he became the first to swim non-stop from Africa to Europe, and he did it in 29 hours, 36 minutes, and 57 seconds… without a wetsuit. WTF? Seven swimmers had attempted it before and all had failed.
The Amazon was different. As the “Fish Man,” as the locals called him, reached the finish line at Belém, he had to be helped to his feet and ushered into a wheelchair amidst a cheering crowd. His blood pressure was at heart-attack levels and his entire body was full of subcutaneous larvae. But he lived to tell the tale.
You can read more at the link above. What an amazing (and dangerous) adventure! By the way, if you can’t tell, I’m a fan of Tim Ferriss’ ideas, and his book is highly recommended by me.
