Big River Man Page #4

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what we can do to...

Well, I think,

you know, Martin

he's always

like you know,

very tired

but still have some...

still has some

extra power.

-Yeah.

You remember him

on the Mississippi.

He came out from the

water and couldn't walk.

We brought him in

the car, in the van

you know and

he didn't even eat.

You remember some...?

-That was 60. day.

Yeah, it was at the end.

-Yeah.

Toda is 9.day.

And he is,

I hate to say but is like

his fallen apart.

He's f***ing feather.

He shouldn't have

a shoulder problems

quite yet.

It's too early for that man.

He needs to be absorb

this destiruations

through curse in

this expedition

but in 9.days

he lost 11 or 12 pounds.

How much is he lost?

-Yeah, something like that.

Yeah, that's nine days.

I mean,

he's gonna fall

through own

bang hole by the

end of this trip.

PEBAS, PERU

If you ask Martin

what is the most

dangerous thing

on the Amazon was

he would says people.

Martin only believes and

trust completely

animals, rivers and Indians.

These are the only

living beings I think

that truly understands

Martin also.

In the town of Pebas

Martin swam up to an

ancient Indian tribe.

They were called

the Yagua tribe.

I'm afraid must sad

that they are

one of the last

original tribes on Amazon.

When I was kayaking

in escorting him in

down the Danube

he was telling me

the personal stories

that I could never

hear from him

standing on two legs.

One of this was

that his father was

so unsatisfied

with his life

that he would take out

all his rage on Martin.

When the father

had been drinking

Martin was so scared to

come home in the house

that he ended up

sleeping in the barn.

His mother would

set him out

the clothes and

food each night.

My grandmother said

Martin actually

spend the most

of his childhood

in that barn.

When in one occasion

Martin was been chased

and jump in an freezing

creek to escape

the father waiting for

him on the banks

so Martin

swam downstream.

The father walked

alongside him

for a long time

but Martin swam so far

that father gave up

and went home.

This was Martin's

first endurance swim.

I think he

repeat something

of this same feeling

on every expedition.

There are many myths in

creatures lives in Amazon.

One of the myths

is about wild man

who lives in the

underground world

beneath the river.

He's call the Pishtakos

and if you see him

his bringing

the apocalypse.

That's way Indians never

swim in the main channel.

They were afraid of us

because they thought

we are demons.

Face peelers.

They use this...

They skin it the face

take the fatness

from the humans

after they are killed

and things like

that can actually

they call it these

people, Pishtakos.

Pishtakos.

And he said in front of us

that the captain

and myself...

No, they got to be Pishtakos.

I'm sorry. Look for

another village

but we don't want you

stay here tonight.

Alfred of said they

could just decide

to kill us in the night.

So, we slept

with machetes

but mostly we

didn't sleep at all.

The Amazon is almost

as largest the 48 united states.

People don't realize

that the Amazon

the last frontier on earth.

It is still

There were rivers

that go for 1000 km

that are totally uninhabited.

But people who lived here

are some of the poorest

in the world.

This is the main problem

of Amazon destruction.

For example,

one single mahogany tree

in the Amazon

can be worth up to 20.000$

in Europe or America.

People will cut in entire

road into the forest

just to reach one tree.

This mahogany

tree is are made into

expensive boats

and furniture

but mostly

musical instruments

especially electric guitars.

As of 2006 20% of the

Amazon forest

has been cut down.

At the current

rate of cutting

half of the forest will be

gone in twenty years.

DAY 23

Monkeys around.

In the morning...

In the morning is very...

very exciting.

Talking.

So much crying.

Very famous must be

in the morning.

Early in the morning.

Now it's...

more peace.

More quiet.

Nobody crying,

nobody talking.

Peace... ha, peace.

That's not big town,

Los Angeles.

Many cars.

No cars here.

People need this

but people don't

know what is Amazon

what is jungle.

I can look around

to see some animals.

Must be careful,

ok, but...

I think is not

so dangerous.

It's dangerous

in the bank.

It's dangerous, yeah

but in the water, no.

Every year

it's good to stay

in the jungle

Be big difference

for all the people.

DAY 25,

PERU/BRAZIL BORDER

"Martin Strel,

example for the kids."

When Martin cross

the border to Brazil

there was a huge

party with dancing girls

and marching bands

all saying

how Martin was an

example to children

and all human race.

My father was

the first person

that anyone

had ever seen

that swam to

Brazil from Peru.

All of this people

wanted to hear

what this

man had to say

but instead of speaking

Martin swam away

from the reception

with only the Brazilian

chase boat driver

and left us at the port

not have even a clue

how to find him.

This was for expedition

into the dangerous

night time search.

When we finally picked

up the boat signal at 3.AM

and found him about

he had no explanation.

I had seen this irrational

behavior before

and he never had

an explanation.

The news that there was

a man swimming the Amazon

was spreading fast

through out the Brazil.

We were told that crowds

in the thousands

will be waiting for

Martin downstream.

We did not yet realize

how big this thing

was going to get.

SAN PABLO DE:

OLIVENCIA, BRAZIL

His blood pressure

has gone up tremendously

and that's quite worried.

I've been monitoring

this very closely

because diastolic heart failure

is very serious problem

and it could be

a stroke for example

which could kill him.

Martin confessed to me

that he had

been hallucinating

and hearing

a voices in his mind.

He hadn't told

anyone else

because he thought

they would put him

immediately in the hospital

and still he

kept swimming

and drinking.

Must be a little

different sometimes.

Matt!

I'm tired, Matt.

Ha?

Maybe you have

something to drink?

Yeah, I have some drinks.

You have maybe

some whisky? -Whisky?

Whisky.

The doctor said you should

be drink more fluid

because you

are dehydrated.

This is for doctor

not for me.

This guy

is not understood by

anybody.

Who's that guy in mediaeval

and mythological stuff that

they changed him a

rock or something

and the birds

pecked on his head until...

Is that Hercules

or some athletes lady?

Piece like...

He's like this except.

He's got to swim

all those rivers

What's he

doing here is

almost self sacrificial

for the world.

It's almost Christ

like in a way

if I can say that.

It's almost Christ like.

It's bigger then

I can comprehend.

and I'm just darting

the essence

after been in all

that expeditions

how great is thing is.

Yeah, he might

be a little fat

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