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1 " The Amazon is not a normal river, like the Thames, for instance - it is the focal point of a huge sheet of water that surges through the forest when the waters are high. This deluge can be more than 100km wide in places; it is the same distance as London to Paris at its mouth where it gushes out at over 200,000 cubic metres per second in to the Atlantic Ocean "
― Ed Stafford , Walking the Amazon: 860 Days. The Impossible Task. The Incredible Journey
2 " A lazy, bored brain latches on to negativity and problems and exaggerates them until they become out of perspective and all-consuming. "
3 " I had never been to the Amazon, my jungle experience had mostly come from Central America with some short trips to Borneo, but the Amazon undoubtedly had a mystique all of its own. Surely the trees would be much bigger, the wildlife had to be much richer and more diverse and the people would be that bit wilder and cut off from the outside world. It gave me butterflies to think of spending time in the Amazon. Not knowing the geography of the area in any detail, my dreams were restricted to what I did know. There was a ruddy great river that virtually crossed the whole continent from west to east, and…that was about it. I had heard of expeditions that had kayaked the entire river from source to sea – phenomenal endurance feats taking five-plus months – the problem was I was a rubbish kayaker. Sure, I’d done a bit on the canals in England as a Cub Scout but that cold, depressing experience had been enough to put me off for life. What a dull, miserable sport, instructed by overenthusiastic dickheads in stupid helmets. "
4 " We took turns up front and we took turns to lose confidence. I realised that it really was all in the mind and that it was positivity that made the walk exhilarating and challenging. "
5 " All I needed to do was to give my brain positive stimulus and the expedition was easy. All my problems now came from an isolated, bored, stagnant brain. A lazy, bored brain latches on to negativity and problems and exaggerates them until they become out of perspective and all-consuming. "
