The Independent Blog: A recipe for a healthy rainforest in a nutshell

A chocolate-coloured, toe-shaped nut. The Brazil nut. One of the finest. Full of protein, calcium, iron, selenium and a whole host of other riches; one creamy crunch and you’re reaching for another. But hang on. Stop there. Your hand hovers over the bowl? It’s time to travel with that Brazil nut, to see life as …

Running The Amazon Rainforest: The Plan

The Route: The Infamous BR 319 In reality, we are trying to run to an island. On a Brazilian roadmap you will not encounter distances to Manaus, because it is effectively an island, and you can´t simply drive there. But is has not always been that way. In the 70´s, the military goverment sought to …

Rains prove it is better not to throw caution to the wind

As I write the rain is pummeling down on the thatched roof of the Hostel– a sage reminder that the “dry” season is not entirely sure it has arrived. And a reminder too that the decision we took to run 150 miles west to avoid the inundated wetlands in the middle of Bolivia was probably …

“Roadkill Stew” as austerity measures hit the project

“Better than horsemeat no doubt, and with a distinctive gamey flavour – but not half dry and tendonous!” That’s is our culinary assessment of Darwin’s Nothura, a grouse-like species of fowl, native to Argentina. We don’t tend to eat the subjects of our Megatransect wildlife surveys! But today as we ran the long asphalt road …

The Independent Blog: The silent death of a forest

What images do you see when you think of Patagonia? An icy steppe? Well, there is that – but as we sailed through Chile’s fjords we also found lush rainforests and turquoise waters. Now, as we travel in our recycled trailer through a Patagonian winter, we are discovering another unexpected sight; the Lenga forest…. Follow …

How do you fuel a 5000 mile run?

As a general rule, as runners Kath and I tend to fall into the old school of nutritional fulfillment – eat plenty of good fresh food (emphasis on the plenty!), prepare as much as possible your self, listen to our bodies requirements and respond quickly, and keep clear of nutritional supplements unless absolutely necessary. The …

Yerba Mate

What is it?                               Herbal drink extracted from the plant Ilex paraguariensis, served in a gourd!   Supposed Benefits:             Alertness,  free-radical fighting anti-oxidents, ………………….. Active Ingredients:            Anti-oxidents, caffeine, et al The Downside:                      Potential increased cancer risk, esp throat/bowel Famous Proponents:     …