Lethal rapids, foot rot...
and a close encounter with machete-wielding 'river pirates'. The incredible story of how a middle-aged British IT worker became the first man to kayak down the Amazon - just so he could impress his grandchildren By Dominic Midgley Published: 12:14 EDT, 1 July 2024 | Updated: 13:02 EDT, 1 July 2024 e-mail 6 View comments Sheer cliffs, hundreds of feet high, lined the banks of the river and there were terrifying rapids as far as the eye could see. From a kayaker’s point of view, it was a nightmare scenario.
In normal circumstances, David Midgley, along with the two expert paddlers he’d convinced to accompany him on his attempt to become the first person to kayak the Amazon from source to sea, would have carefully inspected the route ahead. But the manager of the 2,000 men working on the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the riverbank had agreed only a brief suspension of his dynamiting of the site to give the kayakers safe passage. That time pressure, coupled with the fact that the workers had made the banks impassable with quicksand and loose debris, meant that David and his companions had to limit their recce to a brief paddle in quieter waters upstream.
What they saw would test anyone’s resolve. Massive boulders – some the size of small houses – dotted the river, creating a maelstrom of white water. The most intimidating challenge was a 15ft-high cascade stretching almost the entire width of the river.
The fast-flowing water, given.
