I have been experimenting with the new Hennessy Hammock Hyperlite in preparating for the trip. I have little experience with hammock tents (other than an old army surlpus 20$ P.O.S. that quickly flipped and ripped) and I’m trying to get the knack of the thing. So far it seems like it should work perfect in the Amazon.

I plan on using this portable/foldable solar panel while on the trek to recharge some of the electronic gadgets. The Brunton Solaris delivers 12V (under pretty low light from my testing) and should work great so close to the equator!

I found this video while searching Google Maps along the Transamazonica Highway. This was recorded outside the city of Santarem. Truly a sight to behold!

As the leave date closes in rather rapidly I have been collecting all the necessary gear for the trip. The panniers I have chosen were supplied by Axiom Performance Gear and are appropriately named the Monsoons.

THE noise is not yet loud enough to disturb the sloths munching on the leaves of the cecropia trees, or the river terns that wing lazily over the Amazon’s mighty waters, or the secretive Indian tribes that live deep within the jungle. But along the tributaries of the world’s largest river the sound is plainly discernible, like a low rumble of thunder in the distance. It is the dull, grinding roar of bulldozers cutting naked red strips through the vast Amazon rain forest.

After approximately 30 phone calls to the Atlanta, Miami, New York, Boston, and Chicago Consulate of Brazil it was determined that I should write a notarized letter stating my intentions and why I don’t need a roundtrip ticket.

I made my first visit to the travel nurse for this trip and already have a fever from the injections. Although no vaccine’s are required to enter Brazil for Americans (unless they have visited certain countries in the past 6 months) there are more than a few recommended. I’ll be receiving six!

I recently emailed Jeremy Wade of the TV show River Monsters on Animal Planet to ask his advice on certain factors when trekking in the Amazon. Jeremy is an accomplished angler and biologist with much experience in the Brazilian Amazon.

The process of getting a Brazilian Visa should be straight forward for most tourists. Simply present your round trip ticket, passport, pay the fee, hand over some little square photos and off you go. Luckily I live close to the Brazilian Consulate here in Boston as well. My one dilemma is that round trip ticket [...]

I have finally acquired the bike I will be riding this fall. It is a steel frame hardtail 2007 Jamis Dragon. I will be outfitting it with racks and panniers to accommodate all of my gear. I look forward to putting this bike through the paces in the weeks leading up to my departure.