I Shouldn’t Be Alive - "Alone in the Amazon"

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JMAN86

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In 1985, 22 year old Benedict Allen set out on his first expedition into the heart of mighty Amazon Rainforest. But what should have been the adventure of a lifetime turned into a nightmare of epic proportions...

After a series of disasters Benedict finds himself alone, in over 2 million square mlles of rainforest and without supplies. His only chance of survival is to endure 28 days traversing through one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

As he progresses through the dark and ferocious forest, he becomes ravaged by a killer disease, fights insanity and is forced to kill his only friend, Cashew the Dog...
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Here's a quick recap of the episode...

So basically this guy wants to be an adventurer like his old man. Heads out into the Amazon with his dog and two guides that speak little english. They are traveling the Amazon River by canoe. They stop one night to set up camp and run into some sketchy guys in the jungle. Benedict freaks out, gets his dog and launches the canoe leaving the two guides stranded. (Real nice guy, eh?)

The next day he steers the canoe into some rapids and capsizes. He loses his dog and almost all of his supplies except a few basic items and a machete.

(Did I mention why he was on this "expedition" in the first place? Oh I didn't? He was looking for the lost city of El Dorado... dun dun dun!)

So anyway, he gathers some of the items that washed up on the bank and heads into the jungle. He freaks out a lot, doesn't have any idea how to make a shelter, purify water, secure food, etc... Who thought finding El Dorado would be this damn hard?

A couple of weeks go by; Benedict is suffering from starvation, dehydration and malaria. Any food he finds and consumes is vomited back up. He is reunited with his dog who survived the wreck and tracked him down. The return of his dog sparks some hope and he presses on...poorly.

At this point in the story I'm pretty sure he was licking rocks and foliage for trace amounts of water. Watching this guy started to make me feel a little dirty inside so I changed the channel. His dog is still following him.

I decided to give it another chance and switched it back on. I came back to the epic adventure in the midst of Benedict holding down his dog and killing it, rather inefficiently, with his machete.

That did it for me. I shut it off and walked away.

I looked online and Benedict Allen has since written a bunch of books and gone on many other great "adventures" since this one in the 1980's. I'm sure some of you have probably heard of him.

This story, for me, was an example of what NOT to do if you find yourself in a bad situation.

*EDIT - He could have really used some time on W&SS before heading to the Amazon!
 
JMAN86 said:
I came back to the epic adventure in the midst of Benedict holding down his dog and killing it, rather inefficiently, with his machete.
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That puts a new face on survival, doesn't it?
Interesting what we, humans, are able to do when faced with a life and death situation. Something to think about.
But hey, he survived, right?

Cool post. I gave up cable tv a while ago.
 
I wonder what kind of crack he was smoking to think that going on this "adventure" with no basic survival skills was a good idea? :jerkit:
 
Too bad Darwinism failed in this case. Goes to show you who was more loyal of a friend, the dog. I would have liked it better if the dog ate him.
 
The Amazon is a very inhospitable place. I have a new respect for jungle after spending some time there. Would hate to have to go it alone for sure.
 
I can't say I've ever been in such a situation, but I would probably die before killing and eating my dog. That is almost the worst thing I can think of doing.
 
I have it on in the next room as I'm reading this. I don't think I want to watch it now.
 
So I guess the lesson is that even utter idiots can survive the amazon if they're lucky.
 
KJlost said:
So I guess the lesson is that even utter idiots can survive the amazon if they're lucky.
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That was my original thought as well:D Moreover, even though the guy sounds like a moron, it's amazing what the human spirit can endure; however, I still think a lot of luck was needed for this guy!

I spent a little time in the upper Amazon basin (actually the headwaters in Ecuador). As hostile as it can be, it also provides a lot. We did a little "survival" course with the local Ecuadorian Soldiers and it was quite educational. Had this guy spent a few months with some locals (and worked on his Spanish), he would have been much better prepared. Simple plant identification for use and/or edibility would have significantly given a less eventful scenario and most likely would kept him from eating his dog!

Very interesting none-the-less.

ROCK6
 
Benedict Allen or Benedict Arnold? Sounds like a pinhead to me. I'd rather chew my leg of than eat my dog!
 
Starving is just not one of the things I would be so worried about in a jungle... insects, bad water and jungle rot= YES.... The title of the show sums it up "He Should Not Be Alive".

Eating my dog- if it meant life or death yes- but I just do not see starvation for this guy. In arctic conditions..... might be different.
2Door
 
I saw a little bit of it, and turned it off in disgust, when he killed his dog.

He's on the biggest frigging river in the world, why leave it for the jungle?

Rivers mean villages, people, boat traffic. FOOD! FISH!

Plus, you know if you just keep heading down river, you're gonna run into some of that. I missed the very begining, so I don't know why he didn't retrieve his canoe, or if it was damaged beyond repair, build a raft. He had a chopping tool, his machete. Plenty of raw material on the banks of the Amazon river.

The whole thing sounded bogus anyway, the way he was telling it. Had anyone ever heard from the guides he abandoned ?

Carl.
 
Killing my dog is not an option, I've done stupid things to keep my dog from getting killed including putting myself in harms way. There is alot. ALOT of crappy things to eat in the Jungle, any rotted log will have bugs the size of your hand and more importantly there young, that can make a quick snack. Killing your only connection to being a human being for some chow is a failed endeavor at best.

I watched this episode and all I can say is, pull your raft through the rapids, all the way through, half hearted attempts gets you half-assed results.
 
jackknife said:
I saw a little bit of it, and turned it off in disgust, when he killed his dog.

He's on the biggest frigging river in the world, why leave it for the jungle?

Rivers mean villages, people, boat traffic. FOOD! FISH!

Plus, you know if you just keep heading down river, you're gonna run into some of that. I missed the very begining, so I don't know why he didn't retrieve his canoe, or if it was damaged beyond repair, build a raft. He had a chopping tool, his machete. Plenty of raw material on the banks of the Amazon river.

The whole thing sounded bogus anyway, the way he was telling it. Had anyone ever heard from the guides he abandoned ?

Carl.
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You would think that someone would have verified every inch of his tale, but something tells me the truth would get in the way of a good story. ;)
 
He was one of the three Adventurers that did that Africa show on discovery or History Channel, I can't remember but it was a while back, they billed him as the Survival Expert. It was him, a chick and and a another guy that was the so called leader. I forgot what they called it, it was like tracing the steps of some other adventurer from long ago!
 
RickJ said:
He was one of the three Adventurers that did that Africa show on discovery or History Channel, I can't remember but it was a while back, they billed him as the Survival Expert. It was him, a chick and and a another guy that was the so called leader. I forgot what they called it, it was like tracing the steps of some other adventurer from long ago!
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Yep, you are a hundred percent right, what a bunch of beans, that show was not great either.

I would love to watch this guy and a partner of his choice vs. Cody Lundin and Dave Canterbury for a month long survival Doc in Australian or African Bush.
 
From his wikipedia page
Highlights and mishaps

* On his adventures, Allen considers the primary threat to come from humans, usually non-native. He has never been attacked by a wild animal.
* On his first journey, he was attacked by gold miners and was left without food or possessions. Eventually, Allen had to eat his own dog.
* Allen is the only non-tribe member to have undergone a six week Niowra initiation ceremony on the Sepik, Papua New Guinea. It was designed to make boys into men “as strong as a crocodile”. He has crocodile markings on his back and chest from the sacred ceremony.
* Allen funded his crossing of the Amazon Basin by working in a warehouse. His eight month 3,600 mile crossing was accomplished without the aid of a map or compass
* In Colombia, he escaped from what he believed to be armed drug barons. They tried to pursue him, using the butt of a rifle to paddle. On the same trip, his guides abandoned him, taking his supplies with them.
* In The Skeleton Coast, Allen had to train three camels to help him cross the desert. This was to become his favourite travel memory, “Emerging out of the Namib Desert with my three camels - led by the heroic old camel Nelson. I'd been alone more-or-less for six weeks. I was so proud of my camels, who had become more like professional colleagues than working animals. Nelson hated sanddunes - and the sea, and elephants, and women! Gradually he overcame his fears and helped get me safely out of the desert.”
* In The Edge of Blue Heaven, Allen crossed 1000 miles of the Gobi desert alone
* His attempted crossing of the Bering Straits coincided with the worst winter in living memory.
* During his stay with the Mentawai of Siberut, Indonesia, Allen was offered and received a tattoo on his right leg. A blunt safety pin is used for the decorative tattooing, which the Mentawai believe to reflect the beauty of the spirits around and within them.
* In the Arctic, he lost his dog team. This would have meant certain death if he hadn’t found them after only one night, which he had spent sheltering in a snow hole.
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Here he is beating a naked man with a bunch of sticks.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article1735406.ece

SNA2630CN-384_597557a.jpg
 
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I watched that show and my monday morning QB was in full affect.......He figured out he wouldn't be able to make his planned destination WITH all his supplies for MONTHS with him. It was only when he went looking to self rescue that he got himself damn near dead, lost his gear, and had to kill his dog. He should have followed the generally accepted 1st rule of survival and stayed put. Sure it would be a long wait but people knew where he was going and he was well supplied. They would have found him on their way to the original destination. Index the mission with safety. Sure no big harrowing story to compete with his dad's rep but definitely better than what happened to him.
 
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