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Sam flew out on Tuesday and should be back at home by now. Cho and I are readjusting to the changed dynamics of being two again. I’ve started translating some twitters from Cho and allowing his thoughts to be heard.

Cho and I accompanied Sam out of the jungle – partly to see him off – but really because we had rarely been as exhausted as we were when Sam was due to leave.

If I’m honest I had got so tired that my ability to empathise with Sam and Cho vanished completely. Drawing on gritted determination to keep pushing forward I became frustrated by them both and allowed my tired negative thoughts to linger on them.

“Cho is getting weak”, I thought, “Sam’s not thinking about the team.”

Neither was true. My exhaustion was distorting things and it was only when Cho spent a whole day walking 150 metres behind me, refusing to speak to me, that the penny dropped: everyone was physically and mentally shattered.

So we came out with Sam, saw him off, did the hugely successful National Geographic talk, and slept. And slept some more.

Although it has been a bit sad to say goodbye to Sam its not the end of the expedition for him. His plans are to rejoin in January and he will still be involved from the UK. Thanks to him for everything: giving up work, helping organise the blog regularity and weekly videos edited from the field. The expedition has definately been positively changed by you Sam. Cheers mate.

Sam’s goodbye message from Walking the Amazon Videos on Vimeo

Thanks to everyone who came down to Regent St on Tuesday. I was told they had to bring extra seating in so I couldn’t be more happy about how supportive everyone is being. Thanks specifically to the National Geographic Store, to Sam McConnell for organising the evening, and Keith Ducatel for hosting it.

Yesterday the local Airforce Colonel offered me a view of the Amazon that I couldn’t refuse. He took me up in a Black Hawk helicopter and tried to see the contents of my stomach by doing evasive flying, allowing the helicopter to drop and banking so tightly that the g-force was staggering.

Cho and I start walking from where we left off tomorrow. We’ve had a change and a rest so we should fly through the next bit.

Black hawk clowning around from Walking the Amazon Videos on Vimeo.

It was juts right place right time. No purpose to the flight other than a great experience to see the jungle from above.

Ed