Man Woman Wild Amazon Rain Forest

There are 50 thousand water ways crisscrossing the Amazon basin. Ruth and Myke need to find the main river to lead them home. There are 3 million square miles in the Amazon rain forest. You have to watch out for piranha, Jaguar, python, and, poisonous frogs which means they need to make a raft so they don't have to travel on foot.

First they have to get rid of all undergarments so that their skin stays drier. Mike says that the kinds of plants you can eat usually have leaves that look friendly and fluffy. They try to the follow terrain that slopes downward hopefully leading to water and then to a river. They found water but must find out what direction it is going.

All water leads back to a river which eventually leads to a big enough river where they can use their raft to find their way back to civilization. Myke gets jabbed with a spike from a large leaf. Then they bump into a bees nest. They find a river which is their highway out of there. They now need to build a raft because of the pythons, alligators, piranhas, etc.

Making an Above Ground Shelter

The shelter needs to be made up off the ground to keep off the jungle floor. The Jungle has an endless supply of building materials. They are looking for vines that you can wrap around your finger without breaking which means it is a good vine. Next they need to tie poles to the trees. They dig a whole to stick the large support poles into the ground. It took two to four hours minimum to do this. Next they need palm furans to make the roof. They start gathering elephant ear palm branches for the roof. After finishing the shelter, Myke urinates on the steps to hopefully keep the jaguars away.

They spy a turtle for dinner but Ruth does not want to eat it. She loves turtles and with tear filled eyes she says that it is her favorite animal.

Something wakes them in the night and it is coming in their hut. They can't see anything out there because of the extreme darkness and Myke says it is like being blind. They use Ruth's night vision camera to see. The little critter that wanted to inspect their hut scurries away.

Ruth's Turtle Corral

There are 50,000 different insect species in every square mile of rain forest and Ruth wakes up with bites all over her. Ruth walks the turtle to give it exercise and starts to get attached to it! Mike says stop playing with our food! Mike is going hunting because Ruth does not want to eat the turtle. She says if anything happens to Myke she will never forgive herself. She builds the turtle a corral so it won't escape.

Myke finds a constricting snake

Mike fights with a constrictor snake so that they don't have to eat Ruth's pet turtle. It is very strong, weights 8 to 12 pounds and wraps around Mike's arm. His arm has no circulation. Ruth is so happy because it could mean that they may be able to release the turtle. They need to store the snake in his shirt and proceed to make a sack out his T shirt. After the snake tried to lunge at Ruth, Myke said it was because the snake smells Ruth's pheromones and knows she is afraid.

They are going to try to make a fire on their platform in the rain forest. They spot Bamboo which can be a survivor's salvation. Bamboo shavings make good timber that you can make into a birds nest to start a fire. It also can be used for cups, pots, pans, spoons, and knives. Bamboo is hollow in side and grows in sections perfect for making things like cups and pots. Myke advises to try to get water from the fastest moving part of the stream. Bamboo won't actually burn but it will boil the water inside of it. Myke uses large elephant leaves under the base of dirt and sticks to keep the fire from burning into their platform. They rub one stick of bamboo against the other stick to make heat and then use the tinder bundle from the bamboo shavings, but, it does not work. They try the two man method which works best as one person slides the top stick while the other person holds the bottom bamboo. They take a short break as Myke thinks about a different technique.

Using a different technique to start the fire

Myke says there is a tree around here that has a type of resin that they can use the sap from to get the fire going. It is a really flammable resin or tree sap. Along with the sap they use the bamboo shavings, and place it onto the cinder and get a flame. With high humidity and moist air the tinder is damp and hard to light. This flame is crucial! They need it to cook and keep jungle critters at bay.

As Ruth goes to the river to wash she discovers that the river has turned into a stream. The river dropped but now they need to make a raft and they are stuck there until it rains.

Ruth cries for Mike because she gets stuck in the mud and can't get out. She also thinks she sees a snake and is deathly afraid of snakes especially now that she is stuck. However, when Myke gets there he tells her it is just a plant. After getting her out of the mud, he holds her to try to comfort her.

Now that their fire is ready they can prepare the snake for roasting and finally set the turtle free. Ruth is extremely happy about that and in fact decided to name it Houdini. The smell of the snake kills Ruth's appetite. They take the snake away from their camp to gut and skin it so that the smell of its innards won't cause other animals to invade their camp.

Preparing the snake for roasting:

Myke lays the stick down over the back of the snakes neck, but the snake wiggles loose. Ruth tries to hold the snake down with the stick but it is too strong and she is really scared. Mike says that he is going to hold his head and she will finish him. Myke holds it head so that she can whack it off. The head can still bite after it is dead. Ruth cries after she kills the sneak.

Next they cut fat between muscle and skin but the snake's body still has an automatic built in instinct and keeps trying to coil up. Myke says that snakes are designed this way so that they don't have to have much brain. As they peal the skin off they see worms. They have to pull out the worm cysts that are embedded into the flesh of the snake. There are taking chunks of flesh off of the snake because the snakes belly is full of worms. Afterwards they cook it until it is fully cooked and crispy. Ruth says that it taste really good, kind of like fish. As long as they cook it good enough the worms will die.

Making their raft

Since bark grows back on the tree that Ruth uses for rope to tie the balsa wood together, she is really glad she didn't damage the tree itself. They have to make sure each piece of balsa wood is tied independently and also to each other. Balsa tree is good for raft wood because it is light. Myke says that if the tree you choose for your raft sounds hollow then you know it is good for a raft. While putting the raft together Ruth questions Myke as to whether the raft is going to float.

It rains that very night after they made their raft and if the river is high enough they can make it out of there.

In the morning there is enough rain for them to hoist their raft. Off to the Amazon River they go! The steering on their raft works like box sledding; when they feel it tilting they shift to the other side. Myke says that there are 50,000 miles of waterways crisscrossing the Amazon. Ruth spots a snake tree and warns Myke not to go under it.

Their marriage is strengthened

Ruth was more frightened there than anywhere in her whole life. Myke feels that he can never do enough. Ruth says that on this trip Myke had to use his knowledge, strength and tenacity. She loves him more then before they went on this adventure. They both fell deeper in love with each other on this trip! Myke said that Ruth was tough when it got down to it. He respects her for that and his love has grown for her too. They found the Amazon River. They float and hope for a boat or village. They come across a big boat and get rescued.