| Ed Stafford | |
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Stafford photographed by Keith Ducatel, December 2008 in the Peruvian Amazon |
Ed Stafford (born 1975 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and raised in Leicestershire) is an English explorer and former British-army captain. He was also an expedition leader for extreme conservation company Trekforce.
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On 9 August 2010, he became the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River[1], documented in the 2011 TV series Walking the Amazon. Stafford's expedition began with a friend, Luke Collyer, on 2 April 2008, on the southern coast of Peru. Collyer left after 3 months, and Stafford completed the journey with Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera. He undertook the attempt for several charities.[2][3]
In May 2009 Stafford appeared on the cover of the Royal Geographical Society`s Geographical (magazine).[4]
In April 2010 Stafford passed the 2-year barrier having been walking since 2 April 2008.[5] and in May that year Stafford was made Diane Sawyer´s ABC News "Person of the Week".[6]
Stafford's accomplishment of walking the length of the Amazon river has been described by Sir Ranulph Fiennes as being "..in the top league of expeditions past and present".[7]
In February 2011 Stafford was a nominee for the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2010 and then in March the same year he was awarded European Adventurer of the Year 2011[8] in a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 2011 Guinness World Records formally recognised Stafford's achievement[9] and he appears in the 2012 Guinness Book of Records.
In August 2009 Stafford started writing a fortnightly blog for the Prince's Rainforests Project.[10] Unlike his own website this blog was aimed specifically at children and schools.