Stranded in the flooded Amazon Jungle
This episode of “Man Woman Wild” finds Mykel and Ruth stranded in the flooded Amazon Jungle looking for flowing water that leads to the big Columbian River. They know that when they reach the river it will lead to civilization. They must try to get out of the jungle as soon as possible because of all the dangers that are camouflaged in the heavy brush. Their way out is also hard to see due to the heavy brush. They spot a jumping tarantula which Mykel throws in the other direction instead of killing it. Ruth wonders why Mykel just didn’t kill it.
Grubs Anyone???
The first thing is to find food. They find 3 big fat yellow grubs in a tree and ate them raw. YUK!! First they bite the heads off and wash them with water from their canteen because the swamp water is too infested with parasites. The grubs look much worse then they taste! Ruth says they actually taste like butter except they are fuzzy! Again!! YUK!! By the way, this show airs at 9:00PM and I must add that after writing this I had trouble sleeping! Those grubs got to me! I am sure that there was plenty of vegetation that they could have eaten instead!! Also, I am glad that I am too poor to travel to far off places where I could possibly get stranded and have to eat GRUBS!!
Next comes their shelter
They made a tree hammock type of shelter over the flooded Jungle to keep them safe from predators! Mykel slept in the hammock while Ruth slept in their boat underneath it. They did this so that they would be protected just in case the shelter gave out in the middle of the night. So does this mean that Mykel would come tumbling down into Ruth’s lap???
In the morning they are blessed with some rain and fill any type of container they can with the fresh rain water.
Their next project is to get a fire started! Fire is important to ward off predators! Plus, it is good for cooking and sterilizing water. First they must make a platform to place the wood for the fire on because the Amazon jungle floor is too wet to place the wood directly on it. Mykel starts a fire by using the bow and drill method.
On their second night they have to sleep in shifts. The mosquitoes are tormenting Ruth as she takes the first watch. During her watch she hears a jaguar growling so she stokes the fire up. The smoke from the fire is also good to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
In the morning it is vitally important that they get some type of food. The only thing they had to eat for two days has been 3 grubs that they had to split between each other.
Let’s try a little fishing
Ok!! Now that is more like it!!! Mykel makes a net for fishing. The Amazon River contains over 2000 species of fish. In their make shift net that they made from the mosquito netting, they caught two fish and Ruth cleaned them. Ruth says that this is real hunger when she started salivating after she cut the first fish’s head off. Then they put the fish guts in the net to see if they can catch anything else. Mykel states pertaining to the piranhas that they just caught in the fishing net! “Out here in the jungle anything you find can kill you and eat you!” However, this time they ate them first!”
Finally this happy couple gets a real meal!!
After cleaning and cooking the fish they enjoyed eating them immensely, and, felt 100% better. I might add that I felt much better too just watching Ruth and Mykel finally get some real nourishment!!!
They spot a current of flowing water
The water always flows towards the main river and that leads to people. They have to push the 400 pound boat across 200 yards of wet muddy jungle swamp land to get to the flowing current. They spot a jumping tarantula which Mykel throws in the other direction instead of killing it. Ruth wonders why Mykel didn’t just kill it.
All this pushing through the mud gets to be too much for Ruth so she has to take a short break. Finally they make it to the flowing river.
Once they get back into the boat they are hoping that following the current will lead them to someone who can help them get to civilization. When in the jungle, the key is to keep moving because if you stay in the jungle swamp you would not be getting any closer to the river. Keep moving forward to live another day is their motto.
Not too long after they get to the big river they are rescued by people living along the river bank!