Grunwald's Amazing Amazon Adventure Begins!

UPDATE: Sunday 10:30am   Here’s the latest on Grunwald’s Amazing Amazon Adventure.

We were a little concerned Saturday because we had not heard from Steve since he left Miami for Bogota,Colombia (the second leg of his trip) on Friday. But he finally checked in this morning around 10:30 by way of satellite phone.He had left Manaus, Brazil and was on the Amazon trying to worm his way west via the Amazon River to Iquitos, Peru.

His trip has not been without problems. One of the airlines lost his main luggage leaving him with only his back pack and the clothes on his back! Ironically the school supplies that Steve bought for poor village children, which he thought didn’t make onto the plane at Detroit Metro Airport, arrived okay! While changing planes at the airport in Bogota, Colombian army officers made him pay a $10 bribe for nothing just to clear customs! That’s the way things work in this part of the world.

Steve related the following Amazon experiences that he has had so far:

He and his guide Orlando Penedo speared a peacock bass and an “Oscar” fish for dinner on Saturday. It was raining heavily at the time and there was so much water in the crude dugout boat that the fish started swimming around their feet!

A brightly colored frog that packs a deadly poison jumped on Steve’s back this morning but did not harm him, thank goodness!

Steve says his diet has largely consisted of just fish and bananas. He says he bought 62 bananas for the equivalent of $2 U.S.

Steve says his guide, Orlando, is incredible and knows everything about the jungle. Steve cut his leg on something and Orlando paddled the boat over to a particular tree and told Steve to rub his wound on the tree. It was an iodine tree!

Steve says he has seen numerous monkeys in the trees but that they are too far away to get a photo.

The local people couldn’t be any nicer. Sadly, poverty is severe with many villagers earning only $50 U.S. a year. He says many work to chop down mahogany & cinnamon trees and then rig them together as a raft. They then raft down the river to the nearest big town and sell the raft. Then it’s back to the village and the process starts all over again.

Today Steve plans to catch an anaconda and a caiman, as well as swim with the pink dolphins. It’s not as hot as he expected down there but the humidity has really gotten to him.

Steve promises to check in with us live on the radio tomorrow morning by satellite phone if he can get a good signal. And he promises lots of great pictures from his adventure!

UPDATE: Monday 6:00am

Steve spent a restless night due to the incredible noises coming from the jungle. Mostly to blame were the birds and howler monkeys.

Sunday was spent visiting a nearby village where the villagers let Steve hold a 21', 400 lb. anaconda they'd captured. Since Steve's suitcase was lost his wardrobe was limited (He had only enough to buy a couple of shorts and shirts) he was surprised when one of the villagers agreed to wash his laundry for only 10¢. Another surprise, they observed Father's Day!

Even though Steve took a satellite phone with him, the jungle canopy is so dense at his camp that he and his guide have to paddle out to the middle of the river in order to get a signal.

UPDATE: Monday 6:00pm 

Steve found a couple of minutes to phone in and update his progress. He in still traveling by boat up the river trying to reach civilization. He managed to find someone with internet access but the connection was only dial-up and it failed to load before timing out. So unfortunately he was unable to send pictures but did promise he's got some great photos to share.

This afternoon, he found some locals to trade with and got an oar and a blow gun as well as some beads and decorative items. A monkey dropped out of the trees into their boat and grabbed handfuls of fruit and sat on his lap before taking off. (Steve said the monkey was looking mighty attractive after several days in the jungle).

Still no word on the lost suitcase except that his flight from Miami has no record of it being loaded. Steve's definitely planning to call in to the Dr. Don Show tomorrow morning with more updates.

UPDATE: Tuesday 9:00am   It seems Steve had a little trouble in Lima, Peru but is on his way home.

Grunwald left a message that he was having problems with Immigration officers in Lima, Peru after he arrived from the jungle town of Iquitos, Peru. He was due to call us at 7:10 this morning but we did not hear from him. It turns out he was detained and we did not hear from him until several hours later.

Our program director, Tim Roberts, was just about to call the U.S. Embassy in Lima to see if he could help Steve when the hotline rang. It was Steve and he was calling from Panama City, Panama!

Steve talked his way onto a cargo plane from Lima to Panama City. The plane didn't have any passenger seats so he was forced to sit in the jump seat in the cockpit of the jet.

Where will he go next in his bid to get back to Detroit by Thursday night? That remains to be seen. We'll keep you posted.

We apologize for not posting pictures of his adventure. His digital gear was lost with his luggage. The good news, he does have the pictures and will get them to us as soon as possible. He promises some amazing shots of monkeys, birds, native villagers, plants, snakes and who knows what else.

UPDATE: Tuesday 9:00pm   Panama City, Panama

Grunwald finally was back to civilization and was able to find a computer to send photos of his time in the Amazon. He's had little sleep but will definitely find time to call the All New Dr. Don Show with the latest updates Wednesday morning.

UPDATE: Wednesday 3:00pm   Mexico City, Mexico

Grunwald spent the night at the airport in Mexico City. His funds are low and he could not afford a hotel room. He's looking to find a way back to the states. See what he finds when he calls the All New Dr. Don Show with the latest updates Thursday morning.

UPDATE: Thursday 8:00am   Chicago, Illinois  USA

Grunwald caught a red-eye flight on a DC10 to Chicago. Now he just needs to make it back to Detroit.

UPDATE: Thursday 4:00pm   Somewhere between Chicago, Illinois  and Detroit

Grunwald made a quick call from the road. He's having trouble finding a ride. He's scheduled to be at Coyote Joe's tonight - come on out and welcome him home. Let's hope he makes it.

UPDATE: Thursday 10:42pm  

Grunwald made it back to Detroit - finally! In fact, he made it back in time to make his appearance at Coyote Joe's on Thursday night.