I have just got home from the Panama jungles – and it is no wonder the US sent so many of their SEALS and Astronauts to train there in jungle survival – it is definitely one of the toughest places I have been. I counted over 104 mosquito bites when I had a shower at the end!
The mangrove swamps were pretty hellish and I managed to get bitten by a snake for the first time which hurt! But apart from that I had a very special time with the Embera Tribe hunting together, and then following the old Gold trails of the Camino Real. We also filmed quite a bit of behind the scenes with the crew and safety team for Discovery Channel, to accompany the new Season that airs in early November.

We included as well a whole part of the show on survival 'camouflage and concealment', near the infamous Darien Gap on the Colombian border, which is one of the kidnapping hot spots of the world. I hope you will enjoy this show, it was gritty, dirty, humid and at times tasted foul!

I leave tomorrow for Patagonia, at the southern tip of South America, after having had only two days at home (during which, annoyingly, I have been laid a bit low, half from being exhausted and half from some dodgy snake I ate before leaving the jungle!)

Last report from Patagonia it was tipping -20o, so it is from one extreme to the other at the moment. But I have promised my boys we’ll buy a mini remote controlled helicopter when I next get home. They can hardly get me out the door fast enough!

Bear x