Big River Man... if you missed it you may wish to ignore this if you plan to see the movie!!

For anyone thinking of doing some real long distance swimming, this movie and the fate of the main character (Martin) may make you think twice. Having swam the lengths of the Danube, Mississippi and Yangtze Rivers, the Amazon was Martin's biggest challenge yet. A beer swilling, wine guzzling, pot-bellied Slovenian, this man is a hero in his own country, and during the epic swim was lavished with attention by dancing girls and exuberant well wishers in Brazil.

For the initial stages of the journey the eccentric Martin clocked in distances of around 60 km a day. He swam in different orca wetsuits and togs. To protect his face from the searing sun, the crew fashioned a cotton mask, almost like what a KuKluxKlan member might wear! He also used the blue seventy bonnet that us winter swimmers at Taka are currently wearing, and fins for some of the stints.

As the journey progressed, the effort began to take its toll, and both Martin and his navigator started to seriously lose the plot. Martin's health was at considerable risk, with blood pressure levels that could have given him an immediate stroke, but still he ploughed on, despite the best advice of his doctor.  His long suffering son knew better than to deter him.

Martin finished the journey and required a long period of recuperation, helped in the early stages by an equally mad Brazilian preacher who holed up in the hotel room with him.

In the end, instilled back in Slovenia, we learned that Martin gambled all his money away. Martin's son said he would never accompany his father on another adventure, and we can only assume that this world record feat will never be repeated.

The swim was ostensibly about bringing attention to the steady destruction of the Amazonian rain-forests, but in the end it was more about showing how ordinary people can have big dreams and live them.

For anyone keen to get in shape for a similar endeavour, red wine and beer were consumed in large quantities, with the occasional glug of Irish whiskey thrown in the water for good measure.  At least the red wine is part of my regime....