Well, we eventually reached our base camp at Itapuama which is a small settlement on the banks of the river Tapajos. The Tapajos is a 'massive' tributary of the Amazon which is equally impressive.
The great thing about base camp is that we manage to get our hammocks setup in the same hut as 2 of the Female elite runners. Always good to see how the 'pros' prepare for such events and I'm surprised to learn that they eat the same things as us and don't have any little 'trick' bits to give them the edge.
Base camp time is made up of several presentations about the wildlife we could encounter and advice on how to keep properly hydrated and our salt levels in order. As the humidity in the jungle can be as high as 90% we were warned that loss of sweat and more importantly
salts would play a major part in how we perform. This was to ring true when after the first stage was finished there were 4 racers who were withdrawn because of hydration and salt related issues. More on this on my Stage 1 report.The remaining time in base camp was made up of final medical checks where our ECG was checked and we had some final words of advice from the chief
medical officer. Thankfully I was passed fit and after a final kit check it was head down for what I hoped would be a good nights sleep before the race start on Sunday 11th October.--------------------------------------------------------
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