Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and enter the jungle to start the survival mode in the wild. This sounds like the beginning of many European and American film and television series.
In the UK, however, there was a family who decided to head to the Amazon jungle and begin a year and three months of wild life there.
Since then, the family of five has only slept in three hammocks.
They will abandon the favorable living conditions and return to the original state -
Not only do you have to endure the sun and rain, but you also have to live with ferocious snakes, the world's most venomous spiders, and other creepy animals.
The decision was made by young parents, 36, Greg Dickens and Guen Bradbury.
The two are currently working in medical innovation at a product research and development company. Coincidentally, they all have a wonderful relationship with animals.
His wife, Guen, is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh and still teaches at the University of Cambridge.
She has practiced pets and worked as a clinician at Edinburgh Veterinary College, as well as in research related to bioartificial livers.
Her husband, Greg, was briefly the chief veterinarian of a primate protection institute.
Since the age of five, he has enjoyed reading encyclopedias about insects and other creatures.
Growing up, Greg still loves insects and studying wildlife. Whenever he has free time, he takes off his suit and returns to nature to take pictures of insects.
With their love of nature, this time, Guen and Greg decided to take a break from work and take a long vacation to find the wild life they've always longed for.
Not only that, but the two will also take their three young children – 5-year-old Talpha, 3-year-old Martes and 1-year-old Lutra.
The family of five will leave the UK on April 17 for their destination, Guyana, a country in northern South America.
Two people who have been living in the city suddenly challenge to take three young children deep into the dangerous jungle... That sounds crazy.
But in fact, this is not a whim of Guen and Greg, but a plan that began to be prepared ten years ago.
Greg has always had a dream since childhood - to live in real nature and become friends with small animals.
Most people probably can't understand this, but luckily, growing up, Greg met a fellow believer: Guen.
The two fellow students met as teenagers at a biology Olympiad and reunited four years later in a bar.
Fate naturally made them fall in love, get married, and have three children. Fifteen years have passed, and we still love each other deeply.
As Greg's closest person, Guen learned about his dream more than a decade ago. She decided to fully support her husband and began to prepare for it with him early.
So far, the two have successfully saved a sum of money to pay for the trip, which is expected to cost 30,000 pounds (about 250062 yuan).
Guen and Greg finally embark on a journey to pursue their childhood dreams.
The reason why Guyana was chosen as the destination was first of all because it is the only country in South America that uses English, which makes it easier for them to communicate with the local people.
Secondly, it is relatively safe here. In South America, Guyana has the second lowest rate of corruption and instability after Uruguay.
Bordered by Suriname to the east, Brazil to the south, Venezuela to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, the kidnapping rate is also much lower than any of its neighbors.
Finally, Guyana's government is able to provide security and justice for tourists, allowing migrants to rely on.
Local people are also often willing to trade with tourists, unlike other countries with high crime rates, which will rudely kidnap tourists.
All things considered, this is the perfect place for a long-term trip for the Greg family of five.
But the fact that a country's security is guaranteed does not mean that it will not encounter other dangers.
After all, they live in the Amazon jungle, where wild animals and insects are the biggest threat.
It is said that there is the world's most venomous arachnid, the Brazilian stray spider (Phoneutria nigriventer),
Its toxicity can cause a range of painful symptoms such as difficulty breathing, cardiogenic shock, acute pulmonary edema, and convulsions... In severe cases, it can also kill people.
In addition, the highly toxic Amazon giant centipede is also often found nearby.
As the world's largest centipede species, this centipede can be more than 30 centimeters in length and not only kills bats, mice and birds, but also actually poisons children.
Therefore, it should not be an exaggeration to say that this is a journey to fulfill dreams at the cost of life.
In order to resist the many uncontrollable factors of survival in the wild, Guen and Greg have trained their three children at home in advance.
First and foremost, the most important thing is diet.
They started the "tableless dining mode," removing the tables and getting the kids used to eating on the floor.
Due to Guyana's spicy eating habits, Guen and Greg also prepared a lot of curries and stews for the children, and then let them season their own to familiarize themselves with different spices and understand their tolerance, so as to avoid the huge food culture shock when living in Guyana later, and it is difficult to adapt to the new life.
Then, the family of five also received a large number of vaccines.
These include vaccines against yellow fever, typhoid, tuberculosis, rabies, tetanus, diphtheria and hepatitis to ensure proper functioning of the immune system.
Finally, the two taught the children some essential wilderness survival skills.
For example, how to live out of diapers, how to go to the toilet in the wild, how to fall asleep in a hammock ...
Of course, these are not enough, but the most basic preparation before departure. Upon arrival, the family of five will receive professional guidance from locals.
According to the plan, after arriving in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, they will spend two days getting materials and applying for visas.
When everything is ready, they will travel by plane and quad to a town in Latham, where they will attend a two-week training course.
A hardcore instructor who has trained special forces in the jungle will provide them with professional guidance.
During their training, they travel along the river until they reach a jungle research station. And in the process, learn how to live in the jungle, glide down the river, what can and cannot eat, and... "what will eat them".
(Coach)
When the cumbersome course is over, the 15-month adventure really begins.
But after all, one day it will return to the city. Considering the education of their children, Guen and Greg don't plan to just take them through primitive life, but also plan to enroll the children in local schools.
Expose them to different subjects, broaden their learning and stay up to date so they can return to the UK without delaying their continued education.
And Greg and Guen are not just about experiencing nature, as top students, they will also take this opportunity to carry out academic research in their respective fields of interest.
For example, the biodiversity of invertebrates and amphibians, as well as fertility.
Because of this, their travel plan was successfully supported by all parties.
Among them, wildlife organizations such as European zoos and aquarium associations decided to sponsor them.
Because Greg and Guen promised to collect some livestock data for them. This data will help zoos make more appropriate decisions about the management and protection of animals.
In addition to specific organizations, some netizens also expressed support after learning about their plans:
"It's so exciting! I will always keep an eye on your adventure! ”
"It's so exciting... I will keep an eye on you. ”
And Greg and Guen's families also viewed their decision positively.
In particular, their large family is already scattered all over the world, and it has become the norm to gather less and leave more, and everyone has long been surprised by the situation of "disappearing from each other for a while and reappearing". So Greg and his family went to Guyana to live for more than a year, which was a normal operation.
Currently, there are three months left before this long-awaited trip.
Greg's family is in the midst of extreme anticipation and excitement. The two older children regarded this trip as an exciting adventure.
The couple is mentally prepared to experience some difficulties in the future that will make people shed tears, but they have something more precious enough to make themselves not afraid and not flinch.
"Sometimes we think, is this going to be a stupid idea?"
"But then when we think about what we can see, what we can learn, or what we can bring back and share it, that gives us value."