Parents who left UK with three kids on trip of a lifetime to Amazon rainforest denied visa by Guyanese authorities
17 July 2023, 23:39
A family of five that left their home in a Cambridgeshire village to go on a 15-month hike in the Amazon rainforest have been denied a visa just months into their journey.
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Greg Dickens, 37, and his partner Guen Bradbury, 36, waved goodbye to their lives in Longstanton village last year after they decided to embark on a 15-month trip through the Amazon rainforest.
The pair planned to bring their children - Talpha, 6, Martes, 4, and Lutra, 1 - with them and send them to rural schools along the way.
They left the UK on April 17 heading for Georgetown, Guyana, according to the Daily Mirror, before they then carried on to Lethem around 350 miles away.
The family of five carried out survival courses to help prep them for jungle life before they eventually began their venture into the rainforest.
During their time in the rainforest, their camp was invaded by eight different types of ants in one night, and had to protect themselves from snakes with ankle covers.
They experimented with their dinner options as they ate piranhas for dinner, they passed the time watching river otters, and their kids went to the local village school in Yupukari.
But they also encountered some less friendly creatures on their trip, as they came across poison dart frogs, caimans, whip scorpions and a "rat the size of a dog".
While the family enjoyed their time out in the Amazon, their trip was cut short as they “failed to navigate the Guyanese bureaucracy” which meant their visa was denied an extension, and they were forced to turn back around on “pain of imprisonment”.
Originally, the family hoped to visit more villages and ultimately the Guyanan research centre until their plans were halted.
After this, they hoped to head to Tanzania, but due to a hospital visit, the group of five missed their flight.
So now they have rerouted their trip and are planning to head to Panama as they continue their family adventure.
