By Ling Sing LIn
Two very different stories hit the news recently.
Story 1
On 1 May 2023, a single-engine Cessna plane flying over the jungle in Colombia in South America developed engine trouble and crashed. On board were 3 adults and 4 children aged 13, 9, 4 and an 11 month old baby. One of the dead adults was the children’s mother. They were traveling to visit their father who had escaped from guerillas. Due to bad weather, the army took 16 days to locate the crash site. They found the 3 adults including the children’s mother, all dead. But the 4 kids were missing.
It took the army another 4 weeks to locate the 4 children five km from the crash site. They were thin but very much alive. How did they survive the treacherous jungle for 40 days?
They were from the Huitoto Indigenous Group. The family had frequently played “survival games” and were well acquainted with the jungle. The eldest, a 13 year old girl, knew what fruits they couldn’t eat, and also knew how to take care of the baby. In addition to avoiding predators, they also may have had to hide from armed groups in the jungle. This last factor was speculated to be a factor why it took so long to locate the children. They may have hidden from the rescuers whom they may have feared were armed and dangerous men. As the children have yet to tell their stories, this is yet to be verified.
Story 2
The implosion of the Titan submersible, which was bringing 5 wealthy people to the depths of the ocean to look at the Titanic shipwreck. It cost each person USD 250,000 for the “frontier tourism”. Frontier travel is an expensive, exclusive and extreme form of adventure travel, which is risky and to remote locations on our planet and to outer space.
Comparisons
The two stories are markedly different. The jungle survival episode is a low technology, basic and primitive experience, involving 4 children who survived 40 days in the jungle under extremely trying conditions.
The frontier tourism episode is a high technology expedition involving extremely wealthy people seeking unusual adventure, who were instantly killed when the submersible imploded.
Moral of the Stories
Revenge travel after Covid means more people are seeking adventure. I believe most people will take adequate care, but mishaps can still happen. The take home message is Do not take unnecessary risks and you will survive to tell the tale, bragging rights for unusual travel, or no bragging rights at all for typical holiday travel. Most people would not have survived the jungle ordeal.
I have actually travelled to Colombia in 2018 to see The Most Beautiful River in the World. I took a small propeller plane from Bogota to La Macarena in Central Colombia. I may not have been so gung-ho if this story of the jungle survival had happened before my travel!