We gave up our normal lives to move to the rainforest with our 3 kids – but we’ve been threatened with jail and deported
A FAMILY who gave up their normal life to move to the rainforest with their three children say they have been threatened with jail and deportation.
Greg Dickens, 37, and his partner Guen Bradbury, 36, wanted to spend 15 months traveling through the great outdoors while sending their children to rural schools.
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The travel influencers were excited to leave Cambrigeshire for a trip of a lifetime to the rainforest.
And Greg and Guen hoped this experience would give Talpha (six), Martes (four) and Lutra (one) a tropical taste of a very different home life.
But the family “couldn’t navigate Guyana’s bureaucracy” and were denied a visa extension, meaning their trip had to be cut short because of “the pain of detention.”
The family first left the UK on April 17 for Georgetown, Guyana, the reported daily mirror.
They then flew to the town of Lethem, about 350 miles away, where they took a survival course designed to prepare them for life in the jungle.
Afterward, the family made their way into the rainforest, where they met “poison dart frogs, piranhas, caimans, whipscorpions” and a “rat the size of a dog.”
A few uncomfortable nights followed, including one night when no fewer than eight different species of ants invaded their lair.
But there were also many moments of joy spent braving the wild habitat, such as quality family time spent spotting river otters and eating “giant piranhas” for dinner.
And they also enjoyed an unforgettable journey along the tropical Essequibo River from Surama to Rock Landing.
They had hoped to travel to other villages and end up at a research center in Guyana.
However, their trip ended abruptly due to visa problems that threatened them with imprisonment.
Proud dad Greg nevertheless described the adventure as a “great time” for the whole family.
They embarked on the Amazon journey after both taking sabbaticals from their medical innovation jobs at research and product development company Innovia Technology.
Estimating the total cost of the tour at £30,000, the adventurers said both their families would support their plans and the experience they would offer the children.
Instead, they are now making their way into the jungle 1,500 miles north of Panama and also have their sights set on a future trip to Tanzania, Malawi or Belize.
But a trip to Africa still remains on the horizon for them, as dad Greg joked: “Our ‘How do South Americans raise their kids’ tour will be intercontinental.”
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