Letter: Daft derring-do

What about his loyal companion, Peruvian forester Gadiel Rivera, who accompanied him for nearly two years, and without whom adventurer Ed would probably have been toast?

You seem seduced by the derring-do of the English ex-squaddie, who has summed up the plight of the fragile Amazon and its people with the earth-shattering soundbite: "It's the people in power who are benefiting from the extraction of the natural resources." You don't say.

We were highly entertained by the details of Ed's penchant for relaxing to episodes of The Office, while "doing the Amazon" - and his near escape from native Gringo killers in the jungle.

Was this a satire on how we mock native cultures, or does this endurance-test macho guff actually pass as news? Native peoples have been walking the length and breadth of the Amazon for centuries. It's their home.

We could investigate what they have to say about their lives and environment, rather than pandering to a fellow who admits the crux of his conquest was nothing more than "a selfish boy's own adventure".

LOUISA WAUGH

Leith Walk Edinburgh