British parents who jetted off with their three young children for a 15-month trip through the Amazon rainforest are forced to turn around after being denied a visa
They gave up their live in a picturesque Cambridgeshire village to take their children to the Amazon rainforest for more than a year in the trip of a lifetime.
But Greg Dickens, 37, and his partner Guen Bradbury, 36, are now having to find a new destination for their adventure after being denied a visa in Guyana.
The couple wanted to spend 15 months travelling through the rainforest and sending their children Talpha, six, Martes, four, and Lutra, one, to rural schools on the way.
Guen Bradbury went to the Amazon with her partner Greg Dickens and their three children
The couple jetted to Guyana wanted to spend 15 months travelling through the rainforest
Greg Dickens took a sabbatical for his job in medical innovation to go on the Amazon trip
But the family ‘failed to navigate the Guyanese bureaucracy’ and were refused a visa extension, meaning their trip had to be cut short on ‘pain of imprisonment’.
However, they are now instead heading to the jungle 1,500 miles north in Panama and have also set their sights on a future trip to Tanzania, Malawi or Belize.
The couple went on the Amazon trip after both taking a sabbatical from their jobs in medical innovation at research and product development firm Innovia Technology.
They estimated the total cost of the tour at £30,000 and had said both of their families were supportive of their plans and the experience it would give the children.
Guen Bradbury with the couple’s three children Talpha, six, Martes, four, and Lutra, one
The family said they had enjoyed watching river otters and eating piranhas for dinner
The family, who are from the village of Longstanton near Cambridge, left the UK on April 17 to travel to Georgetown in Guyana, reported the Daily Mirror.
Then they flew onto the town of Lethem about 350 miles away where they carried out a survival course intended to prepare them for life in the jungle.
After that, the family headed into the rainforest where they encountered ‘poison dart frogs, piranhas, caimans, whip scorpions’ and a ‘rat the size of a dog’.
They said their camp was invaded by eight different species of ant one night, while they also had to cover their ankles to protect themselves against snakes.
Talpha Martes and Lutra pictured before they left, have joined their parents on the adventure
The family had hoped to travel onto other villages and end up at a Guyanan research centre
However, the family said they also enjoyed watching river otters, eating piranhas for dinner and sending the children to a village school in Yupukari.
They had hoped to travel onto other villages and end up at a Guyanan research centre – but visa issues caused their trip to come to a premature end.
The family then wanted to travel onto Tanzania but missed their flight due to a hospital visit. So for now, they are planning a new adventure in Panama.
MailOnline has contacted the Ministry of Home Affairs in Guyana, which had been organising the family’s extended stay visas in the country, for comment.
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