Tricks of the Trade

  

Amazon Survival 101

1.  How to build a natural shelter in the jungle
After watching every season of the reality TV show Survivor we thought we already knew how to build a shelter that could hold up through thick and thin.  Well, John proved us right!  He demonstrated how to use branches and leaves to layer a roof over the shelter to keep dry.

2.  How to set a spring trap to catch wild animals for food
This trap was no more than a stick flexed over like a croquet wicket, a thin vine/string, and a nearby tree that could be used as a twitch-up.  Traps are designed to catch and hold or to catch and kill. Snares are traps that incorporate a noose to accomplish either function.  A twitch-up is a hardwood sapling (small tree), which, when bent over and secured with a triggering device, will provide power to a variety of snares.

 3.  Hungry?  No Weber Grill?  How to roast maggots for a quick and delicious snack!
You might want to Google this!  Maggots can be found inside nuts.  When you need a quick hit of protein in the Amazon, pull out your machete, hack open the side of a nut, and pull out the live maggots.  Put them on a skewer-type stick.  Just add fire!

 

I've watched Survivor for almost 16 years....and I've NEVER seen a fire quite like this!  Using your machete, slowly peel the bark away from the side of a tree (keeping the bark still intact) and then light it.  Now raise your maggot skewer to the flames.  Count to 30.  Enjoy the popcorn crunch of a roasted maggot.