Episode 54: Stranded Along the Madre de Dios - Part 3

This week on Props with Pop, Becs & Pops are wrapping up their deep dive into Ruthless River by Holly FitzGerald. Picking up on on February 23rd, 1973, Holly and Fitz are five days stranded in a flooded Amazon forest, trapped in a dead end logjam, their Pink Palace barely holding together. Planes have passed overhead without turning back. Escape attempts have looped them in circles. By the time this episode begins, survival is no longer about reaching Riberalta, Bolivia. It is about making it through one more day.In this episode, we cover:Repeated swim and paddle attempts through the submerged Amazon forest that brings them right back to where they startedRationing sugar by teaspoons and stretching coffee into pure moraleEating frogs, snails, berries, and eventually baby birds in a devastating moral crossroadsFitz losing his wedding ring in the river and breaking downSevere physical deterioration as they grow skeletal, dizzy, and dangerously weakStorms and swarms of bees battering their fragile Pink PalaceThe moment two Indigenous turtle hunters finally discover them on Day 26After their rescue and recovery, they made the remarkable decision to continue their yearlong honeymoon, traveling across Europe, Asia, and Africa before eventually returning home to build their life and family. What an incredible story. If you have a story you want Props with Pop to cover, please email us at [email protected]. Follow us on social:Instagram: PropswithPopFacebook: PropswithPopReddit: PropswithPopX: @TotalGDaddyMoveGmail: [email protected] Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.