Lu Marini flies the length of one of Brazil’s most industrialised rivers…
Lu Marini is a Brazilian TV adventurer with a passion for flight.
His previous paramotor expeditions have seen him fly 3,000km along the length of Brazil’s coastline, and explore the Amazon. Last year, looking for a new challenge and a new motivation, he alighted upon flying the 1,136km length of the River Tietê in the state of São Paulo.
The river runs through the city of São Paulo, the largest city in the Americas, and as a result has earned the title of the most polluted river in Brazil. “I decided I wanted to know more about this river, and to explore the problems surrounding it and bring those stories to light,” he said. “My mission was to fly its entire length.”
Despite rising only 22km from the sea, a quirk of geology means the Tietê flows inland, through 62 counties in São Paulo, before it meets the Paraná River, the second largest river in South America after the Amazon. The Paraná flows for 4,880km and reaches the sea in Argentina.
The Tietê has all the problems associated with urban rivers around the world. It is dammed, channelled, polluted and degraded along every kilometre. Brazil’s history of industrialisation can be traced along it as easily as it flows.
His first view as he climbed was, “dry logs, rocks, earth, and a river with virtually no water”. Climbing higher his attention was caught by a car that had been submerged, now dried out and rusting on the riverbed. Already within the first kilometre of his journey the visible signs of pollution were everywhere…
Lu’s flight took him along the full length of this river, into the heart of the land and the people who live along the Tiete. The result is a sobering but thought-provoking and at time inspiring article with a message for us all.
Read the full article in Cross Country May 2015, issue 159.
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