It is charming. He's is greeted by the locals, a group dances for him and he is given gifts.
This one is incredible: On the river with Martin, Brazil (Mar 7, 2007); he swims like a machine and murky water that I wouldn't put my toe in! Toward the end of the segment he puts on a homemade cloth mask and hat, I presume to protect himself from the sun. Also downing a sports bottle of red wine.
Amazon Virtual Medical Team, Brazil (Mar 5, 2007) segment shows the doctor who has flown in ( a 17 hour flight; 18 hours by boat; the last 5 assisted by the Brazilian army) to do a medical exam. Looks like he has a virtual medical lab set up.
Toward the end is a good short Reuters clip
The Fish Man, as he was called by the local tribes, almost died in the process several times. Towards the end of his marathon ordeal his blood pressure was at heart attack level, his entire body full of subcutaneous larvae and besieged by dehydration and exhaustion.
Martin is an endurance swimmer who swims rivers – the Mississippi, the Danube, Paraná and the Yangtze prior to the Amazon – to highlight their pollution to the world. During this epic journey he suffered from blisters, sunburn, exotic stomach illnesses, all the while trying to avoid piranhas, anacondas, crocodiles, alligators, river sharks, and a small parasitic fish known as the candiru. Martin is also a rather overweight horse-burger loving Slovenian in his fifties, who drinks bottles of red wine to get extra power...even when swimming.
Martin serves as a metaphor for the "Everyman", and prove, once and for all, that one man can make a difference.
The Dude is Worthy.