Tom hart dyke & Paul winder - the Cloud Garden

I first heard about tom when he was on a BBC2 program called 'save lullinstone castle'. he was making a world garden with plants from all over the world, and was asking for any unusual plants, i sent some seeds from the abbey gardens on tresco and was really pleased to get a letter back to thank me, he said he'd been to tresco just a few weeks before.
i was then recommended the 'cloud garden' on amazon, and ordered it as i was wanted to know more about his story.

in the year 2000, tom was backpacking in Mexico, when he met up with paul winder and they started an adventure together.
tom is a botanist he loves plants and especially orchids, and wanted to find a rare orchid that was in Columbia, in a place called the darien gap.
after warnings on terrorists in the area from various people they met along the way, the still decided to go, and were captured by guerrillas (as in warfare not monkey) in the rainforest and captured for nine months, moved from camp to camp and convinced they were going to die.

the story itself is one of bravery, and survival. and truly amazing what the two men went through, however, the book was not for me, its crude and rude and lots of swearing and graphic on certain subjects, which it didn't really need,
i have never actually finished the book, but i do know that they did escape eventually, and that the world garden tom was creating at lullingstone was as a result of his thoughts while captured.
i think that there are some books that are meant for men and some for women, this is a mans book,
I'm sure that other people may not mind the crudity etc, but i thought it spoiled the read for me.

its described on amazon as a ripping good yarn, and it does almost feel like its more monty python then any thing else, but we all make mistakes its what makes us human.

if you like stories on terrorists and jungles, true stories and can cope with things being fairly graphically described, including how maggots eat away at wounds, have a read and see what you think.