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Do You Have What It Takes to Survive?
Here are some tips for staying alive.
When most people think of traveling, they picture an airplane or a car. Not that long ago, before flying and driving became more affordable for the average person, people traveled by ship across oceans to go where they needed or to haul goods and food to be sold in other countries. Anyone who has seen the movie Castaway can see why that kind of travel is no longer the main form of transportation. Being shipwrecked is no fun!
Just imagine yourself enjoying a cruise on the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela near Grenada. Suddenly you hear the loud screech of grinding metal and are shaken off of your feet. The next thing you know, you are washed up on a white sandy beach. You are covered in seaweed and can see little crabs scuttling across the ground. You are stranded on an island with nothing but the clothes on your back! After getting over the shock, you need to worry about staying alive.
While creature comforts like television and ice cream might come to mind first, surviving on this island means thinking a little more realistically. With high temperatures of over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and natural predators such as crocodiles and jaguars, you’ll need more than ice cream to stay alive.
At first, being on a deserted island might not seem so bad. But don’t let the tropical appearance deceive you. Soon thirst and hunger will overcome your senses. Without fresh water to drink, a human can last five days at the most. But with the scorching South American sun overhead, that timeline is drastically shortened.
Thirsty?
To survive on the island, you must think like a survivor. Yes, you’ll need water, but how will you get it? Waiting for rain might work, but you can’t count on it. One good source of fresh drinking water is coconuts. Coconuts thrive in the Caribbean. Luckily, they are filled with a sweet liquid that is both hydrating and delicious! Once you’ve split the coconuts open and drunk the liquid, you can use the empty shells to collect rainwater. You can also eat the inside fruit of the coconut and use the leaves of the coconut tree for shade. This tree could become your best friend!
Fire maker
A Caribbean island might be hot during the day, but nights can get chilly if you don’t have shelter. Building a fire is a good idea, but how do you do it? First you’ll need to collect firewood. Look for dead wood, preferably some that’s already fallen on the ground. Dead wood is dry and burns easier. Keep it dry by putting it in a pile and covering it with large leaves.
Now that you have the fuel for a fire, you have to find a way to start one without matches or a lighter. You can start a fire with two sticks, a shoelace, two flat rocks, and some dead grass. To do so, tie your shoelace to the ends of one stick to make a small bow. Loop the middle of the shoelace around the second stick and stand the second stick on one of the flat rocks. Take the other rock in your hand and hold it on top of the standing stick. Place the grass around the bottom of the stick. Pull the bow back and forth very quickly while putting pressure on the stick with the rock in your hand. After several minutes, smoke and ash should accumulate around the grass. When this happens, an ember is being created on the stick. Blow on it to ignite the grass!
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