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Dog bite and gorge fall - man's 8,000-mile Andes trek

Ben Price
BBC News
Ollie Treviso Man with long hair is wearing a cream bucket hat and standing in the sea up to his knees. He's weaing a cream long-sleeved shirt and holding the Wales flag in front of him. He also has the flag of Venezuela around his neck.Ollie Treviso
Ollie Treviso believes he is the first person to walk the length of the world's longest mountain range through its seven nations

Despite falling unconscious into a gorge, being bitten by a dog and getting mugged by a machete-wielding gang, Ollie Treviso walked more than 8,000 miles across the Andes in South America.

The 29-year-old from Swansea trekked through seven countries from the southernmost point of Argentina to the Caribbean sea in Venezuela.

"I'll never forget that feeling on the first day thinking, what have you done? I had a whole continent ahead of me, I had barely any money, I couldn't speak the language. It all felt so daunting to me," he said.

He said he was motivated to take on the "life-changing" challenge following a "dark period" due to the loss of a family member.

The novice adventurer set out with the ambition to raise funds and awareness for a local franchise of mental health charity Mind in Ystradgynlais.

But he said three months of preparation was not necessarily enough to fully prepare him for the adventure.

From "hostile winds" and "bitterly cold" temperatures in the south of the continent to a tropical climate in the north, he said he had to "learn the hard way".

His journey was tracked using a satellite phone which sent a signal every 30 minutes so people knew of his whereabouts.

"I'm just a normal guy from an estate in Swansea and I wanted to show that normal people can do these massive adventures," said Mr Treviso.

Ollie Treviso A man scaling a snow covered mountain top. He attached to a rope and he's wearing a helmet and large jacket. Ollie Treviso
Scaling Ecuador's highest peak, Chimborazo, was one of the "most physically demanding" parts of the trek, said Mr Treviso

About 100 days into his journey he faced his first life-threatening situation after falling into a gorge in a remote part of Patagonia.

"I lost my footing, slipped into a gorge, and I was dangling above a rock. I managed to jam my walking pole into part of the gorge," he said.

"As I've gone to pull myself up, I've slipped, hit the floor and lost consciousness. I don't know for how long."

Despite feeling "delusional", he managed to escape with a fractured foot and a "busted jaw" and walked more than 24 hours to the nearest village.

"There have been so many challenges and dark days. I got some news from back home that my grandmother, who is by far the most important person in my life, had cancer, which really wiped me out emotionally."

Ollie Treviso Blue biro has been used to write a diary entry in a book with lined paperOllie Treviso
An extract from Mr Treviso's daily diary which he said helped him to process some of the more challenging times during the 20-month long walk

In Colombia, he experienced several setbacks and a few dangerous situations.

After recovering from dengue fever, he was bitten by a dog and had hospital treatment.

Soon after that he was mugged by three men carrying a machete and knives who took some of his money and his mobile phone.

But Mr Treviso said giving up on his walk was "never an option" and for every bad thing that happened there was an even greater amount of kindness.

"At times I had 30 or 40 [local] people walking with me in a day because they wanted to share.

"At one point, over the course of 55 nights, I slept in 40 houses. I got given a bed 40 times. Bonkers, it's just incredible."

Ollie Treviso A man wearing a cream bucket hat and long hair is standing in between two other men. One is wearing a green vest and shorts. The other is wearing an orange vest and black shorts. They're holding a welcome sign and the flag of Venezuela. The three of them are standing in front of a river.Ollie Treviso
Mr Treviso said the generosity he experienced from many Andean communities was "incredible"

As he neared the end of his journey, the final border crossing from Colombia into Venezuela was something he had been dreading for some time.

He said: "I've had hundreds of messages of people telling me it is suicide. I'm sitting in this cafe in Colombia and seeing this headline saying this is the most dangerous place in the world and I was feeling sick in my stomach."

He continued along the road towards the border, when a car pulled up and a man offered to help.

"It was the place that gave me the biggest headache, really drained me thinking what am I going to do when I get there? Then there I am sharing pizza with this family in one of the most dangerous places in the world.

"I just thought this is absolutely unbelievable. It just goes to show there are so many dangerous places in this world with a lot of bad things happening, but there are so many good people, so many brilliant people, amidst this chaos who want to help you out."

Ollie Treviso Ollie Treviso is in a school gymnasium with a group of predominantly teenage boys who are in two rows. The back row is standing and the front row are sitting down. Some of them are holding basketballs. The walls of the gym are multicoloured.Ollie Treviso
Mr Treviso learned Spanish along the way and gained the confidence to deliver talks at a few schools and universities towards the end of his journey

Mr Treviso was joined by his father and brother during a "very emotional" final leg of the journey to the Caribbean coast.

On his return to Wales, he plans to try to get his Andes walk officially recognised as the furthest anyone has gone on foot across the world's longest mountain range.

He also hopes to continue to do work in his community with a local mental health charity before deciding on his next adventure.

He said: "Life can be so short. I've lost a few friends due to mental health and I know it's a growing issue in the UK, particularly in men.

"I just felt that this was my purpose and the way things worked out for me, the help I received when I needed it most just showed me I was doing the right thing."