Gryphon Productions

We have completed filming.  We are starting to pack out bags for the 2 day process it takes to leave Brazil.  We’re still in the most western portion of the Brazilian Amazon- and we love Acre state. People here were very friendly and very helpful and telling us more about Col. Fawcett and his influence here.  Not to mention helping us locate some truly striking locations of actual ancient cities in the jungle now being discovered.  Overall, we got much more than we ever dreamed of…including the location of Fawcett’s last camp and much more…

In the attached photo- Brazilian arachaeologist Denise Schaan shows me (director Peter von Puttkamer) the latest archaeological dig which is changing the way, people are thinking about the Amazon; as Charles Mann told us in his book 1491 and on camera: this place has been inhabited for centuries by people that were far more advanced than simple hunter-gatherers.  With new evidence coming in each year, we are only scratching the surface of discovering lost cities, the kind Fawcett had long been looking for.

This has been a truly intense, pulse-racing adventure ride; we couldn’t have foreseen the many twists and turns the story of Col Percy Fawcett would have taken us on this journey; and the many secrets that have now been solved and truths revealed.  Much more to come, as we begin the editing process of the show…for a broadcast next spring, 2011 on PBS, Vision TV (Canada) and History UK.

Thanks to my indomintable crew, without whom this could not have been made! Todd Southgate, Andy Dittrich, Jon Ritchie and of course on camera: Niall McCann- whose first outing in a tv production proved to be smashing success: poised, charming, well spoken and energetic and athletic on camera, Niall is a force to be reckoned with. Watch for him on an upcoming series being developed by me for Animal Planet!

We’ve been having a fabulous time in Acre state investigating Geoglyphs: mystical circles and squares: ancient religious sites 2000 years old that have just emerged from the jungle. What’s more, we’ve discovered that Col. Fawcett is somewhat of a hero here.  As well as mapping much of the region in 1907, he was friends of the first governor who formed the state- and it was Percy Fawcett who took the last known photo of the governor.  We found out scientists are using Percy Fawcett’s historical writings to help them identify the origins of the mystical sites:  Fawcett apparently slept at one of the sites and described it’s deep trenches and ditches!

More to come…leaving now on close to our final shoot in Brazil…

Ok…so these may look small- but these Brazilian Black Caimans, even at 5 to 6 ft long have been known to take off a foot- and that’s very nearly what happened when guide Fernando Garcia used his “Croc” shoes to block a real life Croc from eating our tripod and the Camera Asst and Director!   We’re lining up a shot for Fawcett Dramatic Recreations- behind these wild crocs (used to getting hand-outs from tourists in the Pantanal).  They’ll pretty much bite at anything: rocks, wood, huge chunks of bone/beef- and anyone’s foot that is staring it in the face! Luckily no one was injured in the making of this scene! Crocs vs Croc

Getting on a plane tomorrow to the far Northwest of the Amazon- and the new discoveries of actual lost civilizations: 2000 yr. old gigantic earthworks spread over 240 sq. kilomters of former jungle!

We’ve come several hundred miles south from the Dead Horse Camp location…to film dramatizations for the Lost in the Amazon documentary- in amongst the wildlife of Brazil’s “Pantanal”: one of the richest exotic animal habitats in the world.  Just outside our accomodations, are jaguars, giant rodents- 150 lb capybara the size of German shepherds, giant jabaru storks, countless strange and exotic birds- and hundreds of Caiman- South American alligators.  Filming a Fawcett sequence with two horses, three mules/equipment and a local Indian boy, plus 3 actors:  we found ourselves in a very close call with Caiman who thought we’d come a bit close and charged our tripod and camera…narrowly missing one of our guides.   Here we could film all the habitat that Fawcett actually crossed: massive savannahs, thick jungle, marshes, deserts and more.  It is an amazing place whose symbol are the giant blue macaws found only here.  We really captured the spirit of Fawcett and the goals of his journey in these intense recreations in an exotic land.  Tomorrow we head off to film our explorer/investigator Niall McCann as he looks into Piranha- a creature often encountered by Fawcett…including stories of his boatman having his finger lopped off by one, as he dragged his hand in the water.  Then onto the sacred Geo-glyph sites in Acre state of Brazil- a 3 hour jet ride from here.  An ancient city along the lines sought by Col. Fawcett, just discovered in the Amazon: over 200 sq kilomters of 2000 yr old city-state and interconnected religious sites – strange symbols in the ground visible from the air and even on Google Earth.  See these two sites: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/05/amazon-dorado-satellite-discovery

http://www.geoglifos.com.br/index.html

More to come on our Lost City of Z – Col Percy Fawcett Adventure.

Peter von Puttkamer, Director

Brazil: Saturday, Oct 2, 2010: We are on Day 11 of the expedition to explore the legend of Col Fawcett in Brazil’s Mato Grosso and the very edges of the Amazon.  Today we are in the Pantanal to film animals and create dramatic recreations of Fawcett’s journey.  Unfortunately it’s raining, thundering, lightning and we’re biding our time for the storm to clear; we have now grown to a crew of 12, including local talent.   The Pantanal is one of the richest wildlife areas in the world and all around us are giant rodents (capybara), anaconda, jaguar and puma (plenty of these), blue parrots (the largest in the world), Caiman (alligators) and countless bird species.

Niall McCann, young explorer and biologist remains steadfastly on the trail of Percy Fawcett. The adventure to find Col Fawcett’s last camp and the mythical waterfall from the 1753 manuscript we saw in the Rio De Janeiro archives was an unbelievable journey; we had to re-build a huge broken bridge across a giant river, drive across dusty deserts of former jungle (now soybean fields), negotiate with locals seeking directions and access to Fawcett’s final camp, build a dangerous rickety wooden bridge across the collapsing mud gorge- and drive our vehicles across- only interrupted by swarms of killer South American bees which chased us into our cars, then up the hill more than 1/2 mile away.  It was with great emotion and excitement that we eventually tracked down Fawcett’s Dead Horse Camp- by cracking a secret code for directions that Fawcett had left with his wife and son.  No one has ever come this close to the truth about Fawcett…this is the first time his final camp has been found; it was here he wrote his wife saying: “you need not have any fear of failure”;  next we tracked down a sacred Bakairi Indian waterfall site: site of their creation myths; we discovered it was in a direct line with their village (which Fawcett visited), Dead Horse Camp (the new coded directions)- it is now clear Fawcett was heading to the falls; here we discovered ancient cave paintings/drawings written about by Spanish gold explorers in the manuscript 512.  What is the truth about Fawcett? Where was he killed?  Based on our interviews and recent Brazilian discoveries: we are now much closer to the answer and have come up with a new theory of his demise.    Still covered with dozens of bites from stinging bees, mosquitoes and disease ridden sand flies…we are preparing to film with a mule team, horses, local natives, actors, wildlife and more…if only this rain would clear! Stay tuned!   Peter von Puttkamer, Director

Alright, so we have survived two bridge washouts- and re-building of the structures, tiny ticks, infectious sand files and an vicious attack by South American Killer Bees.   Here on Day 8 of the expedition- we have made two new discoveries: we found the actual waterfall mentioned by the Bakari Indians and told to Fawcett and appearing in Manscript 512- found in the Rio library.  This was to be the “gateway” to the city of Z.   It is a mystical place: where silver objects shine under the water (described as siler bars by the locals), caves contain ancient writings  Then today, we went on a major expedition to find Fawcett’s last camp: Dead Horse.  Using coordinates Fawcett himself took in 1920- we tracked down the location of his camp.  Buried deep in the jungle, alongside the photos.  This gives us a better idea of where Fawcett was heading, before his unfortunate demise….more to come!

Writing now from a small Bakairi Indian Village in the center of the Mato Grosso- the very edge of the Amazon jungle. This is where Col Percy Fawcett passed through, before his final trip into the jungle.  We’ve been speaking to old people who remember Fawcett (from his 1925 visit here)  and learning much about his personality and treatment of the Indians that live here.  We also witnessed a spectacular dance- swirling grass mask dancers outside a traditional ceremonial hut…the kind of thing Fawcett indeed might have also seen. The Bakairi’s have been extremely accomodating, as they were in Fawcett’s time. Now we have new evidence about the location of Fawcett’s final  camp: Dead Horse Camp, where he sent his last dispatch from.  We will be trekking up to the legendary sacred waterfall of the Bakairi and Xingu people, more than a day’s drive from here; then following GPS coordinates to a new secret, previously undiscovered location of Dead Horse Camp…and perhaps clues to Fawcett’s final demise, may reveal themselves. I’ll write again when I can; no photos for now…sorry…Peter von Puttkamer, Bakairi Village.

We had an amazing day, going around the city visiting areas- Col Fawcett might have seen, as well as modern images.  Old Colonial buildings, ancient crumbling villas, monkeys and iguanas in the trees all around the city. Brazil outdoor dance clubs, brazilian barbecue everywhere, plus of course, Music: Samba and jazz is all about- playing out my window now.

We also filmed the 1753″indiana jones” treasure map- which speaks of legenday muribeca Silver Mines: and a lost city of apparent Greek origin: we turned the fragile pages of this document…looking for the same clues Fawcett and countless others seeking the truth about the jungle city: is it El Dorado or the last city of Atlantis found in the Amazon?  Tomorrow we venture into the Mato Grosso- a hot unforgiving land, 40 degrees C- and apparently currently on fire! The Bakairi Indians we are supposed to visit- to tell us about Fawcett’s visit there some 85 years ago- are out fighting fires all around their villages; hoping for the best; and using “new” secret coordinates gleaned from Fawcett’s actual 1921 journal: find the true location of Dead Horse Camp: his last reported position.  Many have tried to find it and failed!  More tomorrow…if internet access still exists out there somewhere…!

Ok, we’ve landed in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. We’re here to track down a centuries old manuscript in the National Library- one that Col. Percy Fawcett used as a road map to search for his Lost City of Z.  It was written by soldiers-of-fortune Gold Seekers in the mid 18 century.  Our explorer/investigator Niall McCann will track down the manuscript- which contains descriptions of an ancient Greek-type city in the Amazon rainforest- complete with wild boulevards, 2 story buildings, archways and statues.

Our day in Rio began, with the hotel jamming the crew and our on-camera investigator Niall all into one room.  Each of us had a tiny bed standing side by side in a tiny space- like mama bear, papa bear, baby bear or goldilocks.  They said they were full up and it was the only room…until I pointed out that I had hotel bookings for several rooms.  With the proof in front of them, they couldn’t try the old bait and switch routine…that is put us in a tiny common room and keep the difference in room prices for themselves! It’s all good now, but we might have to run a gauntlet of murderous thieves and pick pockets between here and the National Library to find Fawcett’s “Lost City of Z”…it’s all good, all in the quest of Col Percy Fawcett and the truth!
Day after tomorrow we leave for the interior- the Mato Grosso and the mystery of Fawcett.

Peter and Niall in Torquay Museum- the Fawcet Exhibit

We’ve just finished shooting the UK segment of “Lost in the Amazon”.  Working with the amazing real life explorer Niall McCann, we finished shoots in Devon, at Torquay Museum (home to the PH Fawcett exhibit), Cardiff, Wales with Percy Fawcett’s grand daughter and then at the Royal Geographical Society in London.  Reading through Fawcett’s own personal logbooks, studying his maps and speaking to family members has given us a unique insight into this remarkable search for The Lost City of Z and an advanced ancient civilization in the Amazon jungle. More to follow…

Capturing London, for "Lost in the Amazon".