Garden Of Eden: A Jungle Captive’s Lesson In Dreams Come True
BBC News recently reported the story of horticulturist and orchid collector, Tom Hart Dyke, who was kidnapped in 2000 in the Darien Gap in Panama by Colombian Guerrillas and held hostage for nine months in the South American jungle. He was on a plant collecting expedition with his friend Paul Winder when captured.
They experienced a horrific kidnapping ordeal and were both threatened with being beheaded. During this dark passage, in order to stay sane, Tom spent his time jotting down plans in his dairy and dreaming of a map garden containing exotic plants from around the world.
The original plan took root, he recalls, when he was threatened with execution: My guards kicked down the door on June 16, 2000, my sisters birthday, and said: Youve got five hours, mate. I started scribbling in my diary, drawing the shapes of my garden. It took an AK47 to focus my mind. It was: four walls, start drawing. The whole garden started with that threat. Five hours later the guards came back and we had iguana and armadillo for supper as usual; there was no more mention of being shot. [Taken from Times...