By the fifth day of the race, Team Hi-Tec was trailing the leaders, Team Salomon/Eco-Internet [go to Team Bio] by approximately 24 hours. After more than 125 hours of racing, the team reached the passport control caked in mud and soaking. "You have dry clothes, you start walking, and then you're wet.” said Alaskan Jacques Boutet, a civil engineer from Alaska.

"It was really freaky," explained Terry Schneider, who is in her 5th Eco-Challenge. "When you're in the jungle, you feel trapped."

"People’s feet are mangled out there," said team captain David Kelly, whose white lycra pants and jersey had turned dirty brown.

Schneider said the 49.5-hour jungle journey was the toughest Eco-Challenge trek she's ever done. "The heat was oppressive, there were incredibly steep descents and ascents, and then dealing with the bugs and leeches was maddening."

Lundgren, one of two women on the veteran team, was particularly bothered by the hordes of blood-sucking creatures. "The leeches are my friends," she joked, as she watched teammate Jacques Boutet pull one of the wriggly, slinky-like creatures from his bloody right shin. "Actually, I really don't like them, but I'm just dealing with them."

"We did some leech hypnosis last night," said Kelly, referring to Lundgren's faux-appreciation.

But despite their playful comments, Team Hi-Tec was clearly serious about moving on -- and moving up in the standings. Throughout the race, the team has remained steadily in the top 15. Even though, they had received a disappointing six-hour penalty for losing their passport during the Perahu sailing leg.

With a mandatory "dark zone" (no paddling at night) on the Sampan canoe leg approaching, time was precious. "We're on a real tough schedule," said Kelly, readying his life vest. "But it's not impossible."

Then, Kelly turned to his teammates, who were busily prepping their gear. "Can we be out of here in ten minutes?" he asked.

Ten minutes later, the foursome slipped into the muddy-brown waters of the Segama River, with towering walls of rainforest greenery surrounding them, and swiftly floated away.