John Scheibe

john.scheibe@vcstar.com, 805-437-0270

Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Fernando Calderon's latest rainforest escapade is being broadcast on the Discovery Channel after he and eight others tried to survive for 40 days in the Amazon jungle, naked and equipped with just two items.

"I chose to take a machete and some fishing line and hooks," Calderon, 36, said last week from the comfort of his Simi Valley home. This is Calderon's second time on the "Naked and Afraid" reality TV show.

The last time, he was braving the jungles of Malaysia. The father of four endured leeches, incessant rain, hunger, mosquitos, a fever of 104 and much more during his 21-day sojourn in the Malaysian forest in 2013.

In the process, he ate bugs and mushrooms and lost 31 pounds. Calderon not only survived but soon was back to his daily routine here in Ventura County.

After Malaysia, Calderon "said he would never do something like this again," said his wife, Anna Calderon. His Malaysian adventures were broadcast in spring 2014.

Then the show's producers contacted Calderon in August 2016, asking if he'd be interested in taking part in another survival adventure.

This one would be filmed in Ecuador's Amazon jungle. Creators called it "Naked and Afraid XL" because participants would have to endure 40 days in the jungle, not just 21 days as they did in Malaysia.

Never one to pass up a challenge, Calderon found himself saying yes. But only, of course, after discussing it with his wife.

"My wife was extremely supportive," he said.

An 'unforgiving place'

Within two months, he and eight other participants flew to Quito along with film crews and others.

From Quito, it was on to the Amazon jungle in eastern Ecuador. Once there, Calderon and others were given a few days to gather themselves and prepare for what lay ahead: six weeks of surviving by their wits, armed with some sort of knife and, in Calderon's case, some fish hooks.

The nine participants were divided into three groups of three. Once Calderon and his two teammates were set loose in the jungle, he already knew what their priorities were: build a shelter, find drinkable water and start a fire without the aid of matches or a lighter. Last but not least, find food.

Calderon did not want to go into too much detail on how his latest jungle adventure turned out, as it's now being broadcast on the Discovery Channel. Suffice it to say, he made it through the 40 days and nights out in the rainforest, surrounded by swamps, rivers and more exotic plants and animals than probably anywhere else on Earth.

"The Amazon can also be a very unforgiving place," Calderon said. It is home to poisonous snakes and frogs, anacondas, piranhas and caimans, one of the smaller members of the crocodile family.

For food, Calderon said he and others depended on several things, "including a healthy dose of eating piranhas."

As with earlier episodes of "Naked And Afraid," the film crew joined Calderon and his two teammates during the day. Once darkness came, the crew returned to the coziness of their quarters, leaving him with nothing more than "a walkie-talkie in a sealed bag" to protect it from the rain and humidity.

"The nights can be very long," Calderon said. Since he and the others were located practically on the equator, each day has 12 hours of light and 12 of darkness. The challenges not only included finding enough food and staying away from poisonous creatures but also just staying warm.

Even though they were in the jungle, it got surprisingly chilly at times, with the temperature sometimes dipping into the 60s, he said. The problem was only compounded by the incessant rain.

"It rained every day," he said.

Show rules include prohibiting camera crews from intervening on a cast member's behalf, except in a medical emergency. If the ordeal proves to be too much for a contestant, he or she can drop out at any time and go home.

Those who stick it out for 40 days must go to a designated place at the end and get taken back home.

Calderon said he received a small stipend. Otherwise, he took vacation time from his job with the Ventura County Fire Department.

Up for the challenge

Calderon prefers to call himself an adventurist, not a survivalist.

Originally from Florida, he moved to the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhood in north Los Angeles as a teenager. While in high school, he met his future wife, Anna.

"We were high school sweethearts," Anna said. When they were in their 20s, the couple began traveling the world.

"We traveled to some 30 countries together on five continents," she said.

The couple still enjoys traveling, although today they are busy raising their two girls and two boys.

As for her husband's participation on the "Naked and Afraid" episodes and being away for what amounted to close to two months in South America in 2016, Anna said her husband is a firefighter, "so we're used to him being gone."

Even so, his trek to Ecuador was a sacrifice for everybody, she said, much of it because of the long period when there was no communication between them while he was gone.

"The total blackout on communication was the hardest part," she said.

While Calderon said after his Malaysia trip that he would not do another jungle-related reality TV episode, this time he really means it, he said after returning from Ecuador.

"I definitely feel as if I'm through with 'Naked And Afraid,'" he said. But when asked if he might consider another made-for-TV survival test, he could not definitively say no.

"I truly cannot turn down a challenge," he said. Still, much will depend on what, if any, offers come his way.

"I might consider it, if it seems interesting enough," the fire captain said.