Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/24995
"The North Pole expedition was one of the most dense and intense memories of my life, because in an ultralight in the Arctic ... believe me, it's very small. I was somewhat worried because you begin to ask yourself if you're not pushing the chal lenge a little bit far. " In fact, just prior to his departure, Hulot penned a sim- ple note to his loved ones: "If I die-it was Moliere who died on-stage-don't cry." The note has remained in the top drawer of his desk for the last ten years in a kinetic state of application to any adventure that may prove too ambitious, or perhaps as a reminder of a time when he was less sure. Ushuai"a 's impressive record of no deaths and only one serious injury on the job (a helicopter crash in Canada) seems to trumpet the team's near mastery of risk. But Hulot con- cedes, "There have be�n some worri- some moments from time to time. There is everything that you can foresee and then necessarily there is a whole unpredictable element to which you simply try to respond and adapt as quickly as possible.· A nature segment on hip popotamuses on a serene lake in Zimbabwe: Hulot gracefully paddles a canoe into the vicinity of the enor mous creatures. All is in order. The show's technical crew stands on the shore and in nearby boats waiting to capture the scene on film. But when Hulot's boat flips violently over, the team can only watch. "Very sincerely, when you are turned over in your canoe by two hippopotamuses and you find yourself in the water between the two .. . 1 think it's the most terrifying memory I've ever had. Because there is nothing you can do. You are so scared that you freeze, and it's they who decide whether or not to kill you. They came out of the water twice toward me, one meter from my face, and I thought I would disappear at each instant. They were content to have flipped me over. "