Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

=== South America ===
The money Durrell was earning from writing enabled him to plan another expedition.  Jacquie chose the destination as she had never left Europe: she picked [[Argentina]], and in subsequent planning this was expanded to included a visit to [[Paraguay]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 209, 212.</ref>  A secretary, Sophie Cook, was hired to help with preparations, all made from the tiny flat in Margaret's house in Bournemouth.  The Durrells left Tilbury by ship in November 1953: they had been promised a pleasant trip out by their travel agents, which they were looking forward to as a substitute for the honeymoon they had not had, but in the event the accommodations were cramped and unpleasant, the boat filthy, and the food appalled them.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 209–210.</ref>
[[File:Myrmecophaga tridactyla 86003248.jpg|alt=A black and white animal with a long nose and shaggy tail|thumb|Giant anteater]]
They arrived in [[Buenos Aires]] on 19 December 1953, and met with Bebita Ferreyra, a friend of Lawrence's whom he had given them an introduction to; they came to rely on Ferreyra's assistance with the innumerable miscellaneous problems they had to resolve in Buenos Aires.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 210–211.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), p. 12.</ref>{{#tag:ref|For example, at one point she found them a place to keep their animals in Buenos Aires for a week on half-an-hour's notice.  On another occasion she persuaded a Buenos Aires taxi driver to ignore a law forbidding taxis to transport animals.<ref>Durrell (1956), pp. 52–53, 229.</ref>|group = note}}  They soon discovered there were no flights available to [[Tierra del Fuego]], which they had planned to visit, and went instead to the [[Pampas]], beginning their collecting with [[burrowing owl]]s, [[Guira cuckoo]]s, and a baby [[southern screamer]].  From the Pampas they headed to [[Puerto Casado]] in Paraguay, on the [[Paraguay River]], and from there went on to the [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 211–213.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), p. 7.</ref>  They acquired a baby [[giant anteater]], a [[dourocouli]], a [[crab-eating raccoon]], and a [[grey pampas fox]], among many other animals, but in May, as they were making plans for the thousand-mile journey back to Buenos Aires, they discovered there had been a [[1954 Paraguayan coup d'état|coup d'état]] in [[Asunción]], the Paraguayan capital.  They were advised to leave immediately, and had to arrange a light plane to take them back to Buenos Aires, which meant most of the animals had to be left behind.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 213–214.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), pp. 183–185.</ref>

The Durrells arrived in London in July, and the few animals they had been able to bring with them were quickly placed with zoos, but the money from ''The Overloaded Ark'' had been spent on the expedition with little return.  ''Three Singles to Adventure'' had been published while they were in South America: the reviews were mostly positive, but Cansdale, who had been annoyed by criticism of London Zoo in ''The Overloaded Ark'', wrote a scornful review in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', describing the book as superficial, hastily written, and uninformative, and Durrell as an incompetent who was lucky to have survived the expedition.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 214–215.</ref><ref>Cansdale (1954), p. 8.</ref>