📸 Photo

We entered the jungle and kept the river on our left. The terrain was level and the foliage less dense than in other places we had been. Karl didn't have to use the machete as we were able to work our way around and under branches.

What actually happened next, however, was unclear, though it must have been the turning point of the entire trip. As I recall, Karl turned suddenly and said something like, 'What the hell are we going on for anyway?' He muttered as though he were thinking aloud. 'I must be out of my mind to risk going into the canyon. No one has ever done it. And what if we miss our stopping place and are swept into it? We'll all be killed. That's what.'

'What's the point? There's nothing for me there. Nobody's going to award me any prizes for doing it. So why should I?'

He seemed to catch sight of me then for the first time.

'Give me one good reason,' he said, this time aloud and straight to my face. 'I don't have the time. It could take three or four days to reach the mouth of the canyon. I won't make it back to La Paz on time. Why should I louse things up with my uncle? I told you in the first place that I only had one month. That month will be up in exactly four days.'

He stopped and stared at me.

'That's it, Yossi. I've made up my mind. I'm heading straight back from here. I'm not going