You won ’ t hear a jaguar ; you won ’ t see it . The prowling predators move silently , barely rustling the leaves . They can track you for miles . |
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images : getty ; awl images |
From left : An Amazon river dolphin ; keeping an eye out for wildlife in , on and around the river from a perch on the prow |
“ I had malaria once ,” he tells me . “ It doesn ’ t come from mosquitoes . That ’ s not how I got it . It comes from drinking stagnant water in the forest .” He points at a pool of mahogany water littered with the bodies of countless drowned insects . I nod along non-confrontationally , unsurprised that the water isn ’ t exactly a health potion . Next , he passes me a hacked segment of hanging vine , to be sparked and smoked for a fruity taste and pale fume . We walk and puff on the faintly flavoured stems , all the time making enough noise to ward off the snakes slinking in the undergrowth . Our hike leads us back out to the water — you ’ re never too far from the river , or its tributaries , in this part of the rainforest . We head to find a safe space to swim .
The Amazon flows at different speeds in different stretches . At our first spot , we prepare to leap from the edge of the boat , knowing we could be instantly
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swept up in the rushing tide . We ’ re ready . Jump , breathe , grab the boat , climb back in . If you ’ re too slow , you ’ ll be dashed downriver . Once you ’ ve jumped in , you have seconds to act — the pull of the current is instantaneous . We ’ re quickly exhausted by the adrenaline and the power of the water , and we move on . Our next spot is calmer — but the wildlife there isn ’ t . Just as we arrive , we hear a burst of movement .
Flashing its pale pink underbelly , a dolphin leaps out in an arch . It ’ s rare to see them jump , as normally they only partially emerge , their grey-spotted heads bobbing out of the river . We lower ourselves into the water to join it , braced for a rushing current . Mercifully , the water ’ s calm . I swim towards where we last spotted the dolphin , avoiding thoughts of vengeful Amazon river monsters or nibbling piranhas . Another bottle-like bill emerges , and then another . Underneath the shadowy
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SPRING 2023 • 41 |