Alex saw several bald, toothless men, some half blind, some with open sores, waving their arms and talking to themselves. These were miners crazed by mercury and slowly dying. For too long, they had dived to the bottom of the river, hauling powerful tubes to suck up the sand saturated with gold dust. Some drowned; others died because their competitors cut their oxygen lines, but most died slowly, poisoned by the mercury used to separate gold from sand.
The children of the village, in contrast, played happily in the mud, accompanied by a few tame monkeys and gaunt dogs. There were a few adult Indians, some wearing a T-shirt or shorts, others as naked as the children. At first, Alex was embarrassed, not daring to look at the women's breasts, but he quickly became accustomed to the sight and after five minutes didn't even notice them. These Indians had been in contact with civilization for several years and had lost many of their traditions and customs, as César Santos explained. The guide's daughter, Nadia, spoke to the Indians in their own language, and they treated her as if she were from their tribe.
If these were the ferocious natives Leblanc had described, they were not very impressive. They were small, for one thing; the men were under five feet and the children looked like miniature humans. For the first time in his life, Alex felt tall. This tribe had bronze-colored skin and high cheekbones; the men wore their hair cut as round as bowls, stopping just above the ears, a fashion that accentuated their Asian features. They were descended from inhabitants of the north of China, and had come by way of Alaska some ten to twenty thousand years before. They had escaped being enslaved during the conquest of the sixteenth century because they were so isolated. The Spanish and Portuguese soldiers had been unable to conquer the swamps, mosquitoes, jungle vegetation, enormous rivers, and waterfalls of this Amazon region.
Once the group was settled in the hotel, César Santos began organizing supplies for the expedition, and planning the remainder of the trip with the help of Kate and the photographers. Professor Leblanc had decided to rest until it was a little cooler since he did not do well in the heat. In the meantime, Nadia invited Alex to go for a walk with her.
"Don't go beyond the boundaries of the village after sunset, it's dangerous," César Santos warned them.
•
Following the advice of Leblanc, who talked as if he were an expert on the dangers of the jungle, Alex stuffed his pants legs inside his socks to guard against the voracious leeches that would suck his blood. Nadia, who was almost barefoot, laughed.
"You'll get used to the bugs and the heat," she told him. She spoke very good English because her mother was Canadian.
"My mother left three years ago," the girl clarified.
"Why did she go?"
"She couldn't get used to it here. Her health was bad, and it got worse when the Beast started roaming around. She could smell it; she wanted to get away, she couldn't stand to be alone, she screamed… Finally Dr. Torres took her away in a helicopter. She's back in Canada now," Nadia said.
"Your dad didn't go with her?"
"What would my dad do in Canada?"
"And why didn't she take you with her?" Alex persisted. He had never heard of a mother who would abandon her child.
"Because she's in a sanatorium. Besides, I want to be where my dad is."
"Aren't you afraid of the Beast?"
"Everyone's 'fraid of it. But if it comes, Borobá will warn me in time," she answered, patting the little black monkey that was always with her.
Nadia took her new friend around the village, which, because there wasn't that much to see, took barely half an hour. Out of the blue came a burst of thunder and lightning that streaked across the sky in all directions, and it began to pour cats and dogs. The rain was as warm as soup, and it turned the narrow little streets into steaming mud pits. As a rule, people sought shelter beneath a nearby roof,
The children of the village, in contrast, played happily in the mud, accompanied by a few tame monkeys and gaunt dogs. There were a few adult Indians, some wearing a T-shirt or shorts, others as naked as the children. At first, Alex was embarrassed, not daring to look at the women's breasts, but he quickly became accustomed to the sight and after five minutes didn't even notice them. These Indians had been in contact with civilization for several years and had lost many of their traditions and customs, as César Santos explained. The guide's daughter, Nadia, spoke to the Indians in their own language, and they treated her as if she were from their tribe.
If these were the ferocious natives Leblanc had described, they were not very impressive. They were small, for one thing; the men were under five feet and the children looked like miniature humans. For the first time in his life, Alex felt tall. This tribe had bronze-colored skin and high cheekbones; the men wore their hair cut as round as bowls, stopping just above the ears, a fashion that accentuated their Asian features. They were descended from inhabitants of the north of China, and had come by way of Alaska some ten to twenty thousand years before. They had escaped being enslaved during the conquest of the sixteenth century because they were so isolated. The Spanish and Portuguese soldiers had been unable to conquer the swamps, mosquitoes, jungle vegetation, enormous rivers, and waterfalls of this Amazon region.
Once the group was settled in the hotel, César Santos began organizing supplies for the expedition, and planning the remainder of the trip with the help of Kate and the photographers. Professor Leblanc had decided to rest until it was a little cooler since he did not do well in the heat. In the meantime, Nadia invited Alex to go for a walk with her.
"Don't go beyond the boundaries of the village after sunset, it's dangerous," César Santos warned them.
•
Following the advice of Leblanc, who talked as if he were an expert on the dangers of the jungle, Alex stuffed his pants legs inside his socks to guard against the voracious leeches that would suck his blood. Nadia, who was almost barefoot, laughed.
"You'll get used to the bugs and the heat," she told him. She spoke very good English because her mother was Canadian.
"My mother left three years ago," the girl clarified.
"Why did she go?"
"She couldn't get used to it here. Her health was bad, and it got worse when the Beast started roaming around. She could smell it; she wanted to get away, she couldn't stand to be alone, she screamed… Finally Dr. Torres took her away in a helicopter. She's back in Canada now," Nadia said.
"Your dad didn't go with her?"
"What would my dad do in Canada?"
"And why didn't she take you with her?" Alex persisted. He had never heard of a mother who would abandon her child.
"Because she's in a sanatorium. Besides, I want to be where my dad is."
"Aren't you afraid of the Beast?"
"Everyone's 'fraid of it. But if it comes, Borobá will warn me in time," she answered, patting the little black monkey that was always with her.
Nadia took her new friend around the village, which, because there wasn't that much to see, took barely half an hour. Out of the blue came a burst of thunder and lightning that streaked across the sky in all directions, and it began to pour cats and dogs. The rain was as warm as soup, and it turned the narrow little streets into steaming mud pits. As a rule, people sought shelter beneath a nearby roof,
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