It is no surprise that Yossi soon met «kindred spirits.» Marcus Stamm – a teacher from Switzerland, Kevin Gale – an American photographer and friend of Yossi, and the Austrian Karl Ruprechter would keep him company on the upcoming expedition to South America. Ruprechter, claiming to be a seasoned geologist as he presented himself to everyone, told of gold hidden in the Bolivian jungle.
In search of treasure
According to Ruprechter, the treasure was located in the village of Tacana, lost in the depths of the impassable tropical forests. The colorful tale of the Austrian, who would later turn out to be a criminal wanted by Interpol, stunned the imagination of the expedition members. And the brave foursome, without delay, set off in search of the gold.
In 1981 they would set out from the small Bolivian town of La Paz in the direction of the mysterious and enigmatic Amazon. It seemed to them that the journey through the rainforests would be something like a pleasure walk, an adventure with a few small elements of the extreme.
The expedition members traveled light, deciding that extra gear would only make the journey harder.
At first, everyone was amused by the indigenous people of the local tribes they met along the way, who wore dried human skulls on their belts as ornaments. And it was curious to watch some of them carry around homemade flasks with a drink made from the ashes of a deceased person.
Hardships along the way
But soon the primeval romance came to an end, and the expedition members went deeper into the rainforest. The constant rains, the suffocating humidity, and the dwindling food supplies dampened the ardor of the adventure seekers. Forcing their way through the wild thickets was incredibly hard, and every step was a struggle. So after several days of travel, everyone felt deathly tired.
Now the expedition members satisfied their hunger even with the meat of monkeys and saw nothing shameful in it. Their strength was at its limit, and one day, unable to bear the hardships of the journey they had undertaken, the four made the only correct decision. They had to return home by any means.
And here it turned out, when Yossi Ghinsberg and Kevin Gale had knocked together a raft, that the seasoned geologist Ruprechter could not swim. And then his own admission plunged everyone into despair: there was no gold in the Bolivian forests. The Austrian had merely been throwing dust in their eyes so as not to fall into the hands of justice.
Incident on the river
In the end, Ruprechter and Stamm set off on foot for La Paz. And Yossi and Kevin took to the river on a raft. The turbulent waters soon smashed the raft against the rocks. Kevin managed to swim to the bank, but Yossi, having struck the logs hard, could not do so. He was carried farther by the current, thoroughly tossed about in the river – but he still managed to survive.
When Ghinsberg finally made it onto the rain-soaked ground, he discovered that of all his baggage he was left with only a knife, a lighter and a can of mosquito spray. Now he was one on one with the wild and dangerous wilderness, unarmed and defenseless.
For four days, nearly drowning in a swamp, Yossi searched for Kevin. Then, convinced of the futility of the undertaking, he set off down the river. He hoped to come out at some indigenous settlement.
Survival in the jungle
Mortal danger threatened from every corner of the rainforest. Venomous snakes hanging from a tree or lurking in the thick grass, spiders whose bite could leave a person in agonizing pain. Yossi suffered especially at night: he was beset by hordes of termites – bloodthirsty red ants. At first he saved himself from them with the spray. But his bitten body was already covered in sores, and his strength faded with each passing day.
Yossi did not suffer from thirst: there was plenty of water. But the meager food (he had to eat whatever he could find) sapped his ability to overcome even small obstacles. And soon he encountered a jaguar that had long been tracking him. Deciding that the exhausted, weakened Ghinsberg was easy prey, the huge wild cat lunged at him. Only the lighter and the can of spray saved Yossi from certain death. But the beast managed to inflict wounds on him that it was impossible to disinfect or bandage.
Yossi began to hallucinate, and he later claimed that some woman was always there beside him.
Rescue
Rescue came to Ghinsberg on the 19th day of his struggle with the hostile nature of the Amazon. His friend – Kevin Gale – did manage to make it back to people and organized a group of volunteers. They found Yossi Ghinsberg lying unconscious amid an enormous colony of termites, already ready to tear the adventure seeker apart.
But the other two participants in the journey were never found – they perished in the Amazon jungle.
The risky journey, fraught with mortal danger, would greatly change Yossi. After a short recovery, he would return to the Bolivian jungle – and would do everything in his power to help the indigenous people. The construction of medical centers, the organization of ecotourism and other good deeds would bring him wide renown.
And Ghinsberg would earn his millions with the books «Back from Tuichi» and «Laws of the Jungle: Jaguars Don't Need Self-Help Books.» The creators of the film «Jungle» would not pass him over with handsome fees either. The picture shows the story of Yossi Ghinsberg's adventures in dramatized form. The lead role in the film was played by the star actor Daniel Radcliffe.
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