The rain of Madre de Dios is similar to that of the Amazon, but there is a petrifying aspect to it, as if it seeks to wound rather than to nurture.

Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.

If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

There comes a stage at which a man would rather die cleanly by a bullet than by the unknown terror of the phantom in the forest.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.

The inertia of a jungle village is a dangerous thing. Before you know it your whole life has slipped by and you are still waiting there.

On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.

On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.

Searching for a lost city is a particularly European obsession.

The deaf cannot hear wind, but can feel its touch.The blind cannot see the sun, but can feel its warmth.

I may not be perfect, but I am worthy.

My heart will still ache sometimes. Maybe more often than not. I think it's possible to be healed without feeling whole.

There is a field of unconditional love that surrounds all of us.

He's the kind of guy who will stab you in the back right to your face.

Home is where you hange your memories. . . Home is where you begin again to dream again.

Music really does just boil down to basically, essentially songwriting chords and melodies.

I am never better than when I am on the full stretch for God.

A life of value is not a series of great things well done; it is a series of small things consciously done.

The world is too complex for subsumption under any general theory of change.