‘At one point, I shook a tree full of fire ants on my head just to have some pain to distract me from my aching feet so that I could continue to walk,’ says Amazon forest survivor Yossi Ghinsberg who is now a green activist. Ankita Jain reports on a lesson learnt experience
It was a rollercoaster ride which lasted for 15 or 20 minutes. All I could do was to keep my head above water. When I finally arrived on the shore, I had a moment of complete exhilaration that I had survived. A few seconds later came the first feeling of disaster and despair. Even then, I thought it would only be a few hours until I get connected with the group again. The toughest moment was after a few days, when I realised that I was completely alone,” shared Yossi Ghinsberg about an incident where he fell down the waterfall. Yossi is an Israeli backpacker, who was lost in the Amazon jungle for around three weeks in the year 1981. He survived near drowning, venomous snakes, starvation and extreme pain. Now, he has gone back to the rainforest, not only to conquer his demons but to restore and revive its pristine worth. He runs eco-tours in the Amazon and has emerged its biggest brand ambassador.
Yossi, who was 22-year-old fresh from his military service in the Israeli navy, explained with a glass of lemonade, why he chose this trip: “I wanted to be like the heroes of the books I read. That’s why I wanted to go to the jungle. I wasn’t interested in danger from the adrenaline aspect; I was more interested in the romance.”
“It happened almost like a novel. The start of the story was when I met fellow traveller Marcus on a trip over a lake. Then there was Karl, an Austrian who was larger than life. I believe he picked me because of my naiveté. He was experienced in jungle travel and told me about this great adventure we could have through the rainforest to discover a hidden tribe,” he added.
Eventually, there were four of them. Karl, Marcus, Yossi and an American called Kevin. They formed a group. They were four different nationalities, four distinct cultures and four different personalities. Surely, they were set for a clash. Yossi recalled, “The environment was harsh. There were tensions, the food was basic — we shot and ate monkeys, raw eggs, among other things. At first, I was cursing myself for my stupidity and wanted to go back, but then I adjusted.” However, the disagreements led to the group breaking up. “We built a raft to travel down the river. It was dangerous. Disaster struck when we lost control of the raft as it neared a huge waterfall. Kevin somehow scrambled to shore but I was thrown over the waterfall.”
Being left alone wasn’t the only challenge, he also survived a late-night encounter with a jaguar by improvising a flame thrower — he set light to an insect-repellent spray. He lived on raw eggs and once attacked a snake for snatching a fruit from a tree. “I discovered my own power and then I didn’t want to give it up. The desire to survive was all I needed and the rest is miraculous. At one point, I didn’t even want to be rescued any more. It was intoxicating.”
But his optimism did not last. “During the last week of my trip, there was a terrible flood. I was almost drowned, and then on two occasions nearly sunk in a bog. It was the toughest week because I was physically drained. I didn’t eat anything for five days continuously. I was just skin and bone left. There was no food left to scavenge and I couldn’t walk because my feet weren’t in the condition. At one point, I shook a tree full of fire ants on my head just to have some pain to distract me from my aching feet so that I could continue to walk.”
To come out of these, two miraculous events happened out of the blue. “For two days I had the company of a girl. She appeared next to me. It was no less of a miracle. I wondered if it was my imagination which had summoned her up, because it happened at the very moment I had broken down and given up. And the most interesting part was I was taking care of her in a state where I wasn’t able to handle my own self,” gushed Yossi who has no idea from where the girl came from and where she went. But he is sure, she wasn’t his imagination.
The second miracle was his rescue. “It is very difficult to see it as a coincidence. Kevin had found his way back to safety and he came with some locals on a boat to find me. They had given up hope but could not find anywhere to turn the boat around. They were forced upstream to land the boat. In the whole of Amazon, the place they landed happened to the place where I had collapsed unconscious,” he added. The other two — Marcus and Karl — were never found. Today Yossi’s adventure has inspired many through his book Jungle and also a film based on his book is due next year starring Daniel Radcliffe which will be premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Eventually, his experience in the rainforest changed his life. “Earlier, I had an ego that I was the only one chosen for this. But slowly, it vanished; I had gone through so much in those three weeks that I became a very simple person. I have understood, fear is something that one has to overcome and confidence is another which should always be lit up within,” said Yossi finishing his glass of lemonade.
Now a visionary behind Chalalan, the most celebrated resort in the Bolivian Amazon, said, “I was there before landing in India. The place gives me immense happiness. And I came up with this idea, first to provide the locals with bread and butter and secondly to promote tourism. I wanted to do something for the people who saved my life.”