Lost in the Amazon
“I was obsessed with the idea of exploration,” Yossi Ghinsberg told CNN Traveller magazine on the recent release of his book Lost in the Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Adventure and Survival.
It describes how in 1981, Israeli-born Ghinsberg and three companions set off into the depths of the Bolivian Amazon. When they realized they were ill-equipped for the journey, and lost, the four broke off into pairs; two were never seen again.
Ghinsberg and his friend Kevin were to float a raft downriver, but it caught on a rock and they were split up. For 19 days, Ghinsberg wandered helplessly in a brutal environment.
Fortunately, some local men had found Kevin and helped him search the river for Ghinsberg. Miraculously, they discovered him, alive and with a new understanding of his weaknesses and strengths.