Page 127 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

CHAPTER 15

THE POWER OF PRESENCE

In October 2005, I spent two weeks in the Amazon jungl e. My fathe r ha d to go

to Brazil to research gold mining oper ations for his book The Dream Merchant,
and there was no way I was going to let my pop disappear into the jungl e
without me. My buddy Dan took the trip with us because he’ d always dr eamed
of the Amazon. We spent much of the trip 250 kilometers sout h of Mana us , in

an area called Tupana, where the out er reaches of the TransAmazoni an
Highway, the only connection to civilization, dw indl e from a pitted two-lane
road into a dirt path, with the forest cano py closing in from all side s unt il the
trees are overhead and engulf what remains of the clearing. Every ten or twent y

miles, tiny villages exist virtually unt ouch ed by the moder n world. In thi s
remote part of Brazil, there is a deep respect for the thi n line bet ween life and
death. There are no layers of protection such as the ones most of us are us ed to.
No grocery stores, no hospitals, no ambul ances or policemen to buf fer a ba d

moment. There is the sense among Amazoni ans that the jungl e sits po ised to
devour the unwary. No one walks into the forest alone. Most pe opl e carry
weapons. T he danger is too great.
While we lived in the rainforest, a man nam ed Manuel acted as our gui de .

Manuel is a native Amazonian, born in Tupan a, about fifty years old,
powerfully built with shining brown eyes and the jungl e in his blood. He led
us through the dense foliage, qui etly point ing out medicinal trees, ani mal
tracks, insects, monkey vines, the signs of the forest. From time to time he

would stop, raise a hand. Minutes pas sed. We stood silent and listene d, the air
alive with the sound of animals feedi ng or moving near by. Manue l carried a
shotgun. His friend Marcelo trailed us with ano ther. Cats were always on the
mind.