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  Contents

  WELCOME TO YOUR AMAZON ADVENTURE

  YOUR EXPEDITION TEAM

  THE ADVENTURE BEGINS…

  Copyright

  WELCOME TO YOUR

  AMAZON ADVENTURE

  YOU’RE LOST

  IN THE JUNGLE,

  AND IT’S GETTING DARK…

  YOUR FRIEND IS DROWNING

  IN ELECTRIC-EEL-INFESTED WATERS…

  YOU’RE FACE-TO-FACE WITH A JAGUAR THAT’S READY TO POUNCE…

  WILL YOU MAKE IT THROUGH

  THIS WILD ADVENTURE?

  ONLY IF YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES!

  YOU have been invited to join a one-of-a-kind expedition to the mighty Amazon, the largest river system in the world and home to countless species of plants, animals, and insects. Your mission is to travel by land and water along the entire length of the Amazon River—all the way from its source in the Andes Mountains to its mouth on the coast of Brazil.

  As you journey for six months through mountains, hills, and (most of all! ) rain forest, you’ll be faced with many challenges. The choices you make in each situation will determine what happens to you next. There are twenty-six possible endings to your mission, but only ONE PATH through the book will lead you to the ultimate success.

  It’s all up to you.

  How will you know what choices to make? You’re armed with your own good judgment and common sense, and you’ll have the help of an Expedition File filled with important survival tips. It starts on page 189.be sure to read it first!

  Get ready to step into an unforgettable adventure in the Amazon, together with a talented team assembled from around the globe. And remember to be careful, because it’s a jungle out there!

  YOUR EXPEDITION TEAM

  STUDENTS

  DAN FITZGERALD

  AGE: 14

  HOME COUNTRY: U.S.A.

  An adventurous and fun-loving son of a park ranger, Dan is from Montana and grew up in Yellowstone National Park. He seems to know everything about the great outdoors, and can pitch a tent or tie a knot faster and better than anyone you know. But Dan’s most familiar with the North American climate and his knowledge doesn’t always apply to the Amazon, even when he thinks it does.

  JING YODSUWAN

  AGE: 14

  HOME COUNTRY: THAILAND

  Although she grew up in the crowded city of Bangkok, Jing has spent much of her life trekking through Asia and Central America with her father, an avid hiker and climber. She inherited his passion for the outdoors, and she has a keen eye for details. She is also a skilled amateur photographer. Her quiet nature can be mistaken for shyness, but Jing is actually a very strong leader.

  GUIDE

  CARLOS MARRA

  AGE: 41 HOME COUNTRY: BRAZIL

  Your guide is an imposing and inspiring native of Brazil. Carlos led safaris through Tanzania and Kenya for years before returning to his first love, the Amazon, where he’s successfully led numerous expeditions. Everything about Carlos is big—his muscular frame, his booming laugh, and his heart. But he expects everyone to give a hundred percent of themselves to his expeditions, and he won’t allow anything less.

  TRANSLATOR

  FREDDY QUISPE

  AGE: 27

  HOME COUNTRY: PERU

  A member of the Ashaninka tribe, Freddy serves as a translator for Spanish and several indigenous dialects. Freddy has two passions in life: languages and soccer, or fútbol. He is a team player, and beyond his knack for languages, he understands people and how to keep the peace.

  TRANSLATOR

  ABADIA MORU

  AGE: 32

  HOME COUNTRY: BRAZIL

  A member of the Ticuna tribe, Abadia is extremely proud of the Amazon’s beauty and resources. Her photographic memory and her passion for all living things make her very helpful.

  FILMMAKER

  NATHAN GREGOR

  AGE: 35 HOME COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA

  A critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Nathan has put himself in extreme situations all over the world to capture amazing footage of wildlife and nature. His fearless spirit leads him to put himself at risk for the perfect shot. His energy is infectious, which means he can often convince others to follow him into danger.

  DOCTOR

  RANIA SULEIMAN

  AGE: 38 HOME COUNTRY: EGYPT

  After growing up along the Nile River in Egypt, Rania devoted her medical career to saving lives in disaster zones while working with an international relief organization. She’s interested in natural healing and is a vital member of the team. Visiting the Amazon is a lifelong dream of hers, but this expedition is the first of its kind for her.

  THE ADVENTURE BEGINS…

  APRIL 25, 1:00 P.M.

  MT. NEVADO MISMI, PERU

  You’ve just climbed to the top of a snow-capped peak in the Andes Mountains of Peru, and now, near the top, you’ve found the small spring where the longest river in the world begins. This is the source of the Amazon River! You feel a shiver of excitement as you run your fingers through the ice-cold water.

  “Quick, mate, say something brilliant!” says Nathan, his video camera rolling.

  “This is absolutely amazing,” you say to the camera. “I can’t believe it.” Even though what you said isn’t really brilliant, it’s true. It’s hard to believe that an unimpressive trickle of a stream on the side of the mountain, marked by a few crosses and plaques, is the beginning of the legendary river. And it’s even harder to believe that you’re about to attempt what no kid your age has ever done before: travel the entire length of the Amazon over six months—from the source all the way across the continent of South America to the mouth, where the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

  Three weeks ago, you started your trek into the Andes Mountains with a team of five others from around the globe. The journey has already been grueling. You’ve pushed your body through rocky and rough terrain, exerting yourself to the point of exhaustion. You’ve struggled under the load of a heavy backpack that contains everything you need to survive. And you’ve battled altitude sickness as your body adjusted to the height of the mountain you’re now on.

  You and Nathan gaze at the desert-like, mossy landscape around you.

  “Not quite the lush green jungle you’ve always imagined, hey?” Nathan asks.

  Nathan, a native Australian who grew up roughing it in the outback, is one of the best nature documentary filmmakers around. His extreme sense of adventure has gotten him into some serious scrapes in the past, but also earned him incredible and award-winning footage from some of the most challenging environments on earth.

  You’re excited about being part of Nathan’s new project. Hopefully, he’ll get you on camera doing something more exciting than the everyday things he’s been filming so far—like of you setting up camp, eating oatmeal, and even sleeping!

  You spot Jing climbing carefully over rocks to reach you. Jing is one of two other students selected for the expedition. She’s from Thailand and spent much of her childhood trekking through Asia. At first, you thought Jing was pretty shy, but after three weeks of nothing to do but hike and talk for twelve hours a day, you’ve learned that she’s really friendly and self-confident. Jing is an aspiring photographer, and it’s been cool to see the images she captures through her lens—they’ve shown you things you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

  Between Jing’s photos, Nathan’s video clips, and your writing, your team is creating a cool interactive website that students at schools around the world will use to track your progress through the Amazon. That’s the deal: in exchange for missing a semester of school while you’re on a six-month expedition, you have to post a daily journal entry about your experiences. Not bad!

  “Carlos wants us to camp here tonight,
” Jing says to you and Nathan, a little out of breath after catching up to you.

  “Okay, let’s get Dan. He wandered down that way a little to wash up,” Nathan says. Dan, the third student on your mission, is the son of a park ranger and grew up in Montana. He’s an experienced climber, a walking encyclopedia of nature-related knowledge, and incredibly handy. Though you were surprised to learn that he’s never traveled outside the United States before, so far that hasn’t slowed him down a bit.

  “Dan!” you call out as you see him sitting by a little stream.

  “Hey. This feels great. You guys should join me.” Dan’s boots are thrown off and his feet are splashing in the water.

  “Looks cool, but we have to start making camp now,” you say.

  “What’s for dinner?” Dan, who’s always hungry, asks.

  “It’s Rania’s turn to cook. I bet it’ll be beans and rice again,” Jing says.

  During the first week of your trek, you had a lot of different types of food to choose from, but over the past two weeks, as your supply of your favorites dwindled, the team’s been limited to what’s been left. That’s meant a whole lot of beans and rice now.

  “Rania’s pretty good at spicing things up,” Dan replies. “Let’s go. I’m starving!”

  Rania is in the process of making a fire as the four of you walk back to your campsite. She’s a doctor from Egypt, and, lucky for everyone on the trip, she knows her way around a kitchen as well as a hospital. Rania’s a gourmet cook and has even taken lessons from famous chefs. Though everyone takes turns preparing the same foods, with the same ingredients, somehow her meals always taste a little better. As you sit around the fire, eating your savory beans and rice and feeling your energy come back, you think about the whirlwind of events that brought you to this place.

  It was only six months ago that your science teacher told you about the expedition and encouraged you to check it out. You sent in an application, and six weeks later you were contacted by a program coordinator. You thought you did great in your interview, but you didn’t hear anything for a whole month after that. Then one afternoon, you received a call directly from Carlos, the expedition leader.

  “I’m impressed with your good judgment, your leadership skills, and your devotion to helping the environment,” Carlos said in his Portuguese-accented English. “We could use someone like you on this mission. Are you up for the challenge of the Amazon?” he asked.

  “You bet!” you replied, your heart pounding, trying not to shout as you realized that you were lucky enough to be selected from thousands of applicants to join this historic mission.

  Over six months, you’ll journey over 4,000 miles (6,437 km) through Peru, Colombia, and Brazil, by foot, raft, and boat. You’ll experience the largest ecosystem on the planet, home to one-fifth of the world’s water supply, the largest tropical rain forest in the world, and countless plant and animal species—many of which have yet to be discovered.

  After finishing dinner, the team drinks steaming cups of tea sweetened with honey. It feels great to hold the warm cup on the cool mountaintop. This after-dinner tea has become your favorite part of the trek, when everyone sits together and discusses the day’s events.

  “We’ve completed an important part of our mission today,” Carlos tells the group. “Next we’ll head down the mountain and then pass through some mossy, treeless terrain for a few weeks before we finally head into the rain forest.”

  Carlos, a native Brazilian, has led tons of successful expeditions through Central and South America. He also lived in East Africa for several years, where he was a safari leader. His booming voice intimidates most people the first time they meet him, and that included you. But he quickly puts everyone at ease with his big smile and easy laugh. The only time you have good reason to be scared of Carlos is if you’re doing something that puts you or someone else in danger.

  “Three cheers for the rain forest!” Nathan shouts. Everyone joins in.

  “I’ve really been impressed with the way everyone’s been working together and supporting each other so far,” Carlos adds after the cheers die down. “Now let’s get some good rest because tomorrow’s going to be another long day.”

  You’ve become an expert at setting up your tent, so you’re in your sleeping bag and fast asleep in no time.

  It’s been a month of long days. The first three weeks through the mossy, treeless terrain felt endless. It was hard to keep the entries in your journal interesting, as the days all seemed to blend together into a cycle of hike, camp, repeat. The pattern was interrupted by only a few short stops in small towns, where you got to recharge batteries for the team’s laptop, cameras, and other equipment, and replenish your food supplies.

  When you felt like you couldn’t take another day of walking, the team got to enjoy a week’s break, traveling by boat on the lower stretches of the Apurimac River and into the serene River Ene, where the water is calmer and the rapids not as violent as they are upriver. Everyone felt rejuvenated as you feasted on fresh fish, caught on a line off the boat, and enjoyed the water’s breeze. Your tired legs had a chance to recover too.

  Today, your first day back on foot, you walk a short distance, and then—wow! You’re startled by the sight of a massive green canopy that extends as far as your eye can see. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, with shades of emerald blending together, reflecting the rays of the sun. This is it: you are finally about to enter into the Amazonian rain forest. Then, almost on cue, you hear a loud wail, and a shiver goes up your spine.

  “What is THAT?” you ask.

  “Howler monkeys. Don’t be afraid. They won’t hurt anyone,” says Freddy. He joined your team in the last small town you passed through.

  When you first met Freddy, a native of the Ashaninka tribe, you weren’t sure how to react to him. He was dressed in a cushma, a traditional outfit that looked like a giant burlap sack, and he was decorated with feathers and beads. And he had paint on his face, bands around his arms, and a silver pin in his lower lip.

  “Do you want to get the camera rolling?” you had whispered nervously to Nathan as Freddy approached your team with a stern expression that made you think you were all in trouble for passing through his village. But the next thing you knew, he was hugging Carlos, and when you were introduced to him, he outstretched his arm and shook your hand warmly.

  Freddy speaks several indigenous languages as well as Spanish, and English, of course, and is serving as your team’s translator. Plus, he knows this part of the jungle better than anyone, so it’s really helpful to have him along.

  You’re glad to hear that howler monkeys are harmless, because they sound like they could rip your head off. It’s a little scary, and you wish they would just be quiet. But, you quickly learn, the rain forest is a noisy place, given the calls and chirps of monkeys, birds, and other animals, the swishing of gigantic leaves, and the humming, buzzing, and clicking of various insects.

  Just as your ears have to adjust to the sounds, your body has to adjust to the temperature and humidity of the rain forest. You’re sweating a lot, even though you don’t realize it, and your shirt constantly feels soggy.

  After a day’s hike, the team sets up camp in an area that’s away from the dangers of flash floods. You’ve heard horror stories of entire camps being washed away by rising waters at night, and are glad that you have both experts and technology to help guide you. Carlos and Freddy use a global positioning system (GPS) and on-screen maps to determine the safest places to camp. Instead of the tents you used on the high-altitude plains in Peru, you string up hammocks between trees to keep you off the living jungle floor, and that’s where you write your blog, under the canopy of your mosquito net.

  Apart from a breathtaking variety of critters and plants in the jungle, the heat and humidity, and the hammocks, the other major difference compared to the dry forest is how difficult it can be to pass through all the vegetation. At first, you just tried pushing through with your arms, but you realize
d quickly that you’d end up with too many cuts and scratches that way. Each of you was given a machete, and as you hike, you often have to cut through enormous leaves and vines to clear a path for yourself.

  You’re walking through a particularly dense area, slicing through leaves. It’s really slow going, and your arms are starting to tire, but it’s the only way to make progress.

  You see Jing up ahead, and you try to follow her so you can squeeze through some of the same areas she clears. But they close up so quickly, you often have to cut a new path.

  You swing your machete—left, right, left, right—and are walking along when suddenly… whoosh!

  Your blade has cut through a giant bees’ nest that was hidden on the underside of an even larger leaf. You see a swarm of angry bees start to emerge, and you do what anyone would do in that instant… RUN!

  You throw the machete on the ground and backtrack the way you came, pushing through the foliage with your body and shouting, “Bees! Bees!”

  The swarm is following you, and you’re getting stung. Ouch! Do you throw off your backpack so you can run faster and swat at the bees with your arms, or do you keep your backpack on and lie down on the forest floor with your hands over your mouth?

  RUN AND SWAT THE BEES

  or

  LIE ON THE FOREST FLOOR

  “Don’t touch it!” you shout, as you swat Jing’s arm away. The blue frog hops off her backpack and disappears under a bush. “They’re really poisonous!”