We manoeuvred rapids upriver with an old motor and a wooden stick, slowing down to a crawl at narrow bends, tilting almost sixty degrees when sharp rocks appeared on the riverbed. The dense forest on either side added a sense of foreboding to the ride, creating the impression that we could well be heading towards the end of the world. Adrenaline began to rush through my veins as I swayed from side to side with the tilting boat. The icy spray of the river on my face washed off the nervousness of being somewhere so remote, by myself, in a country I had set foot in only two days ago.
