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At least we wouldn't have to walk. I don't know if I can take a long walk.'

‘Don't worry about it. Karl says it will only take two days. Then we can get mules to go on.’

‘Maybe so, but Karl also claimed that the Indian village would only be a five-day walk, and he was wrong.’

Later, Karl and I remained alone by the fire.

‘So, what did I tell you?’ he asked contentedly.
‘Rest, good fishing, good hunting, good talk under a moonlit sky. As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat it.’ He paused. ‘Weird, isn't it, how the three of you ended up here with me? Three characters: Kevin — fuerte como tres hombres [with the strength of three men]; you — adventurero; and Marcus — turista, tipico professor.’

The next day Kevin systematically pumped Karl for every last detail about the mal paso and canyon. Karl was happy to answer his questions in order to prove how reasonable and logical his decision to turn back had been. He marked the approximate location of the canyon and the dangerous pass on the map.

Marcus harboured suspicions that Kevin wasn't asking all those questions out of idle curiosity. He asked me about it privately and said that if we were planning to go on by raft, he would seriously consider joining us.

‘If you two are going on together,’ he said, ‘it could be very risky. Three pairs of hands are better than two.’