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‘Goodbye, Commandante. Goodbye, Rurren-abaque. I’ll never forget you.’

In La Paz we flagged a cab for the Rosario Hotel. We couldn’t wait to see Marcus. He would go out of his mind when he heard what had happened to us, and he must have a tale of his own to tell. And Karl? We were dying to confront him.

Kevin dashed into the hotel but came out just a few minutes later wearing a grave expression. Karl and Marcus hadn’t arrived at the hotel yet.

‘I can’t believe that all flights from Apolo have been grounded because of the rain,’ he said. ‘We flew in from Rurrenabaque, and it’s just as rainy there.’

What the hell had happened to them? They hadn’t taken a dangerous route, they had been well fitted out with a shotgun, ammunition, a knife, and a tent. What could possibly have happened?

I tottered into the Israeli embassy on my own two feet and received an emotional welcome: hugs, kisses, tears of joy. Everyone was at a loss for words.

‘First of all, call home,’ the consul instructed me.

The secretary got a line for me, and soon I heard my father’s voice.

‘Dad, it’s me, Yossi. I’m all right. I’m safe now.’

My father’s feelings came over the phone with his voice. ‘Don’t you ever do anything like that again,’ he said sternly, and then my mother was