Previous journeys had taught me the danger of taking too much stuff.

Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.

If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.

The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.

There comes a stage at which a man would rather die cleanly by a bullet than by the unknown terror of the phantom in the forest.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.

The inertia of a jungle village is a dangerous thing. Before you know it your whole life has slipped by and you are still waiting there.

The rain of Madre de Dios is similar to that of the Amazon, but there is a petrifying aspect to it, as if it seeks to wound rather than to nurture.

On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.

On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.

Language has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.

Poetry is statement of a series of equations, with numbers and symbols changing like the changes of mirrors, pools, skies, the only never-changing sign being the sign of infinity.

Intercessory prayer might be defined as loving our neighbour on our knees.

History needs distance, perspective. Facts and events which are too well attested cease, in some sort, to be malleable.

The gift turned inward, unable to be given, becomes a heavy burden, even sometimes a kind of poison. It is as though the flow of life were backed up.

I do get a lot of requests for specific things.

A deep man believes that the evil eye can whither, the heart's blessing can heal, and that love can overcome all odds.

Every day, in every moment, you make the choice whether to love and harness the positive force - or not.

Once more you open the door and you're here in my heart, and my heart will go on and on.

Well, it's a Bloody Mary morning, my baby left without warning.