National Park After Dark - Lost and (Almost Never) Found: Madidi National Park

Episode Date: December 13, 2021

As a young man in the early 1980’s, Yossi Ghinsberg, was drawn to South America with dreams and desires of experiencing lands untouched by the hand of the developed world. His adventure filled trip took a turn as he struggled alone, clinging to life in the depths of the Amazon. His amazing story of survival is brimming with inspiration, heartbreak, loss and mystery. Come along with us to Bolivia’s Madidi National Park, learn how Yossi survived the jungle and was forever changed by his near-death experience. For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Thank you so much to our partners, check them out! BetterHelp: 10% off your first monthSimplisafe: 40% off your entire home security system StoryWorth: Receive $10 off your first purchase For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Close your eyes. Listen to Monday.com. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform. So flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Now open your eyes, go to Monday.com. Start for free and finally, breathe. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night And you've had enough of shopping from your couch Done hoping it looks anything like the picture When you tear open that envelope It's time for a little in-person spring treat It's time for a trip to Ross

Work your magic Adventure We have all heard its calling To some, it's just a whisper But to others, it's a siren song Capturing your attention and igniting your deepest desire adventures. Adventure is not a one-size-fits-all, though. Some of us are quite content with an

exploration of a nearby location, while others are drawn to far-off lands, pulled by their collars by the promise of immersion into unfamiliar cultures in distant places. It could also be said that all adventure runs some risk, and to what degree depends largely on the destination and the journey taken to get there. But adventure can turn dark. It can take a sharp and sudden turn, shedding its outer layer of fun and excitement to reveal a raw and serious survival situation.

So, with that in mind, when you hear that whisper or that sweet, sweet song calling your name, would you say yes? Even if it meant risking your life? Welcome to National Park After Dark. Welcome back, everyone, to National Park After Dark. We're going to keep this very short and sweet as far as the intro because this is a very long story.

I almost thought of making this a two-parter, but the only time we ever did that was with Cassie's Night of the Grizzlies episode and people were rioting in the streets. So people are like, how could you do this in the movie? middle of the most important part of the episode. Exactly. So I felt a little nervous to do that because I didn't want people to burn my house down. Slightly exaggerating. We are recording this before we leave for Joshua Tree like right before, but it's going to be released after the live moment. So we want to say now we really think we had a great time and we want to thank everyone who can came for coming. And we also think that we had a really good time in Joshua Tree National Park.

Yes. And we want to recommend it for all of you to go there because we had such a good time. Thanks for coming to the live show. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And on to the show. Here we go. Okay, so Thursday night, I was ready to sit down, get my thoughts in order to start creating the episode.

And I was just like, you know what? I need to procrastinate a little bit. I'm going to watch a movie. So I put on a movie and it was the story of what I'm about to tell you. Okay, so there's a movie. There is a movie and there is a book and we'll get into it. So the movie had no indication that it was in a national park. But after I watched it and I thought about the setting and where it took place, I googled it.

I'm like, this has to be near or in a protected area or a national park. National Park, and lo and behold, it is. I made this work. You got sucked in. I got sucked in. And then I'm like, okay, there's a book. I can't read the book. I already watched the movie. I did my research, downloaded the book and read the whole book in one night. Oh, oh my God. You've been I've been really busy. Yeah. I would say you, this story, whatever it is, really sucked you in. It did. Okay. So we are headed to South America and we are headed to Bolivia, to Mediti. National Park. Mediti is located in the Upper Amazon River Basin of Bolivia, and it serves as one of the largest protected areas in the entire country. It is also one of the most diverse ecological hotspots

on the planet. Established in 1995, this park protects 19,000 square kilometers, which is just over 7,300 square miles. It ranges from the snow-capped Andes deep into the tropical jungles. It's varied in rugged terrain is full of rolling grasslands, winding rivers, steep peaks, and dense vegetation, which holds thousands of species of insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Visitation to the park is accessible year-round, but most travelers choose to visit the tropical lowland of the park where it's hot and humid most of the year. And it hovers between 25 and 33 degrees Celsius, which is about 77 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit. That's like perfect.

77 though that's like that's nice that's a sweet spot right there so mediti holds a lot of dense rainforest and the area receives a lot of rain the average is about two and a half to four point three feet yearly so it's recommended yeah so it's recommended that visitors come in the dry season which is over the summer months because between December and march the rainy season starts and is in full swing people travel from all over the world for the chance to experience the pure wild of the Amazonian rainforest in Mediti. Activities in the park range from rafting the Tuichi River, wildlife watching, and even swimming in the rivers, which I would never do. Live a little. I may, there may be a chance because they actually have very rare pink river dolphins.

Oh. Do you remember, okay, this is going to probably age me, and I don't know why I may be asking. you because you never have seen anything. You do this every episode. I know. But do you remember the wild thornberries that show? Yes, of course. There was an episode, and I'm pretty sure that it happened.

It was taking place in the Amazon, and it was about a river dolphin that, like, turned into a person or like something. It was like a legend of this river dolphin that could turn into a person, and Eliza would, like, see it come on shore and then go back in. Do you remember that? No, I don't remember any of the episodes. I just remember Nigel Thornberry and... Okay, all right, that's fair. But either way, there are pink river dolphins. If you want to stop to Google them, please do. Local guides bring visitors through the jungle, pointing out rare plants and elusive animals found nowhere else in the world. They also bring curious travelers to local communities where they can spend time with them and learn from them, how they gather plants for medicinal purposes, as well as how they gather food

and perform local rituals. Mediti is home to 46 indigenous communities from six various tribes who have lived in sync with the environment for centuries. However, as time has passed, while the majority of the communities still practice ancient traditions and ways of life, many groups are making the transition to making their living through small commercial ventures linked to the growing ecotourism business. The Amazonian jungle of South America calls to many. Its thick wilderness brimming with adventure and the unknown. And those were the exact things that Yossi Ginsburg was looking for.

The young Israeli adventurer was anxious to break free from the traditional mold expected of his generation. School, work, get married, buy a house, have children, and in that order. That series of events left little room for exploration, and he just couldn't live with himself without trying his hand at it. So in 1981, Yossi said goodbye to his life in Israel and hello to an adventure that would change his life forever. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more.

Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Yosef Ginsburg, known as Yossi, was born in April of 1859 in Israel. His parents, two Holocaust survivors, were apprehensive about his desire for travel. But up until this point, Yosey had been. done everything according to plan. He went to school, then straight into the Israeli Navy as part of the country's mandatory military service program. He served three years stationed in the Red Sea before

he dipped his toe into the world of travel. He explored parts of Mexico and Africa, but soon ran low on money. So he picked up odd jobs. He worked loading trucks in New York. He fished in Alaska and did construction work in Norway, and finally set aside a little bit of cash for his next grand adventure. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough. By 1981, he was ready for his next destination. Yossi sought locations largely untouched, wild and home to groups of people who live traditionally, uninfluenced by current technologies and ways of life, and thus to South America, he went. he made it to Venezuela and hitchhiked his way to Colombia and then further south to Peru. Peru is so high on my list.

Cassie's like, can we go here for any holiday, like Flag Day, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine's Day, any excuse? I'm like, I don't care what the reason is. Like, please, please, please, can we go? So Yossi's plan was to make his way to Cusco, where most mochioleros, which are backpackers begin their journeys to the ancient Incan capital of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was on Yossi's list, but first he wanted to visit the island of Tequil, a small dot in the middle of the highest navigable lake in the world, which is Lake Titicaca. Yossi caught the ferry and there was a handful of other young foreign travelers on it and he was ready for a beautiful journey. He sat back on

the boat's wooden bench and cracked open a book. As the boat was pushing off the dock, a shout from the shore echoed across the lake. Aspera, Espera, wait. It was a young backpacker, scurrying to the dock. Breathless, almost missing his ride, he sat down next to Yosi. After thanking the captain for waiting, he turned to Yossi and smiled. And that smile began a fast friendship between the two young travelers. His name was Marcus Stom, a teacher from Switzerland. Marcus made quick friends with Yossi, but it was clear that he had a huge heart for everybody.

On that boat ride alone, he spoke Spanish with the locals, conversed with another group in German, before turning to yet another group, and exchanged laughs and like conversation in French. Before the ride concluded, he even broke out his first aid kit to help bandage the boat's navigator's finger that he had injured during the journey.

So he's super charismatic, gregarious, and just very warm to everyone. Before the boat ride concluded, Yossi and Marcus decided to stay together on the island. They explored the island, had dinner, and chatted in their room, where Yosi learned Marcus was traveling with a broken heart. His longtime girlfriend had urged him to broaden his horizons with travel, so at her urging, he traveled to South America. but while he was there, he had learned that she had found somebody else. He was crushed and sought out a local brouho for guidance when he was in Peru.

So he had a strong Christian faith, but he did also put a great deal of faith in magic. The man Marcus spoke with left him with an ominous warning regarding his time in South America. He said, you or someone close to you will die here. Be careful. But despite that warning, he wanted to be. continue on because he felt like he had nothing else to go back home to with the loss of his girlfriend. Oh, that would scare me. So if I was actually on a trip and someone was like, hey, you or someone is going to die.

Like, okay, this is really creepy. I don't like this. Especially if you put a great weight of faith into it. And it's one thing if you don't believe in something, but based on the description of him, which it goes into further into the book. It seems like he put a great deal of belief in that sort of thing. So I get that he probably took it to heart, but at the same time, like, so him and his girlfriend had been dating for like nine or ten years, and she dumped him.

So he's like, what I, you know, with a broken heart, you don't really want to go back to right where that person is in your old life. And he's already in South America, so he wanted to continue on. Yossi and Marcus spent the night and the following day together before traveling back to the shores of the lake to the town of Puno, Peru. Again, the pair decided to stay together, and it was then that Yossi's plan to see Machu Piccio was turn on its head. Marcus convinced Yossi to change his plans, and to instead consider traveling to La Paz, which is the capital of Bolivia. Yossi resisted. He had already had a set plan, and plus he was running low on Mawes. money. But Marcus reached into his pocket and held out some cash. Please, he inquired with a smile.

After some debate, Yossi finally gave in and off to La Paz they went. A bus ride later, the pair found themselves in the midst of a bustling city. The streets were lined with street vendors selling everything from food to herbs to good luck charms. Music blared from the street corners and the locals rubbed shoulders with drifters on every street. The place, was bursting at the seams with activity, and Yossi was enthralled. The two young men quickly settled in, spending some time in cheap hotels, hostels, and even a senior center turned community center. The pair became close with two girls who they spent a lot of their time with while in La Paz. They went out onto the town, explored, and immersed themselves in the culture. Yossi and one of

the girls named Dedi actually decided to try San Pedro, which is a hallucinogenic cactus when ingested, and they spent the night tripping out in a nearby place called Valley of the Moon. So they were having a time, for sure. I'm going to say I hope they took the little prickly parts off first. I don't know if that type of cactus had, or does every cactus have prickly parts? I think every cactus has prickly parts as that is the biological name for all of the prickly's cactus. Well, I do know that without going into like detail about their trip, because it really is not that significant,

but they didn't just bite into it. They ground it up and seeped it and like made it into some sort of tea that they drank. So anyway, he had a trip, time of his life, whatever. The next day, he was coming down from his wild ride, and he was settled onto the thought of saying goodbye to his weeks in La Paz and getting back on track to go to see Machu Picchu, when his plans changed one more time. This time, it was in the form of another man named Carl Ruperture.

Carl had caught Yossi's attention that day by stopping him on the street and asking if he was an American. Of course, he wasn't, he was Israeli, but they both spoke English together and Carl caught Yossi's attention. Carl explained that he was from Austria, but had been in Bolivia for the last 10 years working as a geologist and an explorer looking for gold and antiquities. He pulled out photographs of his various explorations and expeditions into the jungle, and there he was. He was dressed in khakis, wide-brimmed hat, tall boots. He had a shotgun slung over it. his shoulder. In one picture, he was skinning a wild boar. And in other pictures, he was standing with

different members of local indigenous tribes, like total cliche jungle explorer. And this really caught Yossi's attention, a man that was living a permanent life of adventure, which is what he was there in South America looking for. And this man was now offering Yossi a slice of that. Carl told Yossi that he was planning another expedition into the jungle to look for precious medals and isolated tribes and offered to act as a guide for him and his friends if they'd like to come along. Suddenly, Machu Picchu lost a bit of its shine and Yossi was hooked. He was like, whatever, Machu Picchu, like, this is, that's such a touristy place that everyone goes to see when they're here. Like, this is something unique and different. Yeah, I mean, this sounds like

an adventure of a lifetime. Like, when do you get offered something like that? Someone to be your personal guide into the jungle to see things that most people never see. Exactly. That was his exact thought process. So he was like, okay, well, I'm here with a friend. You know, Marcus is now his friend. So they arranged to meet the next day so that he could go home where he and Marcus were staying to talk it over.

So Yossi was grinning from ear to ear explaining this new opportunity to Marcus. but he was met with some hesitation because Marcus had grown close to one of the girls that they were spending a lot of time with and he had an opportunity to go to the countryside with her. So he was torn. You know, he's now just starting to find kind of like a new romance and getting over his broken heart. But yet this opportunity that Yossi is presenting is obviously very intriguing as well. So kind of had a little bit of backing back and forth, but Yosey at least. least convinced him to go meet with Carl the next day. So the next day, they take off to meet Carl,

who would pitch his idea to Marcus, and on their way, they met up with one of Marcus's best friends, who was a young American traveler named Kevin Gale. Yossi hadn't met him in person before, but had heard a lot about him, and not only just from Marcus, but from other travels in their community as well. Kevin was a naturalist and a photographer who had spent years in Latin America. The three men went to meet up with Carl who painted a magical picture. Carl promised bringing the men to little-seen areas of the jungle, exploring and traveling places seldom seen by any other humans, all with the added bonus of catching a glimpse of isolated wild tribes and finding their share of gold just lying in wait in the Tuiichi River. Yosi was in, and so was Kevin, because Kevin was

very interested in being able to photograph these tribes that are isolated from modern day civilization. Yossi wanted adventure, so they're both in. And Kevin actually canceled his flight home. He lived in Oregon, and he hadn't been home for years, and he was planning on going to visit his family for Thanksgiving, which was coming up soon. But he decided to move that trip and push that trip to Christmas in order to go on this expedition. And finally, Mark, Marcus gave in, even though he was a little torn. He wanted to go with his friends on, like you said, the adventure of a lifetime. They arranged a meeting with Carl now the next day. They agreed on it. Great. They need to finish some things up. So they decided to meet with him the next day after

finalizing their affairs in La Paz. With the rising sun, the group made their way into various shops following along a detailed list of items outlined by Carl, including snake bite serum, insect nets, a machete, different various food items like sugar and beans. Carl chatted with them the whole time. He was detailing his time spent in the jungle. He said he had hunted jaguars and talking about all the different people that he met. And he explained how he knew the jungle like the back of his hand. And he actually only followed a map hand sketched by him from memory.

Okay, I'm starting to get some weird vibes from Carl. Like, is he real? Like, is any of this, I don't know, just all these things that you're saying. And then you just said the hand sketched map, nobody can, what? Like, this just seems really far-fetched me. And maybe I'm wrong because I don't know anything about this story. But that feels, that would weird me out if I was about to go on this crazy expedition. And someone was like, here, I drew this stick figure map for you.

We're going to follow this dot. Yes. So your feelings are very in line with Kevin's. So Kevin had spent a lot of time down here. And he was kind of the one that was not hesitant because, of course, he was willing to go and was excited to go. But he was more of like the practical, okay, wait a second. Like, are we going to have a better map? Do we have a better map?

How do I know that you know what you're talking about, et cetera? So Kevin is the one who brought up a concern about that as well. And they did get a map, but it was very, very basic and pretty similar to the hand-trawn map. There's just, well, one, I'm just in the foreshadowing everything mindset right now. But he feels very braggy about his experience. And then the hand-tron map thing is just, oh, God, I can't imagine going on an expedition, someone drawing the map from their memory. Yeah, it's odd.

Yeah. So just take that little thing and put it in your back pocket and remember it for later. While they're doing errands, he went into the local post office and came back out with kind of like an upset look on his face and told Yosie that he could no longer go on the expedition because he had received news from his family. It was urgent. He needed to go home. And Yossi was absolutely crushed. all of this anticipation for pretty much nothing. And Yossi asked if he could shorten his trip

because initially the expedition that Carl said he was going to be going on would be three months and that he could take the guys out as long as they wanted to go and then he could send one of his like assistants or somebody from a local tribe back out with them if they wanted to leave before the three month mark. So Yosey was asked,

asking, is there any way we can still go on the trip, but just make it shorter, so you're not there for three months? But Carl declined that, stating that it took at least a week to get in and a week to get out. And plus, with all the cost of the trip with the airfare and equipment and the supplies, it just wasn't logistically worth it to him to make the trip shorter. So Yosey understood this and considered the thought of now just going in on his own with his friends. Like, we don't need Carl. were already stoked on the idea to go in. And Carl kind of maybe got that vibe from him that he was like,

okay, well, if you can't go, maybe we can still make it. So he suggested, well, actually, I'll go in as your guide, but you have to pay me. So now he's switching it up. At first he was just going to take them in under his wing, and now he's like, well, actually, I'll still go, but now you have to pay. He wanted the equivalent of $150 total,

to cover his travel and food expenses, and in exchange, he would guide them for their journey. And Yossi was skeptical about this, and his opinions of Carl started to change a bit. He talked it over with his friends, who were eager to still make this trip happen. The plan was set. They would fly to Apollo, the farthest point accessible by plane. From there, they'd entered the jungle and walked six days through the untamed wilderness to the village of Toro Monas, which had little contact with outsiders. After resting and recouping,

they'd spend a couple days making their way to the Tuichi River and to a gold mining camp called Currie Playa, which would at this time be vacant as it is only in use between June and October. There, they would spend time panning for gold, which Carl guaranteed that they would find, and after a week or so, they would build a raft and use it to run down the Tuichi River, about 100 miles to the town of Ruinabakh, at which point they would then fly home.

So that was the plan. Okay, Carl. He's so skeptical about Carl. I'm so suss about Carl right now. There's just so many things. So in preparation, the group secured a gun, which was actually very difficult to do in La Paz. And they said their goodbyes to their friends. And Yossi left a note pinned to his belongings that he would be leaving behind.

behind at the center that he was staying in. The note said, property of Yossi Ginsburg will return December 15th. Surely, if something were to happen to him, his bag would be noticed and the embassy would look for him. Smart. On November 3rd, the last night before their adventure, he wrote home to his brother detailing his entire adventure he had all the way up into that point and outlying the one to come. He explained that it may be dangerous and he may be dangerous and he may even be risking his life, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he had to take. He told his brother of his companions and their plan for their trek and the time it would take approximately, so about four to six weeks. And he also let his brother know that if something bad

were to happen to him, he would know if he didn't call home by the first week of January. So he's doing everything right at this point. I mean, as far as leaving notes, physically, in the place that he was saying, letting his family know what was going on, etc. The plane that they took touched down in Apollo and Carl waved away the police officers who suggested they registered at the police station. Wait, Carl waved them down like, no thank you? Yeah, like, no, no, no. And he explained in the book that when they asked why he said that, why he did that,

he explained, well, it's just red tape, you know, like we don't have to do that. And I know my way around here. I've done this before. After spending a night there, the four men stepped into the jungle. After a while of walking, they came upon a ranch. They ate with the owners and noticed a small, emaciated, and madded dog begging for food. Carl then told them a story of how a dog had saved him from a jaguar during a previous expedition into the jungle. It had barked a warning of the prowling animal and had run off after it.

The dog eventually got eaten by the jaguar, but it saved Carl. So in that spirit, Carl said, we need this dog. We're going to buy it from this rancher. So they did. They bought this dog off the rancher and brought it with them. At first, Carl was really kind to it, speaking softly to her and encouraging her to walk away from her home with them, which she was hesitant to do. But soon he turned very cruel. He was dragging her by her weak body with a rope around her neck, across every root and every rock until finally Kevin kindly took her and carried her around his neck kind of like you see people carrying like little baby lambs. And he was already wearing a really heavy

pack. It was 90 plus degrees and now he had this big dog on top of his neck. Why would you take an emaciated weak dog on a three month track? Because he said one had saved his life before and he thought that... Not this one. This one can't even move. Like, that's so mean. Yeah, she didn't want to go. But they named her flaca. And flaca, I believe, means skinny in Spanish. So four days goes by. They're hiking through the jungle and they encountered ranches and small huts along the way at this point. They were casually conversing and sharing meals with all of their inhabitants and they finally made it to the Tuichi River and were led by locals to the village of Ariamas. They spent some of their time there re-uping on their supplies and sharing meals with the locals. Kevin urged Carl to let Flaka stay there. She was clearly weak and didn't want to continue on with the group,

but he refused. After some time spent in Ariamas, the group left and pushed forward into the jungle, crossing rocky rivers and dredging through the muddy forest floors. They were hacking their way through dense vegetation when flaca just put the brakes on. She was exhausted. She had just nearly drowned in one of the river crossings they just took. And Carl kept dragging her on, but this was it. She did not want to go any longer. So he just dropped her rope and said, fine, have it your way and stay here. There was nothing the men could do, so they literally just left her there in the middle of the jungle. That's awful. I know. I know. I hate Carl. I've hated Carl since the beginning, but now it's just like affirmed.

I hate Carl. Carl sucks. They pressed on shooting wild birds and monkeys, some of which weren't entirely dead after the initial shot. But Carl said that bullets were precious in the jungle and never wanted to waste them. So if they shot it an animal and wounded it enough to get close to it, they would either bring their necks or end them with a rock. And Marcus couldn't watch this. He felt a deep empathy for the animals and just really didn't want any part in any of that. I was going to say, did they know that they were signing up for this aspect when they were going into the jungle?

I'm not sure, but based on what they took in for their expedition or their adventure, so they had some food supplies, but they were very, very basic. So they had like spices, some coffee, some bags of beans and rice, because of course you're carrying everything on your back. And there were some little villages along the way up to a certain point that they could re-up on some supplies. But everything else, I mean, Carl said, you are, this is a full-blown adventure. Like, we're going to be living off the land and sustaining ourselves through what the jungle provides.

So gathering meat in that way. I think they knew it was part of it, but seeing it firsthand, like, is a little joy. A little different. Yeah. So while Marcus was feeling a little, a lot hesitant about this, Yossi and Kevin were eager. They were really, really hungry, very hungry. Rice and coffee was dwindling, and they did have bananas, but it wasn't enough to keep their calories up while they were expending so much every day. because they're walking 10 plus hours a day, hacking through dense jungle, it's hot, they're sweating, a banana and a handful of rice isn't going to do it.

So more days passed, and they ran into a bigger village. Its inhabitants wore shrunken heads on their belts, and they wore loincloths or grass skirts. They made camp there and listened to more of Carl's stories. This time of how he was once at this village and watched a cremation ritual within the village. Again, more and more stories. The next day, they moved on, and it was clear that the group was starting to divide into pairs. Marcus and Carl in one, and Yossi and Kevin in the other. Yosey, Kevin, and Marcus were once very close, but their time in the jungle was starting to change all of that.

Behind his back, Yossi and Kevin would call Marcus the Girl Scout. He was not taking well to jungle travel, was sensitive and increasingly sad, all while having difficulty adjusting. to the wilderness. The two acknowledged that he was a very good friend who was pure of heart, who just wanted to make sure everyone was okay, but traveling with him was starting to create a divide in their friendship. Marcus acknowledged that too, and one day he pulled Yossi aside, and he spoke to him saying, you know, he was concerned that this trip was changing the dynamic of their friendship, and

he was sad and worried that things were no longer the same between them as they were when they left. So they went on. Marcus was growing more and more distant as the group killed slow moving and defenseless sloths for food. They crushed the skulls of monkeys and cut down entire healthy trees for just a couple pieces of fruit. So he didn't agree with any of what they were doing and was having a really difficult time blending in with the group. Yeah, I can see how that would be really hard. He was at times refusing to eat. He was at times refusing to eat. so now he's getting weaker as well, you know, because he's not taking in as many calories as his companions are. And Yossi does address, you know, at times he was off put too. It's not like this was

easy to do, but at the time, desperation and hunger won over his initial reluctance. He was even quoted saying that if someone at one point, if someone handed him a piece of human flesh, he would eat it. because he was so, so hungry. So five days later, the group was again at odds. Marcus had lost a lot of weight, and Carl's shoes were starting to tear and gap with holes. Supplies were low, and Kevin was unsure about the accuracy of the map that they had. So Yossi wanted to go on, though, but was outnumbered.

The group voted to turn back to Ariamas. Tensions grew at this point, and Yoseixton's. and Marcus only communicated through Kevin. So they're not even directly speaking to each other at this point. It's like you can tell Yossi that I would like a banana. Exactly, exactly. The group was stumbling over snakes, were swarmed and bitten by mosquitoes, bees, and fire ants, and were all being sucked by leeches during the river crossings.

Marcus's feet were developing trench foot, a painful and serious. condition which results from feet being immersed in wet conditions for too long. Both of his feet were swollen, painful, and covered in gaping sores. They made it back to the village and were delighted to see Flaka, safe and happy. She had made it back to the village. The group spent days there recouping, regrouping, and reorganizing. Marcus toyed with the idea of going back to La Paz. While they were there, the men paid.

for new supplies and for a wooden raft to be made so that they could run the river as they continued their journey. It was here that Yosie and Marcus began to speak again. Marcus broke down in tears, saying how alone and isolated he felt. He had thought that they were all such good friends, but now it was clear that he was being ganged up on. Yose's anger towards him that had been building for weeks in the jungle melted away, and he began feeling sorry for how he had treated Marcus. The two attempted to mend their broken relationship and essentially just slapped a band-aid over it for the time being. Marcus's feet were finally on the mend and he insisted that he finished the trip he had started with the group. So he declined being taken back to La Paz with a guide.

He wanted to finish out the trip with a group. Their time in the village came to an end and the men hopped aboard the flat wooden raft. They had strapped down all their gear and supplies and pushed off the shore. Almost immediately, tensions were on the rise, as Carl and Kevin argued back and forth about how to properly use the poles and oars and how to navigate the river correctly. The Toichi River is not a calm one. It twists and turns, and is at times dotted with dangerous rapids. After an hour or so of navigating difficult waters, almost capsizing and losing a pole, they pulled over to the shore. Carl was furious. It was clear that the group already not getting along was not working well together on the water,

which in these conditions could easily turn deadly. Plus, Carl couldn't swim and wasn't about to have his life end because three 20-somethings couldn't get their shit together. They camped and the next day set out on the water again. It started as a calm day but ended with jagged rocks and white water. rapids and the loss of three more poles. They camped again on the shores of the river the next night, and Marcus made a peace offering. He handed Kevin a small piece of his wild boar, saying, Happy Thanksgiving. They all discussed their next moves for the following day. Carl explained that

they were coming near San Pedro, referred to locally as the Malpaso San Pedro. It was a treacherous canyon full of jagged rocks, serious rapids, and waterfalls, and nowhere to bring the raft ashore. He went on to say that no one has ever navigated it successfully and that they needed to approach it but bring the raft ashore before they got sucked into it. His plan was that they would approach it, bring the raft ashore, disassemble the raft, and break into two groups. The first group of two would bypass the canyon through the jungle and wait on the other side, while the other group sent down the pieces of the raft down the canyon. The first group would catch all of the raft pieces

and start assembling it together while the second group of two walked through the jungle to meet them. From there, they would assemble the raft and get on together, where the water was calmer. And from there, it would be smooth sailing to the gold mining camp. Kevin was skeptical. He didn't trust Carl at this point. He seemed to always be exaggerating or switching up his stories, and it was clear that he was extremely uncomfortable around the water.

Kevin thought that he was vastly over-exaggerating the danger of this canyon and believed that it was runnable. He had a lot of experience on the water, especially back in Oregon, and thought that Carl was just afraid more than anything. Over the next two days, Carl ultimately decided, enough was enough. Everyone was fighting too much. there was no cohesiveness within the group and he didn't want to venture any farther and was going to return back to La Paz. At first, everyone was with him. They were tired, always hungry, had been in the jungle for weeks, and were kind of just over it. Then Kevin changed his mind.

He had changed his entire trip and canceled plans to go home to see his family in order to be here on this very expedition to be able to photograph untouched villages. He talked to Yossi about that and sparked a renewed sense of adventure within Yossi and eventually persuaded him to go with him. But what about Marcus? What were they going to do about Marcus? I was just going to say, what about Marcus? So they tricked Marcus into going back with Carl. His feet were never fully dry and therefore never really healed all the way.

They were painful and infected and he wasn't able to continue on. So Yossi had lied to Marcus and said, you know what, I would rather leave Carl. Personally, I would go home with Carl, but Kevin is set on going and someone has to be there on the raft with him. And Marcus is like, okay, well, you know I can't go with Kevin because we don't get along. So I'll go back with Carl then. So he used a reverse psychology on Marcus, basically getting him to go with Carl so that him and Kevin can continue on by themselves. So Carl gave them instructions on what to do as they approached the canyon. There was a small beach before the canyon that would offer them their very last chance of pulling the raft over before they were sucked into the rapids.

From there, he detailed a trail that would lead them around the canyon and then how to get to the deserted mining camp. From there, they divided up supplies. Carl was insistent that they took the machete and the majority of the food. Carl and Marcus were to have a short two to three day walk back to the village, whereas Yossi and Marcus would be going deeper into the jungle. So he gave them the lion's share of the food as well as the machete. And they all shook hands despite the tensions that was hanging thick in the air. And Carl warned them to stick together always and to no matter what, never leave each other. Adding that if they had not shown up back and ruin Obeck, their final destination, by December 15th,

that he would notify authorities that they were missing. Marcus smiled at Yossi and said that they were still good friends and that he'd be waiting for them in La Paz. And they would pick up right where they had left off. And Yossi agreed. Their friendship would return to what it was before they left for their jungle adventure. Marcus assured Yossi that he would notify the embassy right away if they didn't make it back on time.

Kevin joked that they'd beat them to La Paz because he was super confident in his river running abilities. And Carl laughed that off and told them that he was full of shit before he turned away and walked into the jungle. Marcus lingered a little longer before following Carl, throwing back one more grin over his shoulder before he too was out of sight. So now it's just Yossi and Kevin. They strapped all their gear down to the raft and pushed off. The Tuichi proved to be more complicated than Kevin had anticipated. At times, it was placid, and others they were riding the rafts, whole.

holding onto its leather straps like a bucking bronco. Kevin was tossed, almost drowned, and injured, while Yossi held on for dear life. Hours passed, and they had debated pulling off to make camp, but ultimately decided, with a few hours of daylight left, they'd rather get closer to the canyon. Time went on, when suddenly they looked around them. The riverbanks had been replaced suddenly with red-colored cliffs.

Where was the beach? They must have missed it. The current picked up and large rocks were looming ahead of them. They scrambled to paddle to the right. As to the left, the riverbed dropped sharply. It was no use. The swift current slammed the raft onto the rock, jutting up at a 60-degree angle. The men were sandwiched between the raft and the gushing water and the rock, which was holding them tightly.

The raft wasn't budging. And after attempting and failing to move it and manage it. maneuver it off of the rock, Kevin decided to jump and swim the seven or so yards to the shore. Miraculously, he made it and yelled to Yosi to hold on tight. Yossi threw Kevin his shoes and the machete, which Kevin yelled he would use to cut down a vine and throw it to Yosie to pull him ashore. But then, the raft began to squeak. It was moving. Kevin, Kevin, Yosey screamed as he realized the raft was coming loose from its position. Hold tight and don't let go of the straps, Kevin yelled back.

And just as quickly as it had become stuck, it was loosened, and Yossi found himself catapulted into the canyon. The raft got sucked underwater and was smashing the boulders and rocks along the rapids. Yossi was struggling for air as he was whipped through the canyon, being sucked under water, then thrown above it. A giant mass of boulders was fast approaching, directly in his path. He closed his eyes, accepting that he was about to be killed. The raft smashed onto the pile and launched Ryosi straight into the air. He landed in the water on the other side, somehow uninjured. He managed to grab a piece of the raft and rode it the rest of the way down the rapids

until the river widened and softened and was finally able to pull himself ashore. He gathered that he had been in the river for 20 minutes, and the last he had seen of Kevin was him running along the river in his direction as he was being pulled away. Surely he would be catching up to him soon. Daylight began to bleed into twilight and it was clear that Kevin and his pack were nowhere in sight. Yossi gathered some leaves, wrapped the bandana that he had worn around his neck, onto his face, and anxiously awaited the morning. He had spent his first night alone in the jungle, restless and distraught with invasive thoughts.

This is payback for how I treated Marcus, he thought. At first sight of daylight, he got up and made his way along the river to search for Kevin, his pack, and what remained of the raft. For hours, he maneuvered the jagged rocks, up the steep cliffs, and through the current. It hadn't stopped raining since the day before, and everything was covered in a slick sheen of water, making the trek even more dangerous. After hours of precarious searching, he found it. his pack and his raft, somehow both largely intact, were caught in a small pool between some of the rocks.

He tied the raft to the shore for later when he reached Kevin and took count of the contents inside of his bag. Rice and beans, flashlight, matches, cooking utensils, a lighter, the map, mosquito netting, some medicine, a red poncho, and a small little book. The items were surely a blessing, but that little book meant ever. everything to Yossi. It was his uncles, a good luck charm that he had carry with him his entire life. He had told Yossi it kept him safe for his entire life and passed it along for him to carry himself, only two days before his own death. It was Yossi's most valued possession, and it had traveled with him on many different adventures. It was a miracle it wasn't lost forever in the Tuichi. He had made camp again that night near the river, unable to start a fire due to the

dampness covering everything in sight. He knew the date. It was December 3rd, and he knew what that meant. Rainy season had started. That night, he hallucinated that Kevin was calling to him, and woke up drenched in rain, but also in his own sweat. He spent the entire next day making his way up and down the canyon, yelling Kevin's name over and over, desperate to find him, but also desperate to help him. Yossi had at least supplies. with him, Kevin would be hopeless with no gear. Again, a day spent with no return. Yossi found a small dry cave and used it to get out of the incessant rainfall. He had made a small meal and organized his gear. Sitting down at the fireside, he peeled off his soaked shoes and soggy socks to reveal his feet.

They were infected. Puss was coming from between his toes and the skin peeled away when he removed his socks. The pain was unbearable, and he felt guilt wash over him as he thought of Marcus, and how he must have felt during their journey. He spent all night holding his feet to the flames, the pain making sleep impossible. The days dragged on, and Yossi became weaker. His food supply was dwindling, his hallucinations grew more frequent, and he was in constant worry of the creatures surrounding him in the jungle. monkeys were getting more and more confident coming closer and closer, and Yossi worried of them stealing his precious belongings.

He was struggling with passing in and out, had a fever, and was sweating. He lost control of his bowels and soiled himself. By the fifth day, alone in the jungle, Yossi began to regain some strength and began to realize that linking up with Kevin here was more than unlikely, so he started to plan his journey out of the canyon. Based on the map, his destination of Curry Playa was only six to seven miles away. He hoped Kevin was alive and that he would know to meet him there. The next day, December 5th, he left a note detailing his entire ordeal from when the group began

their journey to when they separated on December 1st. He wrote of his near-death experience in the canyon and of his concern for his friend Kevin. The next day, he set out for the gold mining camp. So his first destination, he thought he could get to you in a day or so. And then from there, it'd only be a few days walk to San Jose, which would have people and help. And he's hoping that Kevin is going to show up in one of these places. So he's thinking that, you know, I gave it a few days here. We're obviously not going to meet up here.

So I just need to get on to the next location, hoping that Kevin will do the same. He was determined to find help and to return to the air. area to rescue Kevin. He saw a distant ridge thinking that if he climbed it, he could walk the ridge line the rest of the way. So he walked and walked and walked some more, pulling himself up the steep edges of this giant slope. The entire day passed until it dawned on him. What he had thought was a continuous range, was an actuality, individual piece, meaning that he had summited one that day, but now he found himself at the base of another. He had made a terrible mistake and would have to make his way back down to the river the next day.

So Yossi made camp, but with everything still damp from the rain, was unable to find dry wood for a fire. With no real shelter anywhere in sight, weak, starving and scared, he had no choice but to make a makeshift camp. He crawled into his poncho and laid his mosquito net over him, pinning it down on the corners to deter. snakes from slipping inside. The jungle came alive at night. All around him he heard wrestling, screeches and howls. Go to sleep, Yossi, rest, he thought repeatedly, but it was no use.

He was petrified. He was alone, exposed to whatever may come in the jungle with no weapons and dwindling strength. In the distance, he heard a blood-curdling scream. Something was being eaten, and he prayed he was not next. He tossed and turned for hours, drifting in and out of a light sleep when he heard crunching near him. Something was walking towards him. Or was it? No, everything's fine, he thought. It's in your imagination.

Then silence. See, it's in your head. Then another movement. And this time it was closer. Wrestling. Too real to ignore this time. Yossi fumbled for his flashlight, peeped his head out of his poncho, and mosquito net and clicked the light on, pointing into the jungle.

And there, no more than 12 feet away, was a jaguar. Poised mid-stride, one paw up as if it was about to take another step towards him. It was massive, with black spots shimmering in the illumination of his flashlight. It put its foot down, but didn't move any closer. Yossi was frozen. The cat wasn't growling or snarling, but it wasn't backing away either. It was just staring. Its tail swishing slowly back and forth.

I mean, I imagine that's really beautiful to see. And like the most terrifying thing you've ever seen at the same time. And I imagine like that detail of the, yeah, it wasn't really looking agitated or aggressive, but its tail was swishing slowly back and forth. We all know that means business. shit's about to go down in the cat world. When they're just like locked in. Yeah.

If a cat's moving their tail and locked in, they're like... They're ready. Cats are scary. They're ready. And they're so calm too. Like, that's the calm before the storm. Yosey managed to find his voice and squeaked out. Go.

Go away. Get. Go. Before finding it firmer this time and yelling, go away. Get out of here. all the while he was feeling around the ground for his supplies. He clamped the flashlight between his teeth, grabbed his lighter in one hand,

and his insect repellent in another. Pushing down on the repellent and flicking on the lighter, he had made a blow torch, and he pointed it right at the cat. The light was blinding, and Yersie held the button on that can as long as he could until it ran empty, only to find the jaguar had gone when the light died.

Shaken and more petrified than ever before, he wrapped himself back into his net and anxiously awaited the morning. How? How do you even stay in the same spot? Like, the next day brought more walking. This time, back to the Toichi. Yossi found a small sandy beach along a water source with berry bushes, and he gorged himself, which was a pleasant change in events as he had been chewing on garlic clothes for days prior. He camped in a large root system of a tree near the shore and drooled at the sight of a doe and her baby. The following day was the day, Yossi thought. He woke up with a plan to walk this river, which would surely lead to the Tuichi, which would then lead him to curry Playa.

Because this body of water that he found, it was a water system, but it wasn't the grand Tuichi that he was aiming for. The heavens opened up again, and the rain drenched him, and he was. drudged along the water. His feet were almost stumps at this point, and his inner thighs were red and full of sores from walking in wet clothing for so many days in a row. He had heard it before he saw it, the roaring of the mighty river, and he was overjoyed that he had made it back to the river and vowed to stick to its shores from here on out. He spent days on the shores, trying to fish, gather fruit from nearby trees, and recuperating in a small cave. Two days, days passed and he was tempted to stay there. This area was proving to be comfortable. It had plenty of

fruit trees and it provided shelter from the elements. But he had a plan and he was going to stick to it. He forced himself out and onwards towards Curry Playa. He dredged on, careful not to stray too far from the shoreline again. Plus, Carl had promised that this place existed. But reflecting back on the inconsistencies of all of Carl's stories and the exaggerations in the details, he began to question those words. But to his relief, he rounded a corner and there it was. No people, and abandoned, but there were huts. Shelter. He spent that night stretched over a platform bed in a dry hut with a warm fire and fell almost spoiled. In the morning, he woke up refreshed and thankful, but he was itchy. He reached down. He reached down.

to scratch his knee only to rip off a leech engorged with his blood. Ugh. He shook it away and patted down his body in search of others, only to find himself absolutely covered in them. They were in his armpits between his legs, in the back of his neck, and even between his butt cheeks. The rest of his day was spent gathering items for the last stretch of his journey. According to his map, San Jose was only a couple inches away, meaning a real-life walk

of only three to four days. He set off the next morning with San Jose in his sights. He made his way in a good mood, surprisingly, given the circumstances. He passed by another sandy beach with scattered large logs on the shore. He arranged them in a Y, followed by 12, for the date, in case an airplane was to fly over. He was on a faint trail which led away from the river, and he followed it, and lost sight and sound of the Tuichi. He ate fruit and discarded the pits along the way and meandered on the trail all day. Hours went by and thankfully he heard the river again. Relieved that this trail was reliable and that it actually brought him back to the river once again and he looked down and saw a shoe print. Kevin. It must be. After all, he had large feet and wore similar shoes as Yoshi did and would have

been traveling the same route. Invigorated, Yossi pressed on, grinning ear to ear. Kevin was alive. He had to be. And he must be close because the rain hadn't yet washed away his print entirely. Elation turned to despair as Yossi noticed fruit pits. His fruit pits. Ah, he's walking in circles. Yep. That shoe print was his, and he had made a giant circle. The sun was setting when he happened upon a bird nest on the ground. He broke open the eggs, anxious to gulp down the yolk, only to find small, fluffy, fully formed birds inside. Hunger and desperation does things to people, and he swallowed the chicks one by one. That night, he went to sleep again in the open jungle and set a prayer, asking for God for forgiveness for eating the baby birds.

The next day was followed by much of the same, walking and foraging for anything he could ingest safely. while walking he slipped and fell only to land directly onto a stick which went right up his hind end and tore his rectum. Oh, what? His underwear was soaked with blood, but he had to keep moving. Oh my. How do you just keep telling the story? Oh my God. What in the, what bad luck this guy has?

Like, of all the places he could land on a stick, that's where he lands. And he's covered in leeches. He just walked in a giant circle. His friend's gone. His ass is bleeding now. He's just ate a baby bird. Like, I thought I had a bad day the other day. And now I'm like, oh, my God.

Rethink all of that because Yossi isn't going through it, okay? I'm sorry, Yossi. This is rough. He had to keep going, though. And so he's stumbling around and right into a hornet's nest. Oh, and it doesn't stop. Oh, my God. This poor man.

The insects started swarming him and started sting his face and his body and his eyes started swelling shut. So the days went on and they were starting to bleed together, but he kept going. We're now to day 14, two weeks alone in the jungle. Relying on wild chicken eggs and fruit, he put one weary foot in front of the other. He was tattered, broken, and weak. He came across tapirs and snakes and wild chickens, but with no weapon, he was unable to gain a substantial meal. On the bank of the Tuichi one day, he came across several sets of fresh jaguar prints and at least six piles of fresh scat. Apathy took the place of fear at this point, and Yossi found himself unfaced.

He continued his track much the same as the day before. Only his faith that he carried every day of tomorrow was the day of salvation was starting to fade with each passing day. The rainy season had brought flooding. At times, the trail was flooded up to his waist, making travel even more difficult than before. Yossi was emaciated, tired through and through and hallucinating more than ever before. Day 17 arrived with a bout of self-despair. Yossi had been, to this point, holding on to his mental strength while his physical strength was dissipating, and then he heard it. A plane.

He saw a small, white aircraft and desperately waved his red poncho, shouting with all his might. Here, I'm here, frantically signaling the plane, he remembered the logs that he had shaped, and he had a renewed sense of faith. They must have seen that. The dense jungle concealed his attempts, and the plane flew right by. Crushed, Yossi began to pray again. This was not new for him, especially on this journey, but what he prayed for this time was new. He prayed for death, and then a woman appeared. She was so real to Yossi.

She was talking to him, as desperate as he was for rescue, and scared. Yossi reassured her and helped calm her down. They'll be back tomorrow, he soothed her. she responded meekly and Yossi continued with reassuring her, explaining that they needed to just make sure that the plane saw them the next time. Yossi spent the rest of the day walking, at times crawling through the jungle back to the beach, all the while speaking to his new companion. Yes, just a little while longer, you can do this, love. Here, let me help you. I know it hurts. I know it's hard, but we have to keep going. We're just so close. He outstretched his hand to help her.

noticing his white shriveled hands and arms beginning to rot from being consistently wet. A family of monkeys started howling from the trees and started throwing half-eaten dates at his head, which he happily gobbled down. He pushed on through the day and night with his new friend, and the next day, while walking, the earth began to swallow him. It was quicksand. He was trapped in the mud, and it was sucking him in. This was it.

This is how it ended for Yosey Ginsburg. he conceded. It would be a slow and agonizing death until he realized that he had pills in his bag. He reached in and grabbed the bottles. One was labeled Speed and the other was not labeled at all. He poured out the pills in his hand, about 50 of them in total, ready to take death into his own hands. This is selfish, he thought. It's egotistical, and it can't end this way. Discarding that plan, he struggled for over an hour to free himself and squirm a mere six feet to solid ground. It took everything that he had, but he made it. That night he suddenly realized, while making a bed for two, that he was alone.

There was no girl. There never was. He was in pain. So much so, he could barely reach down to unbutton his pants to relieve himself. So instead, he let the warmth of his urine soak his entire body. God, I just feel so. bad for him. He's hallucinating. He's stuck in the sand. Yossi, this is a, this is probably like the most I've felt bad for someone in a survival story so far. Mm-hmm. He's had it really, really rough.

He was awoken by pain. Ants. Somehow they had made their way to his skin. Despite being fully clothed, wrapped in his poncho and bugnets, they had found him. Fire ants? No. These ants were different than fire ants. He had experienced those before. These were much larger and had huge pinchers that sliced at his skin. He was absolutely swarmed with them. And they held on tight with a vice grip as he ripped their bodies off of him. This went on all night. And the morning light revealed his entire body, net, and belongings were swarming with insects. And not just ants, but termites. thousands and thousands of them had overtaken his place of rest and were gnawing their way through his clothing and gear. It was his urine. It had attracted them. So now he has insect bites. He has holes in his gear.

He's on death store and pee. He's covered in pee. He's emaciated. Hallucinating. It's bad. He moved forward and forward, mostly on his bloodied knees and elbows. unable to walk for long. He made it to the river and a dilapidated hut.

He recognized this place. He was back to Kari Playa. Once again, he had made a giant circle, and he wasn't on his way to San Jose, as he had thought. He sat down and did something he had put off for days. The task of removing his shoes and his socks was the most excruciatingly painful thing he had ever done. His socks removed.

He looked at his feet. They were red and raw without a fleck of skin left on them. His toes were plastered together with a mixture of blood, mud, and pus, and even the breeze hurt them. He sat back and took stock of his situation. He hadn't eaten in almost an entire week. He was injured, and there hadn't been another sign of rescue. It was December 20th, and the sinking feeling of Christ, mis approaching scared him. There would be no rescue efforts around that time, and even if he made it

that long, he would be approaching a month on his own. He didn't think he could make it that long, but did daydream about healing his feet. Once he was healed, he could live off the land, and his daydreams filled the hours, and the sun started to fade. He started to feel an immense pain, both from his head and his stomach. A large bump on his forehead was aching, and the discomfort in his stomach doubled him over in pain. He hadn't had a bowel movement in 10 days. He was trying to relieve himself, but the wound from the stick incident opened and he attempted to stop the bleeding with his fingers. Finally, he was successful, had his bowel movement, and dragged himself back to his bed on the shore of the Tuichi. The sun was setting and a distant buzzing started. Bees. Shit, he thought. The buzzing

got louder and louder, and his net had holes in it from the termites. The buzzing was so loud he thought that one of the bees had gotten inside it and was flying around his head. He flew up, not about to get stung again, but there in the river in front of him was a boat. Four men were making their way out of the canoe and onto the shore. Hello, Yossi mouthed, but words didn't come out. A tall, curly-haired man called out to him, Don't move Yossi, stay where you are. I'm coming. It was Kevin. Kevin's alive. Kevin's alive. Kevin ran over to Yossi and threw his arms around him. And for the first time, Yosey cried. This wasn't a dream. It wasn't a hallucination. He had been saved. The canoe trip back to the village would take a day or two. And on their journey, Kevin filled in Yosey on what happened to him. And Yosey listened with eager ears while he devoured bananas and venison. So now we're going to switch to Kevin real quick. I was just going to ask, so what happened to Kevin? How did he survive? Yeah, so Kevin had walked along the

shore the day of the incident in the rapids, thinking that for sure he would meet up with Yossi. He had seen him go over the falls and bob up and down the river and prayed that he hadn't drowned. He made his way for days along the river. His feet started becoming infected. as well, and he lived off of a parrot he actually stole from a falcon. He spent five days walking the shores and drifting along the river, clinging to pieces of wood, and even passing by Curry Playa. He was drifting on a calm part of the river when he heard voices. They were two hunters. They brought Kevin to safety after hearing his pleas for help and told him just how lucky he was, as they only made that journey that far into the jungle only twice a year. He was taken to San Jose where his

injuries were treated and he regained his strength. On the ninth day, he was taken to Rueenebeck, the village the group had set as their final destination. There, he told officers of exactly what happened and that he needed help to find Yosi. He was dismissed by many, actually most, of the village and officials counted Yosey for dead, but Kevin didn't give up. He arranged a flight back to La Paz and began a series of pleas with various officials from the U.S. and the Israeli embassies. He was shot down left and right with people offering condolences for the death of his friend instead of help. He urged everyone that he must still be alive and begged for a search party. On the 12th day, he managed to secure a plane to set off that next day.

Meanwhile, he checked in with the front desk. of the hotel at which Marcus was staying, but they informed him that he had not yet returned. Kevin wasn't immensely worried. Marcus was obviously with Carl, who was skilled in jungle travel, but he was concerned enough about his friend to report the two missing to the embassy.

As Kevin said Carl's name to the clerk, his demeanor changed. He was requested to tell them everything, which he did. Uh-oh. He told them every detail from the moment they met, and the council last, laughed in his face when Kevin finished his story by requesting a search for Carl as well as Yossi.

The council informed him that all that Carl told Kevin and his friends was a lie. They knew who Carl was, and what he was, was a fugitive and a professional con artist. He was wanted by the Australian government after he had fled the country after involvement with radical leftist groups in Europe. He made his way to Bolivia with a fake passport, and although they knew he was there, couldn't do anything about it. The council was relieved when they found out he was lost in the jungle. They preferred it that way. They went on to clarify that the remote village they sought out didn't exist,

and that Carl had a habit of leaving tourists for dead in the jungle after promising them in an adventure. So what, he did this for fun? Well, that's the thing, like, why? And that's exactly what Kevin thought. So he started thinking of Marcus and he started getting concerned because, you know, like, what if Marcus was now falling victim to whatever Carl was up to? Like, did Carl just leave him now, too, like out in the middle of nowhere? Right. So he's concerned now about this.

Like, this is now on his plate as well as trying to find Yossi. So when he urged them to at least help him find Marcus, they just shrugged their. shoulders saying that there was no way they were going to involve themselves in any search that involved Carl. On the 16th day, Kevin flew in the search plane. The captain was largely unhelpful and flew way too far above the tree line to be able to make anything out on the ground. So that is the day that Yossi heard the plane. That was Kevin. Okay. And then the captain refused to bring him out again. That was a one-time deal. But Kevin didn't want to give up. So next, he was put in touch with a man known as Tico, who was a skilled boatman with an intimate knowledge of the river, who agreed to take him

out on his own boat upriver, past Kuri Playa and close to the mouth of the canyon where their accident happened. They traveled the river the entire day, the 18th day since their separation on the river. As the hours dwindled, Tico and his two crew members pleaded with Kevin, your friend. Your friend is dead, and we're sorry, but we have to turn back soon. Kevin urged them to go on just a little farther, please, please, he begged, and it worked. They continued. The sun was starting to set, though, and they were fast approaching the San Pedro Canyon. Tico turned to Kevin. At the next shoreline, we need to turn around, and Kevin's heart sank as he realized he would have to spend the rest of his life in agony over the loss of Yosie.

boat made it to the shoreline and had turned around when Kevin looked back one last time. And that is when he saw Yossi, a crumpled skeleton on the beach. Yossi was in the arms of safety and longed to be able to apologize to Marcus. Details of their journey became clear in the conversations that they had with Tico. In fact, he had never made it to curry Playa. The abandoned camp he had stumbled upon was in fact called Progresso. which was very close to the canyon. He hadn't made it far at all. Miners had established that camp in search of gold,

but when none was found, it was abandoned. And they had no idea of why Carl never mentioned that camp. And also, that horrific storm that he endured that flooded the river and flooded all of the trails, was the worst the area had seen in decades. The canoe made its way back to Ruehannabeck, where Yossi was nursed back to health, filled out paperwork from officials and contacted his family.

He spent the night with Kevin, wondering why Carl had misled them and brought them into the jungle in the first place. He had made almost everything up, but why? He had spent the money that they had given him on supplies and the air travel to get to the jungle. Was he just to lead them into the jungle for nothing? Like, what was the point? Yeah, what's the motivation here? Like, he's not making any money off of this. Exactly.

The next day, locals swarmed Yossi with kind words, small gifts, and souvenirs. He was happy and recovering, although the lump on his head ached. Tico was the one to tell Yossi. That's a boro. A result of a mosquito who sting and plants an egg into the skin. The egg hatches into a worm inside you. The boil on his head was moving. He squeezed it, and sure enough, a large plump worm.

came writhering out into his palm. Disgusting, and the first, but not the last. Over the weeks, a dozen more were removed from Yossi's body. Yosey is going through it. Worms coming out of your forehead, I can throw up right now. That's it. That's what I'll do it for you. I feel like this entire episode is just me going, oh. It's coming to an end. I swear.

Okay. Where am I? Here we go. So days were spent recuperating, and that ended on Christmas Eve, when Kevin and Yossi flew back to La Paz. They headed straight to the Rosario Hotel, anxious to see Marcus, and to hug him, apologize for their behavior, and to start fresh. And for Carl, they really wished to confront him and basically just call him out on his

shit. By now, they were sure that they had come back, but they hadn't. They hadn't shown back up to the hotel. Yossi made it back to the center he was staying out before his trek to find a long letter from his brother. His brother had explained how worried he and his parents had been and how elated that they had been when they heard of his safe return and how joyous they were to see him again.

Kevin, at this point, was arranging a second search party to find Marcus and Carl, and Yossi considered actually going with him, but was immediately shot down. Everyone kind of just jumped down his throat and said, no way, you need to prioritize getting better, see your family, recover from your own ordeal. So as Kevin went back into the jungle, Yossi was leaving it and his experience behind for now.

Kevin's a dedicated friend. Yes, he is. Kevin is the friend to have. Yeah, he's the kind of friend you want in your corner. Would you do this for me? I would. I really would. I would swallow my fears of jungle travel, and I would.

So Kevin and the men accompanied him on the rescue mission never did find anything of Marcus and Carl. No trace or any sign, no clothing, no campfire, no waste, or footprints. For days and days they searched, but it seemed like the men had just disappeared forever. In the months that came, Yossi regained his strength and visited Marcus' family in Oregon, then went on to visit Marcus' family in Switzerland, where they requested every detail of their son's final journey. They held each other and cried, but Marcus's mother refused to believe that her son was dead, and even financed another search a year later, with no results. Marcus's brother believed that Carl engineered a rift between the two groups on purpose,

He thought it was the con artist plans all along to split up the group. And once he had done that, he had abandoned Marcus and went alone to form a new identity somewhere else. Kevin had somehow found the time to meet and fall in love with a girl in Bolivia after Yossi's rescue. They married and now live in Tel Aviv with their two children, and he and Yossi remain very close friends. Six years after his ordeal in the jungle, Yossi was constantly. contacted by an Israeli magazine to write articles about South America. He agreed and found himself traveling back to Rueinabeck. He returned to the village and found it much changed. In the years he had been away, it had grown significantly. He met with Tico, who was happy to take him back on the

Tuichi. Yossi fell back in love with the jungle and was determined to make it part of his life in the future and not just his past. While in the area, he met with a man who claimed to know Carl well. He explained to Yossi he hadn't seen him in quite a while, but a Swiss priest in a nearby village had seen him just months before. So he's still around. Determined to follow up on that claim, Yosi traced down the priest, who, along with a nun, confirmed that, yes, they knew Carl, he was alive and he was living in Santa Cruz, and even showed him recent photos of Carl. Yossi followed up on the claim and traveled to Santa Cruz himself but never did find him.

Two years later, so this is now eight years after the incident, Marcus's mother had requested Yossi meet her again in Switzerland as she had come upon new evidence. He agreed to fly to Switzerland where she informed him that a clairvoyant had told her that Marcus was alive and living in a remote part of Peru. He had been found by members of a local tribe on the brink of death and his his memory had been lost. She pointed out a remote and dangerous community in the Andes, and Yossi actually made his way there. It was very dangerous and proved to be fruitless. No one had seen Marcus, or any gringo, for that matter. To this day, what happened to Carl and Marcus remains a mystery. They have never been confirmed to be alive, and their remains have

never been found. While on his trip back to South America, Yosie found San Jose found San Jose. to be changed as well. The village was in a desperate situation. The small and isolated village was struggling to stay afloat and most of the villagers had turned to slash and burn agriculture, hunting and working as cheap labor for loggers and miners who were taking over their land. The ancestral land was disappearing, and Yossi felt compelled to do something. He met with community leaders and heard their worries of the disappearance of the reinforced villages, as many of the young villagers were leaving for employment opportunities in bigger cities. The Chalalan project was born.

Yossi worked with local communities to obtain parcels of land from the government and developed alternative economic routes for the communities in the form of eco-lodges. Volunteers, designers, engineers, and scientists worked together to build the lodge, which would provide a sustainable and renewable resource in the jungle for those local communities. The tides turn against destructive exploitation of the jungle, and the Chilalan Project was officially opened in 1998 in the center of Mediti National Park. It is one of the most celebrated ecotourism locations in all of the Amazon. Yossi was deeply grateful the role that he was able to play in the formation of the lodge and moved on in life to become involved in developing treatment facilities throughout California and Mexico to help those suffering for the lodge. from opiate addictions.

He worked in America, Thailand, and China before moving to and settling in Australia, where he now lives with his wife and four children. He travels the world as a motivational speaker and a seminar leader and has written three books, Lost in the Jungle, A Heroing True Story of Adventure and Survival, which is the book that I read for this episode, as well as Laws of the Jungle and Glimpses.

His harrowing experience in the jungle was also turned into a movie, the one I watched on Thanksgiving Eve. It was released in 2017, and it stars Daniel Radcliffe, and it's called Jungle, and I found that on Amazon Prime. Reflecting on his first journey into the jungle and how it changed him, Yossi says, I became a very simple person. The simple things are the most precious to me. I don't ascribe much significance to the things I have now. That feeling of touching death has never left me. And that is the intense whirlwind roller coaster story of Yosey Ginsburg and Kevin Gale

and the disappearance of Marcus Stam and Carl Rue Preacher. I can't believe they never found Marcus. That hurts my heart. He was my favorite when you were describing him at the beginning. He was my favorite person that you were talking about just because I felt like I related to him the most. because he was just like sensitive and yeah and when you watch the movie and even honestly in the book I mean Yossi does a really because Yossi obviously wrote the book and both things the book and the movie do a really good job of just painting him as a really kind and warm person and

it was really difficult to like know in the end that he never was found and actually in the book. The book is dedicated to Marcus, and so the movie says for Marcus. So, and I mean, the book goes obviously way into more detail about a lot of things, but also at the end when he said that he went to the Andes to this remote and dangerous village based on something a clairvoyance said that they had a vision of, like, this was years and years and years later. Obviously, there's no real proof that he was here and the location was super dangerous. It's really difficult to get to, but he did it. I was going to ask, I was going to ask, how did she get that information? She went to like a psychic medium, essentially. Oh, I guess I missed that part because I was in

my brain. I was thinking like someone saw him there and that was where it stemmed from. Oh, that's kind of a shitty. I mean, I guess. guess if you believe psychics, and not that I am totally disregarding them or anything, but with absolutely no evidence and then to send someone back out into such a dangerous area where he already almost died, but then also what a dedicated friend to do that after he almost died. Like that must have brought up a lot of unsettling memories, that journey. I know. Like the whole thing was just so wild.

I don't know. It's just absolutely incredible what he had called. accomplished. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I think he is such an amazing example of what the human spirit can do because it was mostly mental at one point. Like if he had mentally given up, he would have been done for long before his body gave out. So I just really thought that was an interesting story and what he did with his life after and how he continued to try and help and how he then turned, funded some good into the local indigenous communities that needed help. And now you can go to the Chalalan Lodge in Eco Lodge in Mediti National Park.

And it has ties to Yosi. It's really cool how he turned such a horrible, horrible experience into something really beautiful and nice. I think that this is probably my favorite story that you've ever told. Even though the whole time I was like, oh, oh, God. It was like the most, I think survival stories are like my bread and butter. Like, it's my favorite of all those stories that we tell. But that one in particular, the whole time I was like, what's going to happen next? Like, I just like, from the very beginning of you telling it, I knew that things were bad.

And in my brain, I was like, Carl's bad. Maybe he's not bad. No, he's definitely bad. And yeah, and, you know, like, there were red flags, like Kevin and Yossi and I'm sure Marcus all like, you had, they had those moments of like, is this legit. But they were just so. Yeah. So excited. So excited.

And also, I mean, not the same at all. But we've all, I think, been in those situations where you're like, this seems a little off. and like this seems a little bit sketch, but I'm probably overreacting, and I'm probably thinking too much into it. And then later down the line, when you find out you're right, you're like, I fucking knew it. And I should have done something about it. It's like I should have listened to my instinct. All right. Well, thank you everyone so much for hanging in there.

This is by far the longest episode we've ever done, but I hope it was worth it. Thank you everyone for listening. We will see you next week. In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Thank you so much for coming along with us again this week. If you have a trail tale or story suggestion, send us an email at NPAD Stories at gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at National Park After Dark and on Twitter at NPAD podcast.

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