1
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.Tahir Shah
2
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.Tahir Shah
3
In the world of the Machiguenga, sadness could be equated with anger, and anger was a perilous emotion, by which a foreigner could lose his life.Tahir Shah
4
The quest for a lost city erodes your body, damaging you beyond all reason. But it is your mind that bears the heaviest toll. Listen to the doubters, the worriers and the weak, and the vaguest hope of success evaporates.Tahir Shah
5
Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.Tahir Shah
6
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.Tahir Shah
7
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.Tahir Shah
8
Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.Tahir Shah
9
Running an expedition can bring out the worst in a man. It can make you a power-crazed monster.Tahir Shah
10
Experience has taught me the power of trophies. You may have every knick-knack and useless contraption ever devised, but while they weigh you down, a simple trophy can go a long, long way.Tahir Shah
11
On a hard jungle journey nothing is so important as having a team you can trust.Tahir Shah
12
The last thing we wanted was for the Machiguenga to be sad again. Sadness appeared to bring out their violence.Tahir Shah
13
On a harsh expedition, there's no space for anyone who does not intend to finish.Tahir Shah
14
I struggled to think pure thoughts, as Hector sucked out my psyche with his eyes.Tahir Shah
15
The ability to tell a good route from a terrible one is a valuable skill when leading an expedition. Unfortunately for us all, it was a skill I did not possess.Tahir Shah
16
As the head of an expedition, you can't pussyfoot around being polite to everyone. You have to show your teeth once in a while; a little growling goes a long way.Tahir Shah
17
Searching for a lost city is a particularly European obsession.Tahir Shah
18
Through a strange kind of geographic arrogance, Europeans like to think that the world was a silent, dark, unknown place until they trooped out and discovered it.Tahir Shah
19
There are two ways to find a lost city. The first is to rely on luck alone, the second is to control all the information.Tahir Shah
20
Exploration is a dirty game.Tahir Shah
21
The situation was different in the jungle. Every inch of ground had to be earned, and was done so through much exertion with the blade.Tahir Shah
22
Normally I would have been the first to go in search of cannibal monks, particularly as I had heard of a similar tradition at a nunnery in the Philippines. It's the sort of quest I can't resist.Tahir Shah
23
Only a man who has his health, a full stomach and wears clean clothes would ever entertain the notion of tracking down the greatest lost city on Earth.Tahir Shah
24
In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.Tahir Shah
25
Previous experience had taught me that any expedition marches on its stomach.Tahir Shah
26
The porters could always be coaxed to continue a little further through driving rain by the mere suggestion of a Pot Noodle at the end.Tahir Shah
27
Ours was not going to be a clone of the usual expeditions, oozing with sleekness. It was clear from the start that oddity was our advantage.Tahir Shah
28
My journey to the land of the Shuar tribe had taught me the importance of practical gifts.Tahir Shah
29
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.Tahir Shah
30
A man who embarks on a journey must know when to end it.Tahir Shah
31
Previous journeys had taught me the danger of taking too much stuff.Tahir Shah
32
The only thing they valued higher than ammunition were Man United footballs.Tahir Shah
33
The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.Tahir Shah
34
The forest did not tolerate frailty of body or mind. Show your weakness, and it would consume you without hesitation.Tahir Shah
35
As far as I was concerned, a little danger of head-shrinking is a small price to pay in return for a people who have remained true to an ancient code.Tahir Shah
36
As I see the world, there's one element that's even more corrosive than missionaries: tourists. It's not that I feel above them in any way, but that the very places they patronize are destroyed by their affection.Tahir Shah