We knew we had found our ride the minute we met the family. The boat was only about thirty feet long and had seen better days, but it looked sturdy. The family was large—about eight, including grandparents and grandchildren—but it would only be the father and son taking us on the journey. The father, Luis, was about fifty, small and wiry, and with the leathery skin that came from a lifetime in the sun. He was shy with foreigners and spoke little English. He let his son do most of the talking. Paulo was close to thirty and was the exact opposite of his father in appearance. He was tall and stocky, with a gleaming bald head that we only saw the few times he removed his baseball cap—which also looked to be about thirty—and a perpetual smile. Unlike the father, Paulo spoke English. It wasn't great, but it would get the job done, communication-wise.

The price they quoted to take us to Fordlandia and back seemed low—especially considering the trip to Santarém was going to take almost four days, with another twelve hours after that to Fordlandia. It was going to be a bit slower than some of the tourist boats, but Paulo assured us that it would get us there and back with no problems. They were obviously desperate for the business, but in the process were probably only going to break even by the time the trip was over. We talked about it and offered them three times what they had quoted. It was nice to have money. They were thrilled. By way of explanation as to why we were paying so much, we were honest with Paulo and told him that there was some danger involved. Sabrina, whom he was immediately taken with (duh!), explained some of the story, which he then related to his father. If anything, it made them more excited for the trip. Treasure hunters must not have been their normal passengers. Paulo proudly showed us the two rifles they kept on board.

They needed to buy some supplies and told us that they would be ready to go the next morning. As a sign of goodwill—and because they needed it to buy the supplies—we gave them half the money up front. They directed us to a small hotel within walking distance of the waterfront.

Our night was relatively quiet. We were exhausted from the traveling and just wanted to get a good night's sleep. The hotel had a restaurant that served decent food. We took a guess since we couldn't read the menu, and ended up lucking out with tasty fish dishes.

Luis and Paulo were waiting for us at the dock bright and early. Paulo sported a wide smile and informed us that the boat was stocked up and ready to go. As we boarded, he looked around, then motioned for us to follow him into the cabin, where he produced two revolvers with holsters. He handed them to us.

"For protection," he said quietly. "Good, huh? Take with you to find treasure."