At Santarém we turned off the Amazon and onto the Rio Tapajós river. About twelve more hours until we reached Fordlandia. River traffic was heavy around Santarém, but most of the boats were continuing down the Amazon on their way to Manaus. A speedboat passed us going at a high rate of speed—the only other boat heading our way. We were always on alert for trouble, but only one person was visible and didn't seem to be paying any attention to us, so I didn't worry unduly.

If it weren't for the fact that we were on a mission—and a dangerous one at that—the river trip would have been a wonderful vacation. It was so different from anything either of us had ever experienced, every minute seemed to hold a new surprise.

An hour after making the turn onto the Rio Tapajós, Sabrina, who seemed to be staring into space, suddenly sat up straight and pointed.

"What's that?"

I stood and looked in the direction she indicated. At first I saw nothing, then something jumped high out of the water and gracefully sliced its way back under the waves.

"I'd swear that was a dolphin," I said.

As if they heard me, three more jumped in perfect synchronicity.

"They are," said Sabrina. "They're beautiful."

"River dolphins," said Paulo from behind us. "They often follow the boats. They like to play."

We watched their antics for another half hour, until they got bored and moved on. We sat back down and dozed. I guess the excitement was too much for us.

When the attack came, it was sudden and violent. Sabrina and I were sitting on deck next to the cabin holding hands. After an animated conversation as to whether we saw a log or a Caiman, we had lapsed into a comfortable silence. I don't know what Sabrina was thinking of, but for me, it was another time of reflection about how my life had changed in just a very short time. Sabrina, sitting to my right, put her head on my shoulder—a move that probably saved her life. A second later, a horrific clang sent us diving for cover.

Reflecting on it later, I think what happened was that the bullet hit the railing where Sabrina's head had been and ricocheted down through the sole of my boot. I can't say with any certainty that I heard the gunshot, but I didn't need to. The shot came from ahead of our boat. It was the same boat that had passed us at such a high rate of speed a few hours earlier. Sabrina came within inches of dying. That made me angry—beyond angry—but not until later. At that moment, we were scrambling for our lives as a hail of bullets tore up the boat.

Most of my reactions came after the fact. There just wasn't the time to think at that moment. However, I noticed how cool and calm Luis was during the whole attack. He reached for his rifle and—while also trying to steer the boat—calmly aimed and shot. One after another. Paulo was brave as well, and hid behind the cabin, letting shots fly at the other boat. But it was obvious that this was new territory for him and the nervousness showed.