"An American writer of Argentine, Syrian, and Iraqi Jewish descent, Jordan Salama tells the story of the Río Magdalena, nearly one thousand miles long, the heart of Colombia. This is Gabriel García Márquez's territory--rumor has it Macondo was partly inspired by the port town of Mompox--as much as that of the Middle Eastern immigrants who run fabric stores by its banks. Following the river from its source high in the Andes to its mouth on the Caribbean...

The author recounts his experiences traveling through the jungles of southwestern Venezuela, the home of jaguars, assassin bugs, piranha, and the violent Yanomami Indians.