The Voice of the Amazon

Presenting a speaker who puts Survivor to shame

MAY 01, 2001 -- It was December 1981, and while most of us were still musing over the fairy-tale nuptials of Charles and Di, or aerobicizing to Olivia's Physical (it was the top-selling song of the year), Yossi Ghinsberg was struggling to survive, and beat a path out of the Brazilian rain forest.

The then 21-year-old Israeli emerged after losing his way (and almost his life)—festering sores on his feet and live worms embedded in his flesh—and now, two decades later, is telling his tale around the country.

"Yossi has a truly incredible and inspiring story to share," says Jane Atkinson at Dallas-based International Speakers Bureau.

That story began as an exciting adventure when Ghinsberg and three fellow backpackers set out to test their skills in the jungles of the Amazon. They yearned for a taste of the untamed wilderness—they hoped to tackle wild animals, raft down raging rivers, and discover an isolated tribe of Indians. They got it all—minus the Indians. And then the real adventure began.

Before he knew what was happening, Ghinsberg found himself completely alone in the dense forest. As two of the four headed back to civilization (they've yet to surface), Ghinsberg went careening down a rushing waterfall on a rickety balsa raft, separating him from his companion. That man was rescued by hunters shortly after the mishap.

With little more than the torn clothes on his back and a measly stash of rice and beans, Ghinsberg fought to keep himself alive, and find a way out. "I almost died of loneliness," he recalls. He was also nearly eaten alive by hungry termites, swallowed up by a pool of mud, and turned to dinner by a jaguar.

After 20 solitary days in the thick of the rain forest, Ghinsberg was rescued by the companion he'd thought had suffered a fate worse than his. "Being close to death made me see how sacred life is," says Ghinsberg. "Some people hear my story and walk away with renewed resolve to survive in the jungle of the business world. Others learn to live every day like it's their last."

Either way, it makes Richard Hatch look pampered.

Actual article may be found here.