East to the Amazon: In Search of Great Paititi and the Trade Routes of the Ancients: In Search of the Great Paititi and the Trade Routes of the Ancients

East to the Amazon: In Search of Great Paititi and the Trade Routes of the Ancients: In Search of the Great Paititi and the Trade Routes of the Ancients

by John Blashford-Snell (Author), Richard Snailham (Author)

Synopsis

The mythical land of Great Paititi, east of the Andes, attracted conquistadors, archaeologists, adventurers and even, more recently, Nazis fleeing justice. John Blashford-Snell has always felt the lure of lost cities and in particular of Paititi, the city the Spanish conquistadors called El Dorado. In May 2001, he set off through dense rainforest with a full team of jungle-bashers, archaeologists, soldiers and scientists to reach the area where the dangerously snake-infested ruins were believed to be. What they found was not a city but what seemed to be an ancient centre for ritual.;The success of two earlier expeditions, Kota Mama I and II, had shown that ancient peoples could have sailed boats made of reed from Lake Titicaca southwards and eastwards to the Atlantic. Now Blashford-Snell set off to prove that the ancient peoples of Paititi could have used the long succession of ever-widening rivers that end at the mouth of the Amazon as trade routes to the Old World. Kota Mama III, a reed trimaran, with three jaguar figureheads, faced a frightening 500 kilometres of rapids to prove the point.This account of a hair-raising journey through the little-known heart of South America is in the tradition of the best adventurous travel.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Edition: New
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 03 Jul 2003

ISBN 10: 0719565049
ISBN 13: 9780719565045

Media Reviews
A fascinating insight into the little-known world of the Amazon rain forest and its people, the book has a strong 'Indiana Jones' quality to it, while retaining an air of intellectual discovery. A good read.
Author Bio
John Blashford-Snell, a Royal Engineer, is the veteran of many successful expeditions. He is one of the founders of the Scientific Exploration Society, launched Operations Drake and Raleigh, and is the author of several bestselling books. Richard Snailham, also a veteran explorer, taught at Sandhurst and now leads tours to Bolivia, Peru and Ethiopia.