Mystery of the Nile [antikvár]

FOREWORDExploration of the world seems to have occurred in stages, or waves. The Spanish influx to the New World at the interface of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was one such wave; the rapid conquest of the Himalayas' eight-thousand-meter peaks during the 1950s another; the American-Soviet penetrations into space in the 1960s one more. But the fair-haired age of exploration was the middle nineteenth century, when the Royal Geographical Society sent its scientists, soldiers, and missionaries around the world to color the map, and no goal was more coveted than discovering the source of the Nile.In recent years a new wave has rolled, an attempt to navigate the great wild rivers of the world, sometimes from source to sea. I am guilty of authoring several of these descents, and I made an early career plunging down the headwaters of the Amazon, Zambezi, Yangtze, Indus, and others. But the river that launched a thousand rafts under the banner of Sobek Expeditions was the Blue Nile, and I first pitched down its upper reaches in 1973.1 named the adventure company Sobek after the ancient crocodile god worshiped along the Egyptian Nile, thinking the homage might keep the predators at bay. But I was wrong. . . . Over the years, many crocodiles attacked our boats, and the Blue Nile stole the life of my best friend and early partner, Lew Greenwald.Pasquale Scaturro has been a friend for many years, and we've shared many adventures, many river miles. When the chance came to attempt the first full descent of the Blue Nile, I knew that I would not make the journey myself. But I thought of Pasquale, who is in my estimation thefx