ElevenRio Amazonas – 370 kilometers west of Santo Antonio do Içá.
Claire stood on the foredeck looking out over the passing shoreline as the Lírio do Rio slid through the morning mist rising over the river. She hadn't been sleeping the last few nights because her mind was preoccupied with the miscarriage and the tenuous state of the expedition. She looked up at the ever-brightening pre-dawn sky that was threatening rain and eyed the mist-laden riverbank. In the gloom, tall reeds and water grasses waved in a subtle wind. Above them, drooped broad, pumpkin-shaped leaves flopping back and forth on pod-heavy limbs. Down river, flitting shadows skimmed the watery surface.
Against the serene indifference of the river, the Lírio do Rio's diesel engine thrummed . It was not an alien sound to her
