fourteen19

First, I thought this book was going to be about the City of Z in the Amazon. Turns out it's a biography of Percy Harrison Fawcett, which is fine. I was just confused for the first half of the book and kept reading the title to make sure that it didn't specify itself as such, so that I wouldn't think I was crazy. The City of Z, or El Dorado, is an ancient city in the Amazon reported to be very wealthy where the king would grind up gold and blow it onto his skin to make it shimmer. Like Tobias on Arrested Development. Fawcett ardently believed in it's existence and spent a good deal of time searching for it until he disappeared in 1925. His disappearance sparked a sort of national fever with people becoming obsessed with searching for him and for Z. The most enduring thing I learned from this book is that in the Amazon, they have worms that nest under your skin. The impression I got is that they're big enough that you can see them and feel them move around. The explorers were absolutely plagued by these things. And then, they met some Indians who could whistle and the worms would stick their heads out of the skin. They could then pop them out like a zit. And, you're welcome, for ruining your next meal.

2022-11-14 14:05