Author:

(nonfiction)
Dead Run
Leavenworth Train
A Furnace Afloat
A World on Fire: A Heretic, an Aristocrat, and the Race to Discover Oxygen

(fiction)
How I Left the Great State of Tennessee and Went on to Better Things

jwjackson@cox.net

www.joejacksonbooks.com

In October 2005, I came to the Amazon to do research on a book for Viking Press on Henry Wickham, the Victorian wanderer who stole 70,000 rubber seeds from the Amazon in 1876 to give the British Empire the world monopoly in natural rubber. This was a highly specialized trip, calling not only for a wide knowledge of history, botany, and zoology, but also requiring the services of a Portuguese-to-English interpreter and local guide.

This is a tall order for any guide, but Gil Serique was up to the challenge and, it proved, perfect for the job. Starting in Santarem, we hit Henry Ford's failed rubber plantations in Fordlandia and Belterra, the site of Wickham's first failed plantation at Piquiatuba, several villages along the Tapajos River that figured into the story, and visited examples of primary forest that would have approximated the conditions in Victorian times. We unearthed tales of riots in Fordlandia that had never been documented and solved a historical mystery concerning the origin of the seeds that created the British Empire's lucrative rubber trade. We stopped at Taperhina, one of the most famous sites of Victorian-era biological exploration, as well as at obscure villages along the river in which I stumbled upon ideas for subsequent books. The gathering of information in a quick and efficient manner is extremely important for any writer or journalist working on a deadline: Gil understood this, did his research ahead of time, and was able to squeeze what turned into an incredibly rich research journey into a mere six days.

The greatest stumbling block that I anticipated was the language barrier, but Gil was a natural interpreter, able to anticipate my questions as or before I asked them. It was as if there was no language barrier at all. Not only does Gil have wide experience in the logistics and pitfalls of guided tours, but he is intellectually engaged in solving the kinds of problems and challenges that writers, researchers, filmmakers and scientists normally encounter when traveling to a different country for creative work. Gil is both fun to be with and extremely smart, and within a day or two of my arrival I knew that I could depend upon him totally, more as if he were a collaborator in the work than a paid guide. That seems to be his ethic: he becomes a collaborator, and wants the project to succeed as much as anyone. I cannot recommend Gil highly enough for work like this, and I anticipate collaborating with him again in the future for research on a novel once this nonfiction manuscript is submitted. I would be happy to recommend his expertise to anyone.

www.alandeanfoster.com

Mike, Kim, Sara, Matt, Jason & Maria
Ohio, USA

onthego6246@yahoo.com

Our family was fortunate to be able to spend a day with Gil Serique while we were on a very long cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean, Amazon, Africa, and Mediterranean. We organized a day excursion with Gil during our ship's call in Santarem. What a wonderful experience this was! Gil took fantastic care of our entire family (he even had to rearrange our outings at the last minute due to our ship changing it's time in port - but this was no problem for Gil). We were able to see so many things in the beautiful area surrounding Santarem - sloths, monkeys, iguanas, countless birds and beautiful plant life. Gil attended to every detail such as a wonderful riverboat; a friendly skipper of the boat; a fantastic cook; canoes to do our side trips through flooded jungle in; even a local boy who delighted in showing us his "backyard," which was truly the most beautiful place we have ever seen - a lagoon-type area surrounded by beautiful flowers and filled with giant waterlilies and majestic birds. We have travelled all over the world, to every continent with our three teenagers and grade-schooler and our entire family agrees that we have never had a better experience than we had with Gil in Santarem. It was truly magical, and Gil is now a dear friend who has taught us all a very valuable lesson in the thrill of loving the life we have been given.     

Gil, if you ever need a reference please feel free to give our email address to anyone! We sincerely feel very fortunate to know you and hope that other people will get to have the same wonderful experience we had with you. You are a very special person!                                           Your "family" in Ohio,                                           Mike, Kim, Sara, Matt, Jason, and Maria

I'm back here in Florida and have been checking out  your website, which is terrific.  I've sent the link on to my adult children in Portland, OR and Seattle, WA.  We may just get back to see you one day!

I want to tell you that you personally affected my life during that short experience and you are now referred to as "the gold standard for tour guides".  Your enthusiasm, energy, and thoughtfulness comes back to you tenfold, I hope.

We started early on Saturday for our marathon trip down the Rio Negro, then to the native Amazon village, rubber tree education, floating restaurant lunch, nature walk to the giant water lilies, small boat ride through the floating forest to a small native home (with a boa constrictor for a pet), then piranha fishing and bird watching.  Next there was dusk and a fun Cayman hunt and back to the Ecolodge for a great meal and fantastic entertainment with "native" dancers.  Pretty unbelievable how much we did in just one day (and I'm certain I've skipped something!)  but we all survived it and learned an immense amount about the Amazon region!  What an experience!

Because of you ... I decided to live life a little fuller, and on our last day in Rio I took a hang-gliding adventure with Dehilton. It was fabulous.  I don't know if it was Brazil, meeting people like you, or if there truly is a special metaphysical happening at "the converging of the waters on the Amazon where you windsur,f" but I feel more alive that I have in years.  Life is GOOD!  I am healthy, happy, and infused with energy.  Thank you, Gil. You may be a "prima donna" as you put it, but it works for you, and for anyone who meets you, too.  It was my pleasure and gift to have met you! 

Stanislaw Stamberg
Paleontologist, Czech Republic

Monika Stamberg
Biologist, Czech Republic

monistam@hotmail.com

Milý Gile,

rádi bychom ti vyjádrili ješte jednou díky za úžasný týden, který jsme s tebou a s tvými spolupracovníky strávili v Amazonii na rece Tapajós a Cupari. Když jsme prijíždeli do Santarému, ocekávali jsme sice jakéhosi turistického pruvodce a slušné zacházení, ale rozhodne jsme nepredpokládali, že nás bude provázet tak zanícený znalec prírody a pomeru v Amazonii. Byli jsme nadšeni, že jsme se práve tvou zásluhou dostali do tesné blízkosti množství úžasných zvírat a že jsi nás trpelive ucil rozpoznávat desítky druhu ptáku. Velké dojmy v nás zanechaly brzké ranní i nocní výpravy do zatopených pralesu, ale i setkání s lidmi z komunit obývajících brehy rek Tapajós a Cupari a alespon cástecné poznání jejich života.

K úžasné pohode pri našem spolecném putování Amazonií velkou merou prispela i prostorná a peclive udržovaná lod Filipa a kucharské dobroty Seba. Stále se nám vybavuje zrucnost Filipa pri manévrování s lodí a její otácení na možných i nemožných místech jen proto, abychom mohli videt nejaký vzácný klenot z ptací ríše Amazonie a stále se nám sbíhají sliny pri pomyšlení na kucharské umení Seba. Jeho rybí i kurecí speciality proste nemely chybu.

Velice ti dekujeme, že práve tvou zásluhou se nám splnil dávný sen poznat prírodní zázraky amazonských pralesu. Pevne doufáme a veríme, že se nám ješte v budoucnosti podarí znovu cestovat s tebou a týmem tvých prátel Filipem a Sebem.

Se srdecným pozdravem Stan a Monika

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Dear Gil,

We would like to express once again our thanks to you for a wonderful week, which we spent with you and your team in Amazonia on the Tapajós and Cupari rivers. Before we came to Santarém, we assumed some usual tourist guide and reasonable manner, but we certainly didn´t expect such a passionate and excellent expert on nature and circumstances in Amazonia as you are. We have been enthusiastic, thanks to you, that we reached such close vicinity of a large amount of amazing animals, and you did teach us to distinguish ten species of birds. We have great impressions from our early morning and late evening expeditions into the flooded virgin forest and also from the meetings with the people from communities living in outlying forest. We had the opportunity to become acquainted with the beauties of the Amazonia´s nature as well as the lives of her people.

Felipes´ commodious boat was in an excellent state of repair and contributed greatly to our glorious peace of mind as well as the culinary dainties of Saba. We still remember the skill of Felipe´s navigation and turning in the possible and impossible places just to make it possible for us to observe some rare animal or bird. Our mouths are watering at the mere thought of Saba's cooking. His fish and chicken specialities were absolutely great.

We are much obliged to you, Gil, for the realization of our long standing dream that we could penetrate to outlying forests and live in Amazonia. We can of course recommend your guide abilities to other people interested in the nature of Amazonia, but we stoutly believe we will come in future once again and travel with you and the team of your friends.

Best wishes Stan & Monika

Jobst Christoff Eggert
Musician

jobstofmind@hotmail.com

www.ihatepeaceofmind.com
www.highscorepunx.com

J.C. and Jennifer Carlton
Owners of a national security company that specializes in providing security to Fortune 500 companies.

jc1333@juno.com

Alex Bellos
Author of Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life

Dave McNeely
Biology professor

dlmcneely@lunet.edu

"My wife and I spent five days with Gil Serique on the MV Cassiquiari with a dozen other biologists from the U.S. and Australia. Everything about the trip was superb. Gil was knowledgable, helpful, fun to be with, and definitely enjoyed showing us the rivers, islands, igapo forest, varzea, wildlife, people and culture of the region. Though it was not our primary objective, but only a part of what we did, we saw nearly a hundred bird species. We also snorkled in the black water of the Rio Negro, were able to observe local fish species, find caimans at night. Three species of macaws was enough to make me happy. Probably most important for us was that he used his expertise and knowledge to guide us to experiences that we chose, based on what we wanted to get from our trip to Brazil, in addition to leading us to things we would not have known to ask for. Even the herpetologist who was bitten by a (non-venomous) snake was happy (and not seriously injured - it just added to the excitement). Great trip! Make sure that you get to enjoy a cream dessert made from cupu acu!!"

Ruth Shurman
London, England

ruthcshurman@yahoo.co.uk

"Travelling for 11 days on the Rio Negro was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The landscape was beautiful and varied, the animal and birdlife was stunning, and the riverside communities were fascinating, but above all it was our fantastic guide, Gil Serique, who made the trip so special. Gil's knowledge of every aspect of Amazonia is encyclopaedic, his enthusiasm is infectious, and his good humour and energy made every day a new adventure. He is a brilliant and inspiring teacher, and his concern and respect for the Amazon environment is reflected in the way he encourages others to value their surroundings too by using locals to guide us round their patch. Hours of hiking, piranha-fishing, frisbee-throwing, and caiprinha-mixing cannot tire him, and I'm confident he would be happy to tailor an expedition to suit any group of travellers as perfectly as ours suited us."

Mark L. Stafford
Los Angeles, California

info@parrotsinternational.org

www.parrotsinternational.org

Donald and Priscilla Old
Michigan, USA

"Gil Serique was our personal guide during a trip to Hyacinth Valley and the Lear's Macaw sites in the fall of 2000. He was very professional, and we felt more than comfortable in his care. His knowledge, enthusiasm and excitement about his work made the whole experience more fun and lively than we had expected. For example, at one point we might have missed seeing the Lear's Macaws altogether, due to a weather problem. Gil offered us an alternative route, which we chose to take. The alternative created more work for him and the driver, but he handled all the details very smoothly. It turned out that we had a wonderful sighting when we arrived at the site, and we were glad we hadn't missed out on it.

"We can highly recommend Gil as a guide. He is deliriously enthusiastic about his work, and more than capable of handling unexpected events should they present themselves. Our next trip to South America will be to the Amazon with Gil as our guide."

Beth Foster
Denver, Colorado

beth.foster@rrcc.edu

"The week my son and I spent with Gil Serique and his crew was a wonderful, unforgettable experience. Every day was filled with adventure, discovery and fun; every detail of the trip seemed planned with our delight in mind. (It's not always easy to delight a teenager, but mine came home with a whole new outlook on life!) The boat was clean, roomy and comfortable; the food was plentiful and excellent; Gil himself was incredibly knowledgeable about the scientific and cultural facets of the Amazonian world. I particularly enjoyed meeting residents of the areas we visited; Gil seemed to have friends everywhere who found it as exciting to meet us as we did to meet them. Every aspect of our trip far surpassed my expectations. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants a genuine (as opposed to "touristy") Amazon experience, and I'd be glad to talk to anyone who's considering retaining Gil Serique's services as a guide."

David Richardson
Director, Center for the Preservation of
Indigenous Art, Culture and Sciences

Gil Serique has been an extremely active volunteer here at the Center for the Preservation of Indigenous Art, Culture and Sciences -1492- 1992, almost from the commencement of the project . We have also followed his career as a professional guide and ecological activist here in the Amazon for approximately the last ten years.

We here at the Center consider him a close friend and will forever be indebted to him for his selflessness in sharing his extensive knowledge of our environment and assisting us in unifying and clarifying the indigenous influences on the forest for the better understanding of our regional and overall Brazilian society.

Various projects ideas that are now being carried on here at the Center our due to his personal efforts and creativity. His honesty and sincerity in his work as an ecologist and as indigenista are exemplatory.

His reputation as a naturalist/lecturer speaks for itself. He is always in great demand due to his expansive knowledge on so many different subjects that pertain to our environment and his ability and ease to transfer that information to a common level. To attain that level of understanding that he has obtained, demonstrates his passion for the forest and the Amazon. It has taken Mr. Serique years and years of self study (without the benefit of a structured educational system) to acquire the understanding of the rainforest that he has. It has all been through personal determination , discipline, and dedication that Mr. Serique has involved himself so deeply to gain the field knowledge he has of this region.

Barbara en Bas
Holland

bcmoosterkamp@hotmail.com
vaneggermont@hotmail.com

Dan moet je zeker even verder lezen (andere lokaties in Zuid-Amerika zijn ook mogelijk).

Wij hebben een SUPER weekend gehad toen we met Gil de jungle ingingen. Gil is een hyperactieve local met passie voor natuur en medemens. Zijn bijzonder goede kennis van flora en fauna (heel veel vogels) gecombineerd met zijn onuitputtelijke energie en goed engels maakte onze trip tot een fascinerende en zeer enerverende gebeurtenis. Hij weet je echt bij de junletour te betrekken mede door het inschakelen van nog lokalere gidsen per lokatie (pikken deze toch ook een graantje mee!). Hierdoor zijn wij op plaatsen gekomen waar nog weinig toeristen zijn geweest.

Kortom de combinatie van een supermooire flora en fauna en dito uitleg in erg enthousiast engels met natuurlijk de nodige cerveja en caipirinha en een tikje altruisme is onweerstaanbaar en mag je dan ook niet missen.

Met Gil weet je zeker dat je een onvergetelijke trip zal maken!!

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

In search of a fantastic guide in the Amazon area?!!

Then you certainly must read on (other locations in South America are also possible).

We had a SUPER weekend when Gil took us into the jungle. Gil is an enthusiastic local with a passion for nature and people. His extraordinary knowledge of flora and fauna (lots of birds), combined with his amazing energy and knowledge of the English language, made our trip into a fascinating and very exciting event. He really knows how to get you involved in the jungle tour by using local guides for each location (so they can benefit from this as well!). Because of this we were able to see places where not many tourists have been before.

In short, the combination of the most beautiful flora and fauna and the explanation in very enthusiastic English with, of course, the necessary cerveja and caipirinha and a just a bit of altruism, is something you should not miss out on.

With Gil you know you will make an unforgettable trip!!