City of the Beasts

In the hotel in Santa Maria de la Lluvia, the group gathers to plan their expedition. Leblanc insists that they leave the next morning to accommodate his work schedule and behaves condescendingly toward Dr. Torres when he finds out that she will be joining them as an employee of the National Health Service. The group also meets Captain Ariosto, who is in charge of the local military, and Mauro Carías, a wealthy entrepreneur who originally encouraged International Geographic to send a team to research the Beast. Kate suspects that Carías wishes only to stop the Beast from interfering in his business dealings, but Carías maintains that “the Beast is a problem for everyone” (79). Leblanc doubts that the Beast is real, but Santos defends the story of a local priest named Padre Valdomero, who claims to have seen the Beast himself. Santos also describes the spirituality of the native people, explaining that because they believe that “everything has a soul” (80) and do not understand Christian notions of sin, Padre Valdomero had found it unnecessary and even impossible to convert them to Christianity. 

That evening, Alex takes a walk to the river with Nadia and her tame monkey companion, Borobá. When Nadia notices a nearby presence and calls to it by mimicking an owl, Alex follows her into the jungle, even though he is frightened of leaving the village and has been warned not to. After hearing an answering owl call, Alex and Nadia encounter an ethereal, ghost-like man who “looked as if he had lived for centuries” (84) and who seems to appear out of nowhere. Alex watches as Nadia greets the man as a friend, and proceeds to have a long, animated conversation with him that Alex cannot follow. At the end of the conversation, the old man displays an amulet that, when he blows into it, sounds just like the owl call. He places the amulet around Nadia’s neck and vanishes.  

Nadia explains to Alex that the old man is a shaman named Walimai, and that he can travel in realms of spirits in the company of his wife, who is herself a spirit. Nadia tells Alex what Walimai said during their conversation: although it is dangerous for foreigners to look for the Beast, Alex and Nadia have been called to do so “because [their] souls are pure” [87]. Additionally, Walimai warned Nadia that a frightening “cannibal spirit-bird” [87] called the Rahakanariwa is causing danger and that Nadia can call Walimai using the owl amulet when she needs help during their journey. Alex is skeptical, but Nadia believes Walimai’s words. 

Alex sleeps badly after meeting Walimai, remembering his warning that members of their expedition could die. He also misses his home and family, and wishes that Kate behaved more attentively toward him. Hearing voices outside, Alex leaves his hammock at the hotel and wakes Nadia to investigate with him. The two discover Captain Ariosto and Mauro Carías discussing a plan to get rich off of the lands currently occupied by native tribes. They hear Carías refer to the International Geographic group as “witnesses” and say that they will “[tell] the exact story we want them to tell” (92). Carías also mentions that someone he trusts will be on the expedition, but he does not tell Ariosto who, and implies that the goal of their plan is to rid the surrounding region of Indians.  

While he is listening, a snake wraps itself around Alex’s leg, scaring him, but he stays quiet and the men do not discover him and Nadia. Nadia removes the snake from Alex’s leg. The two friends agree that they won’t tell anyone what they heard and will instead wait to see what happens.