Wednesday, 17 December 2014
You have 2 read this Part I
I'd
be pleased to recommend Gil as one of your tour guides. There's probably
no one who knows the Tapajos/Amazon/Santarem area better than Gil. I
first met him in 2006 or 2007, when I was writing a nonfiction account
of the historical rubber theft by British adventurer Henry Wickham; he
is an expert on natural history, and often seemed to anticipate my
questions or investigative directions. The resultant
book, The Thief at the End of the World (published by Viking), went on
to be named one of Time magazine's Top Ten Books of 2008, and I lay a
lot of that credit at Gil's feet. Since then, he's gone on to guide for
at least two European TV film crews, a Brazilian filmmaker, and another
American writer who wrote the book Fordlandia. I recommended him to two
of those outfits, and they were more than happy with the final results.
I'm thinking in time of coming back to the Tapajos to do a long book
about the gold rush that occurred far to the south from the 1950s to the
1990s, and Gil would be a necessary part of that research. He's a real
professional, and gets the job done. I recommend him highly. Feel free
to call or write if you have any other questions.
You've got 2 read this
I am delighted to offer a rave review for Gil Serique and commend him to you to join your fine group of outstanding guides.
A
little background first: My husband and I have used Tours by Locals
all over the world: Japan,China, Columbia and Grenada and have come back
after each encounter remarking about superior quality of the guides we
met.
My
husband is a professional guide, lecturing on history for Silversea
Expeditions, as well as driving zodiacs, leading hikes and even working
as a polar bear guard in the Arctic. Between us, we have traveled,
lived or worked in over 100 countries and all seven continents.
I
first encountered Gil while searching for guides in Santarem, Brazil.
My husband was lecturing on history on the Silver Whisper cruise ship on
a trip from Barbados into the Amazon. I noted many references to Gil
on Trip Advisor and contacted him through his web page. We had many
pleasant emails where he sent us a link for a video to watch before
departure and also recommended a book to read. We booked Gil for two
excursions, one in Santarem and one in Alter Do Chao where Gil resides.
Right before my husband and I were to depart to Barbados, I developed a
medical problem and was grounded by my doctor. Then, a week later, my
doctor allowed me to join the ship in Santarem, I had been in contact
with Gil as this problem developed and asked for help finding a hotel
and a transfer from the airport to the hotel as my plane arrived at 5:15
am.
Unable
to find any hotels with vacancies, Gil suggested I spend night at his
house and I accepted his invitation.He picked me up at the airport on
time, and I went to sleep in his house while he was at work leading a
small tour group from another cruise ship. Needless to say, after
communicating with Gil via email for about a week I felt safe enough
to accept his offer. The next day he took me to the ship where I met
my husband and accompanied by another couple, we embarked on a full
day’s wildlife and sight seeing excursion.
Gil
grew up near Santarem and is intimately familiar with the history of
the Amazon and it’s creatures and flora and fauna. He is passionate
about his country and he tells richly woven stories about this region in
excellent, fluent English. He has great eyes, spotting wildlife: as we
were driving over a rough clay road, he spotted or heard monkeys in
nearby trees, back up the vehicle and we enjoyed watching the endemic to
the local area monkeys swing from trees to trees. He spotted numerous
birds for us as well as the easier to see sloths. We enjoyed a
delicious lunch of fresh fish cooked over an open fire with Brazil’s
national alcoholic drink. Gil arranged a river boat trip on an
immaculate vessel; there were several other of his team onboard so that
Gil could concentrate on telling his guests about the rich history of
this region.
I highly recommend Gil for inclusion in your company. If you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Lesley Friedsam Damisch, Esq.
Monday, 1 December 2014
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