22/03/2026
True the truth
In life sometimes I take a left instead of a right, and the course of events unfolds as it should. If I had found the hostel I was looking for I may never have met Gil. My unsuccessful search for the Hostel Iguanas in Alter Do Choa, landed me erroneously at the door of Gils home/office. Gil immediately met me with a warm genuine smile, a handshake, and a sense of curiosity, mainly because I was carrying a large backpack and asking him in bad Portuguese how much it costs to camp. He gently laughed and told me “this is my home man not a hostel but you can put up your hammock here.” I knew I had found the right place.
You see sometimes there's a man who fits right in, in his time and place, and that man is Gil that time is now and that place is the Amazon. And I could tell by the semi-crazy glint his eyes he was, and is a man who's seen the worst and best of both worlds. And more importantly that I needed to get to know who he was.
At that time I had no idea Gil was a world-renowned guide of the amazon, or steadfast conservationist. I simply got to know Gil as a man who without question allowed me to hang my hammock next to his, offered me his home, shared his food and drink, treated me like family, and allowed me the great pleasure to meet his beautiful daughter.
My time spent at Gil's home has been nothing short of a blast. Gil's amazing spot is crazy beautiful and provides the best view in Alter Do Chao. Sitting on the corner of the quaint town, and overlooking paradise, Gil, his family, newly made friends and I shared caparinhas, beers and swapped travel stories. We killed time with class, smiles, laughs, and embraced the joyous moments that rolled by. Even now I write this review I happily sit on the large deck, looking out over the beach beneath the shade of a enormous mango tree listening to little birds sing the day away with me.
As a wandering traveler like myself blundering into such special connections like the one I share with Gil, are the kind of warm and accepting experiences which keep me coming back and loving Brazil. “I'm the happiest man alive,” Gil tells me all the time, “I dare you to find someone happier than me.”
