A bright Andean sunrise is soon obscured by thick clouds as we redescend into the Amazon Jungle. We're going to be seeing a lot of mud today, because the rain is falling in buckets. The roads are like quicksand; no ordinary street vehicle could ever get through. The sky is continuously leaden, as it rains here almost every day of the year.

Gold is mined in these parts so there has been a rush of peasants from all over hoping to strike it rich. Most never do. Those who do probably have it extorted out of them anyway, both by criminals and local authorities, often one and the same.

On some porches tiny little Indian prostitutes hang out. As one racer says, they probably have diseases that make AIDS look like the common cold.

Speaking of health, these malaria infested swamps are the reason for all the vaccinations before leaving the States. Everyone is covered with mosquito bites despite liberal applications of DEET.