Chapters 4-6

The first few chapters of this book were very dull and slow and had very little action. The most action was Alex trying to find his grandmother's place in New York. Now that I'm past the boring part of the book, it's becoming more and more exciting with each page. Chapter four starts off with Alex and his grandmother Kate on a plane, flying to the Amazon. When they arrive at their destination, they discover that they will now have to take a long boat ride up the Rio Negro to arrive at Santa Maria de la Lluvia where they will start their expedition.
When they arrive at Santa Maria de la Lluvia, Alex and Kate meet up with the rest of their crew for the expedition. Alex meets a girl named Nadia who is a couple years younger than he is, but she has far more experience than he, so she acts older than she really is. While everyone was waiting for the weather to clear up and for all of the supplies to be prepared, Nadia escorted Alex around the small village. When a downpour commences, Alex and Nadia find shelter in the church where Nadia introduces Alex to Padre Valdomero. Valdomero tells his story of the Beast upon Nadia's request.
The next day, the crew disputes over who can come and who can't on account of their budget. Everyone finds a way to come along, but not after hours of debating. Later that night, Alex and Nadia find themselves on the dock. Suddenly, Nadia stops moving and makes a strange call into what seems to be the darkness of night. She signals Alex to follow her into the jungle where they come upon a clearing, and an ancient Indian materializes. Nadia and Walimai, the Indian, engage in a conversation involving strange sounds and gestures, which seems to revolve around Alex. Following the conversation, Walimai gives Nadia an amulet that is supposed to protect her and Alex from all dangers.
Upon returning home, Alex and Nadia go to sleep, but Alex can hardly sleep. He wakes up in the middle of the night due to voices coming from outside. He wakes up Nadia, and the two of them sneak outside and observe two men conversing in Spanish. After Nadia removes the snake that becomes curled up from Alex's leg, she explains to him what the men were saying, which had something to do with getting rich and the crew telling some sort of cover-up story. The next morning, everyone except Ludovic LeBlanc goes swimming in the river to cool down and clean up for the journey that lies ahead.
Isabel Allende describes everything new to Alex with excruciating detail. For example, when Alex meets Nadia for the first time, he describes her as, "Alex guessed that the girl was about the age of his sister Andrea, maybe twelve or thirteen. Her curly hair was wild, bleached by the sun, and her eyes and skin were the color of honey. She was dressed in shorts, a T-shirt, and plastic sandals. Several colored ribbons were tied around her wrists, a yellow flower was tucked over on ear, and a long green feather pierced the love of the other ear" (65). Isabel describes new things with incredible detail so the reader can imagine exactly what the new person or thing looks like, or how it will act.
In addition to using great detail, Allende foreshadows certain events. For example, when Nadia is recounting what was said between her and Walimai, she tells Alex, "Walima says that foreigners should not go looking for the Beast. He says that several will die. But you and I must go because we have been called, and that is because our souls are pure" (87). This passage foreshadows that something bad will happen to the crew, but Alex and Nadia will remain unharmed, most likely due to the talisman she was given by Walimai.