Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.

Respect was one thing. Survival was another. It was important that I kept my priorities in the right order.

The rain of Madre de Dios is similar to that of the Amazon, but there is a petrifying aspect to it, as if it seeks to wound rather than to nurture.

My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.

I was no longer troubled when he pulled out a machete in a crowded bar, tried to pick up schoolgirls, or threatened to scalp us, then rip off our heads and scoop out our brains.

In Morocco, before you even get to the matter of the sale, you have to coax the owner to sell.

During the days I felt myself slipping into a kind of madness. Solitary confinement has an astonishing effect on the mind. The trip was to stay calm and keep myself occupied. I spent hours working out how to break free. But trying to escape would have been instant suicide.