The river is initially crowded with commercial and tourist boat traffic, but as Easter guides them into smaller tributaries, carrying them deeper into the jungle, their isolation increases. As they make their way to the station, Marina discovers that Easter is in fact not a member of the Lakashi tribe, but is actually from a neighboring tribe called the Hummocca. Dr. Swenson adopted him after his tribe abandoned him.

During the long boat ride, they discuss subjects that will prove to be important in the subsequent chapters. Dr. Swenson recalls her first visit to the Amazon as a researcher in Dr. Rapp’s party. She had made the mistake of treating a girl who had been accidentally struck in the head with a machete. After helping her, all the sick people in the region were carried to Dr. Swenson for care, a pattern that disrupted and interfered with the progress of her work and research.

Marina recoils at the notion that Dr. Swenson should have left the injured girl to bleed to death, insisting that a doctor’s duty is to provide mercy and care to the sick. While Dr. Swenson once held the same view, she has been hardened by her experiences and now believes what Dr.