The voyage wrecked his knee and almost cost an eye – but it took the Brazilian photographer into a world of shamans, hidden tribes and infinite rainforests. He relives an extraordinary odyssey
‘The captain of the boat would not allow us to swim in the river,” says Sebastião Salgado. “There were a lot of caiman about. They are so big in Amazônia – they’re the size of crocodiles. There are lots of constrictor snakes, too. They are not poisonous but they are huge. When one catches you, you’re finished. It will break all your bones and eat you. Then there are the piranhas.”
Salgado is not just talking to me via Zoom from Paris, where he has his studio. He is leading me on a breathless quest into Amazônia, the world’s most extensive rainforest. The photographer, clearly enjoying himself, admits that his favourite moments in life are when he’s setting out on a journey. “I am inside my transport – a plane or a boat – anything that brings me there. I am going to see something!”
