On a Wing and a Prayer

This book tells the incredible story of one woman's adventure into the heart of the rainforest.
As a young child, Sarah Woods imagined going on epic voyages to exotic, illusory lands filled with bizarre creatures, intoxicating rhythms, vibrant colours and other-worldly forests. As soon as she was old enough she packed a bag and set off to see the world for real, leaving friends and family behind to fulfil her childhood dreams.
To journey solo through Central and South America was perhaps the ultimate challenge. Leaving the tourist traps behind, Sarah ventured into the wilderness, experiencing disease-ridden swamps, shark-infested waters and dense tracts of primary rainforest that are home to jaguars, anacondas and tusk-gnashing peccaries.
One animal, though, is truly emblematic of these forests - the awe-inspiring harpy eagle. But to see it you have to be prepared for serious hardship...
Facing gruelling, energy-sapping jungle conditions and constant challenges that saw her question the deepest and most intimate aspects of her life, Sarah's intrepid travels on the trail of iconic wildlife took her through some of the toughest terrain imaginable, and led to encounters with extraordinary indigenous people of the forest, with whom she experienced kindnesses and cultures beyond her wildest dreams.

Sarah Woods has been travelling nonstop for two decades, circumnavigating the globe in several directions along the way. She has scaled volcanoes, navigated windswept deserts and spent time with indigenous tribes in riverside thatched settlements. Now UK-based, Sarah works for Europe's largest wildlife conservation charity, the RSPB. She is a regular contributor to travel magazines, travel and documentary programmes and BBC radio. Sarah has won awards for her books, TV broadcasting and travel writing. She is author of the Bradt Travel Guides to Panama and Colombia.

Map of the region
Prologue
Jungles in the City - Panama, 1999-2005
Eyeballing an Eden - Panama, 2004-2006
Meeting the Wounaan - Panama, 2008
Mangroves and the Moonchild - Panama, 2008
Shapes and Stones - Colombia, 2007-2010
Fish Man and the Floods - The Amazon (Colombia, Brazil and Peru) and Costa Rica, 2006-2010
Jailbirds and Whales - Panama, 2003
Otters, Flamingos and Jackboots - Colombia, Venezuela and Panama, 2007 - 2010
Blood, Sweat and Tears - Panama, 2010
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Index
Plates