'I Feel For An Amazonian Princess'

A Trip To South America Ended In An Unusual Romance.

CHRISTIAN BLANKENHORN spent his life immersed in innovation and technology. As a veteran flight engineer, he spent thousands of hours in cockpits of jumbo jets traversing the Earth hundreds of metres in the air. His world was technology, but it was lonely at times when he returned to his quiet flat in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Then, he discovered love in one of the most natural and remote settings – the Brazilian rainforest. Accustomed to living a carefree life without martial ties, the globe-trotting German had just completed a particularly difficult job repairing a plane when he decided to take a break and go on an exotic vacation. He and his friends travelled to Machu Picchu, Peru, visited the splendid Brazilian waterfalls of Iguazu and planned to end the trip in the city of Manaus in Northern Brazil, capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. That’s where he met a fellow who offered to take them to a remote Indian village in the wilderness.

It was a two hour motorboat ride to Praia do Tupe, a settlement off a small tributary of the mighty Amazon. Shortly after arriving, traditionally dressed Tucano Indians danced for the visitors. His friends were enthralled by the show and watched it with awe and intensity, but Christian’s gaze wandered about, studying ordinary people and admiring the landscape. Suddenly, his eyes locked on a young woman standing a short distance away. “I noticed her leaning against a palm tree,” he says.

“She was so beautiful; she took my breath away. She looked like a princess.”