This is a recent radio program I heard about The Boiling River. The story is of an American geoscientist with Peruvian roots, Andres Ruzo. He heard from his grandfather incredible stories about a "boiling river." When he became a geoscientist, he wanted to find it and everyone believed it to be a myth. He persisted, and went to find it with the help of a shaman. He found that he was getting terrible insect bites while no one else in his group was being targeted in that way. The shaman said, "Oh yes, the jungle is protecting itself against you. It's because of the knowledge you bring -- people with that knowledge have hurt the jungle in the past."

He joined the shaman in a ceremony to connect with the jungle in a different way. The next day, he had no insect bites!

He ended up finding the boiling river and it has rocked his field -- and gotten covered on National Geographic. Andres is now actively involved in conserving this part of the Amazon. He has counter-intuitive insights -- including the fact that indigenous people have forgotten their ancient culture and hurt the jungle, whereas an oil and gas company has proved to be a good steward. I found this to be a remarkable story (there's even a TED talk).