Godin des Odonais, Isabel (1728–d. after 1773)
Godin des Odonais, Isabel (1728–d. after 1773)
Peruvian explorer. Born in Riobamba, Peru, in 1728; died in Saint-Amand, France, after 1773; married Jean Godin des Odonais, in 1743.
Isabel Godin des Odonais was born in Riobamba, Peru, in 1728. In 1769, she started out with her brothers and a small company to descend the Napo and Amazon rivers in South America. She was going to join her husband Jean, a French naturalist, as he explored in Cayenne; he had been gone 19 years. The boat was lost, and the rest of the party perished except Madame Godin, who wandered alone in the forest for nine days. When she was finally found by some Indians, her hair is said to have become white. The governor of Omaguas sent her down the river, and she rejoined her husband after nearly two decades of separation.