I’m going to have to break up the past 3 days into 2 blogs just because of all the information I have to share so keep a look out for the next blog. Day 5 consisted of a whole lot of traveling. Early in the morning we packed one backpack full of 3 days worth of clothes. We loaded everything into the bus and then we were off to our awaiting off-the-grid location. Yes, I said off-the-grid. This meant taking a 6 hour canoe ride through the Amazon to the Waorani tribe. The Waorani tribe is a group of indigenous people that we were traveling to observe and learn from. It also means that for the next 3 days, there would be absolutely no service, dun dun dunnn! When we arrived at the canoes we unloaded all of our bags onto the biggest one and I was lucky enough to snag a bench seat. The canoes had an engine in the back operated by one of the family members in the Waorani tribe and another at the front directing the operator. Other than the ride being 6 hours and having to stay on top of sunscreen or the brutal sun would leave its marks, the ride was nothing I have ever experienced before and the scenery, from birds flying to monkeys swinging on trees, was very entertaining. What surprised me the most was that one boat was being operated by two young kids. The level of independence at such a young age was very different for me and made me question what I was doing at that young age. Definitely not operating canoe boat!

When we finally arrived to our destination, we had to climb a couple flights of stairs to reach the house. I was not expected to be greeted by parrots but yes, they had parrots and it amazed me to see them as pets. You could definitely tell the house was positioned right in the Amazon as their were zero outside and inside lights, cold water with little water pressure in the shower, a small stream of water from the sink, and a toilet that did not flush. Dinner needed to be prepared and eaten with candles providing outside light. One amazing thing about sleeping in the house was that the Amazon acts as it own sound machine. The noises of the forests and the pouring down rain made it extremely easy to fall asleep. The next morning during breakfast the entire Waorani family visited us. When they arrived one thing that stood out was the tribal symbols on their face. The guys had 4 red dots on their face and the women had a red streak going through their eyes. They all introduced themselves and we introduced ourselves. Some of the family members laughed at some of our names maybe because it sounded funny to them, or it meant another thing in their language. Then as an icebreaker that the family likes to do, they gave us all Waorani names. My name was Geetah, which they explained was a warrior of some of the people in the Amazon. I was one of the lucky ones as some of the names meant different types of monkeys.

After the little icebreaker, we headed out again on the canoes but this time to a nearby opening in the river where we could float the canoe through this small passage. The whole time I was not exactly sure where we were going but the Waorani seemed to know as they were swinging their machetes to cut the leaves that were poking out in the passage way. We then docked the boats and again followed the Waorani as they cut the leaves leading us to this opening over the passage of water with a vine hanging down from a tree. Then a guy from the tribe swung over the vine and started cutting leaves to make a landing spot. I now knew what we were doing, swinging from a vine. Most of the group went before me and would swing and jump off on the platform that was made. However, we started to wonder if we could swing hard enough and make it back to the original spot. My inner tarzan came out and I volunteered to try. I had to get a fast running start but I was easily able to swing and make it back. Probably one of the coolest things I’ve done. After swinging we then watched a guy climb up a vine into a tree. I also wanted to try this first so I used all the upper body strength I had to pull myself up the tree and once I made it high enough I gradually lowered myself down without tearing my hands up too bad. I didn’t even think about doing this but when everyone was done trying to climb, the guy that was still up in the tree used leaves to slide down the vine without tearing up his hands. It was genius! Our tour guide then began explaining how the Waorani would swing from tree to tree on a vine when hunting in order for their scent to not stick on the ground for jaguars to smell. Like the other activities, we got a demonstration first where the guy used the vine to swing to a tree. We all tried and a few other guys and I even tried going from one tree to another. I was only able to get to two trees but I realized how hard that would have been for the Waorani to do that on many trees. After these amazing activities were finished, the group headed back to the lodge for a well needed lunch.

There is still so much I have to share. Come join me in my next blog for a continuation of this blog and even more adventures!

Cale