we woke up early to get ready for a long travel day. we got on the bus around 8 to leave to catch our canoes to go to the Waorani people. when we got to the canoes, the professors told us it would be about 6 or 7 hours on these canoes. during our canoe ride, I saw a variety of life. I saw monkeys, birds, and turtles. I really enjoyed seeing the diversity of life in this jungle. After our long canoe ride, we arrived at our base camp in the middle of the Waorani territory. we had dinner and then got ready for our big day tomorrow.

We woke up to the birds chirping today. We had a good breakfast today to get ready for the action-packed day we have ahead of us. After breakfast, we went out with a group of Waorani people to show is how they hunted. They took us to a vine and demonstrated how they called for monkeys to hunt them. They also showed us a call they use for toucans. After this, we went to a tree that is very important to them. One of the Waorani explained to us that they believe that their ancestors and the forest spirits live in this tree. He further explained that they plant gardens around the trees called chakras. They believe that since the tree is tall and strong, they hope that it will transfer over to the plants they plant around it. They said it was going to rain, so we left to go and have lunch. We all ate, and then a small group of us went out fishing with the Waorani. I caught a fish, but after I caught a fish, we had to leave to go to the Waoranis’ home. While at their home, we learned about their history and beliefs of the tribe. We talked with one of the elders, and she went into further detail about how life was before contact. We all then tried our hand at throwing spears. No one stuck it into the target, but a few of us hit the target. After we attempted throwing the spears, we all separated into two teams and played soccer with the Waorani. We all tried our best and had a blast with the game, but it came time were we had to leave. As we were leaving, they motioned us into their home again, where there was a pet they had. This pet was a tapir. It was one animal that no one, even the professors, were expecting to see. It was an animal that I didn’t even know existed. After this excitement, we all decided to go swimming at dusk with the Waorani. We jumped in, had chicken fights, and most importantly, we had fun. Some laughs and chicken fights later, we had to get going back to our base camp to have dinner and get a change of clothes. After dinner, we went back again to the Waorani, where this time they gave us a traditional dance, Quechua names, and a traditional drink made out of fresh water and bananas. the name they gave me was Bomboya, which meant someone who is tall and strong, an excellent boar hunter, and good at making jungle beer. Everyone laughed whenever I was given my name because it fit me so well. After their dances, we gave them a dance we practiced, which combined the cup song, the Macarena, and the cotton eye joe. They liked it so much that they wanted to learn the dance. we then taught a few of them the cotton eye joe and danced with them for a while. when it was time to leave, we all said our goodbyes and took some pictures. Even though we had only known the Waorani people for a day, it was hard to say goodbye and leave. whenever we got back to the base camp, we all changed and went straight to bed because we would have to take the boat back again the next day.

The Birds were extra vocal today in the morning. We ate breakfast at 7:30 today to get ready for our long boat trip ahead of us. After we were fueled up with food and coffee, we set out for our long boat ride. About 30 minutes into the trip, my boat’s engine had some problems. Everyone on my boat had to split up and go on the other boats. We rode like this until we stopped for lunch. The locals believed that the boat with issues would catch up soon, so we waited an extra 20 minutes till the other boat reached us. once everyone was in their original boats, we set off for our final leg of the boat trip. This boat trip was longer, but it did not feel like that. Once we were all packed into the bus after the boats, we set off to our final destination, which was the lodge. We stopped at a convenience store to go to the bathroom and get snacks before the lodge. once at the lodge, everyone took showers and then ate dinner. we all sat around after dinner and relaxed till we went to bed.