Day 8 was the first travel day down to the Waorani tribe deep into the Amazon. We spent around 5 hours on the canoe that day which wasn’t as bad as it seems, just gotta move around a lot to find a comfortable spot.
Day 9, the real fun begins. We spent the day with the Waorani, it’s getting real, first we went for a quick canoe ride downstream to do a little hike and learn about the environment they live in, also hear stories from past generations. There are massive trees called ceiba, which have vines attached to them, and the tribe had cut some steps along a part of the trunk so we could climb and swing on the amazingly strong vine. While some were still swinging, Dimenta, one of the little boys from the tribe, started climbing up on the tree vines, and must have reached almost 50ft! After the swinging stopped, we headed over to another ceiba tree where the chief of the community gave us an insight into what past generations did to survive here and the traditions they have.
After the hike, we went fishing with small groups to catch dinner. I went with the president and the chief, his mother. During our fishing excursion, the engine broke so we got stuck at our spot for a while waiting for him to fish, but Bekky, the chief, was kind enough to go and chop some big leaves of a branch to give to Lily and me for shade. We finally got back after the president caught us 5 fish!
We had lunch, then headed back to their site to have the naming ceremony and the much-awaited soccer game! We got given the traditional face paint, then given a name depending on how we looked and our personality of that day. I received the name Giquita, a warrior who killed missionaries and who also liked walking a lot! Then we played soccer with was great fun, especially since it was like playing on ice because of the wet, slick grass. I got a great assist to Yementa, who headed it in for a beautiful finish. Before heading back to dinner, we hit the river to cool of and have a lot of fun. I was hesitant to go in the river at first because of an injury on my knee but, I thought about when I would be able to swim and play tag in the Rio Napo river with an indigenous tribe, the answer to that thought being never! So we balled and hopped in to join the fun.
Finally, we went back for dinner in the pouring rain, then headed back that night to experience their traditional dance, which the guys and I got brought into, making us do their dance with them, definitely an experience of a lifetime! After we taught them “Party in the U.S.A.” and “Sweet Caroline,” which I think they enjoyed a lot. And last but not least, the chief brought out some of her crafts which we obviously had to buy, cause when else can you ever buy this stuff!
