Today we just got back from the Waorani tribe, and it was amazing. Let me get back to how we got there first. On Sunday, we took a 2-hour bus ride to the beach, where we loaded our gear into a canoe, which we took to the Waorani. The canoe ride was about 5 hours, and the sun was out the whole time, so we got a little burned, even with our sunscreen on. I was lucky enough to fall asleep on the canoe ride, so it was nice and quick for me. By the time we got there, it was almost time for dinner. While we waited for dinner, we went on a hike in the jungle to explore. It was very cool hiking in the jungle because it was completely different from what I am used to. It was very dense, and everything around you looked the same. It started to get dark, so we headed back from the hike, and dinner was now ready. After the great dinner, we attempted to catch a fish, but it did not go well. We were not worried because they told us that we would go fishing tomorrow. We went to bed pretty early because we were all tired from the long day of traveling.

I woke up the next morning feeling amazing because I got 10 and a half hours of sleep, the most I have gotten on this trip by far. We started out the day by taking the canoes down the river to a spot where we swung on vines from a very big tree. While we were there, the leader of the Waorani told us stories about the tree. She told us that they used the tree as shelter from the jaguars. One of the younger indigenous kids climbed a vine, and he had to be at least 30 feet in the air. It was crazy. Next, we went fishing. We got to the fishing spot, and our guy got a fish within the first 10 seconds of casting the line. The fish had fins that could inject poison into you, so our guide snapped them off so we could hold the fish. We got 5 fish, and then something went wrong with our engine, so we had to fix that. By the time we got back, it was time for lunch. I was so hungry, so lunch tasted extra good. After lunch, we relaxed for a little bit and then spent time with the Waorani. We threw spears and played soccer with them. The soccer field was very muddy, so people were slipping all over the place. After the first couple of minutes, I made it my goal to not get hurt. After playing soccer, we swam in the river with them while it was raining. After swimming, we got some dinner and then prepared for our goodbye ceremony.

At the ceremony, the Waorani did a dance, and then we sang “Party in the USA” and taught them how to frat flick. We also shared our favorite memory from the day at the ceremony. After the ceremony was over, we went to sleep because we had to get up very early the next day to leave. We got up around 6:30am to have breakfast, and then we got in the canoes. The ride was a lot longer this time because we were going upstream. It took about 6 and a half hours canoeing, along with the 2-hour bus ride afterward. It was a very long day, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I really enjoyed.