Sunday began a long journey to the Waorani territory and where we’d be staying. We met promptly at 6 AM bright and early to drop our backpacks off that held everything we’d need for the next couple days.
I loaded up on eggs and fruit before we took a 2ish hour bus ride to a river in the Amazon and split up into groups of five or so. I was with three other girls, our professor Skip, the president of the Waorani who was driving our motorized canoe, and a little boy (who was very helpful!). We began our six hour journey in the sun, and I honestly don’t feel like it took as long as it was. We stopped about halfway for lunch as well. I attempted to sleep most of the ride, but it proved a bit difficult with water filling the bottom and the loud engine. However, I kept thinking about how lucky I was to be riding a canoe in the Amazon by a native tribe president, something most people have not experienced. The wildlife was also beautiful, and it seemed like Skip knew every bird!
Around 4:45 we finally arrived at the large cabin we’d all be staying in. We walked around for a bit, but everyone was so exhausted. I may’ve gotten eaten alive by mosquitoes, but man was that dinner good! A huge serving of rice, beans, salad, and pineapple was enough to fill my stomach up more than it needed. After, I played some cards with the group, got ready for bed, and tried to fall asleep to the sound of one of the guys snoring really loudly below. You can hear everything, I swear.
I woke up in the middle of the night to pitch black. I’d never been in a place with zero light pollution. After the shock wore off, it was actually really peaceful. My alarm didn’t wake me up in the morning, it was the laughter of the indigenous women downstairs preparing breakfast. I kicked off the day with oatmeal and twenty new mosquito bites and was ready to go!
We started off the day by turning in our phones and being introduced to some of the Waorani, including their 17 year old President and their matriarch. We took the same canoes to some of the large trees in the Amazon, but our propellor broke on the way there so they had to do a quick fix and we were off and running! In the rainforest, we swung on this huge vine, and some people attempted to climb up another vine…I was not one of those people. There was also a little girl named Chloe who came with us, she’s the matriarch’s granddaughter, and she was honestly stronger than all of us! We listened to the matriarch tell us the story of a huge tree, and despite it having to go through two translations, I was captivated with her storytelling.
Afterwards, we split into groups to go fishing with only a piece of fishing line and a worm attached to the end. Nice and simple. Unfortunately, we only caught two in total (I caught none) but it was better than nothing. The time on the boat felt worth it though because we saw a bunch of squirrel monkeys that Matt got really great pictures of on his camera! Everyone was starving for lunch, and the pasta and vegetables did not disappoint. We listened to Eli’s stories about her childhood between America and Ecuador, since she is half Kichwa. There’s something about the storytelling in Ecuador that makes it so captivating.
Next, we took a canoe to the where some of the Waorani lived a few minutes away and I played catch with one of the little boys. He also showed us their small monkeys that lived with them, there was two different kinds. They are so cute! We had a naming ceremony where some of the Waorani gave us names that represented who they felt we were. My name is “Kone” (pronounce Koh-nay) which means “rain” and is necessary for the Amazon, and she was also a princess. Pretty cool!! Afterwards, we attempted to throw spears to pierce a banana stalk, which was supposed to mimic how they would throw spears onto land to dock their boats from afar. I failed, but it was still fun.
We played some soccer with the Waorani and split up equally into three teams with them mixed in. They are REALLY good, of course. I’m pretty bad at soccer but it was a lot of fun! I did get a bone bruise while blocking a goal (seriously, who made me goalie) but at least it didn’t go in. The real kicker though, no pun intended, is when my professor kicked the soccer ball from two feet away, right into my face right as I looked up and knocked me to the ground. Thankfully, I didn’t mess up my nose or teeth, but I did have to sit out for the rest of the game. Talk about embarrassing, but at least I didn’t get a bloody nose!
It was starting to pour at this point, so we all went for a swim in the Amazon river with the Waorani. I mean, when can you ever say you’ve done that?! It was surreal. We played some tag and ate fresh bananas for a while, but it started to get dark, so we headed back to our lodge. After drying off and eating a hearty dinner, we canoed back over to the Waorani one last time to see their final presentation. They showed us a traditional dance they’d prepared for us and the boys participated in it too! Then, we presented our traditional songs and dances: Party in the USA, frat flicking, and Sweet Caroline (Pitt’s edition). It was so fun to see indigenous people frat flick for probably the first time ever, and honestly, they were really good at it. I also bought a couple of handmade bracelets from the matriarch which are decorated with seeds.
Finally, it was time to head in for the night. I can’t believe how much we’d done in just one day. Everyone was exhausted, and I had no trouble falling asleep. The next morning we said our goodbyes and headed back to Iyarina on the canoes for about seven hours, taking a break in the middle for lunch. After getting to land, we had another two hours on bus back to the lodge in Iyarina. I’ve never felt so tired, but going almost three days with no WiFi was kind of freeing. Everyone finished dinner that night in less than 20 minutes, and it was an early night for bed. Visiting the Waorani was definitely the most unique experience of my life, and I am so grateful.