Sunday began bright and early at 5:30am, as we were finally traveling to see the Waorani! After briefly struggling to get out of bed, Nat and I packed the last of our things and headed over to the main tent. Unfortunately, we had to wait around a bit longer than expected after breakfast because we couldn’t find a pair of boots, so we didn’t leave Iyarina until around 9am. We finally arrived and headed out on the river around 11am. We were lucky to have great weather for our journey, and it didn’t feel as long as I expected. At one point, everyone in my canoe even fell asleep! We pulled up to the lodge as the sun was setting and ate a hearty meal of rice, beans, sweet plantains, and salad, which tasted especially good after traveling all day. The combination of exhaustion and pitch black darkness led me to fall asleep at 8:30pm.
The next morning I woke up around 6am to the sound of the women downstairs laughing and working in the kitchen. On another day I may have dreaded the idea of waking up against my will, but I felt well rested after having gone to bed so early the night before and I was glad to hear others active around me. Downstairs, we were greeted with a tasty breakfast of warm stovetop oatmeal, a roll, and cantaloupe. Soon after, we were introduced to some members of the community, included Gawe, the president, his brothers, Alberto and Yatawe, and their mother and matriarch, Awani Betty. Together, we piled into canoes and headed downstream to do a short hike. In the forests, we got to see a giant Ceiba tree and swing from its vines. Awani Betty also told us some stories about the Waorani and I spent some time playing with a young and highly energetic girl, Chloe.
On the way back to the lodge, we all went fishing, though my group, which included Gawe and Awani Betty, had the misfortune of our motor breaking. Luckily, Gawe was able to fix it, and in the meantime, he caught some fish and I was able to practice my Spanish and ask him a bit about his role as president. I was extremely surprised to find out that he is only 17 years old! After lunch, we boated over to the Waorani compound. There, the Waorani hosted a special ceremony where they gave us each our own name in Wao! Mine was Nemo, which means star. We then played a few games of soccer and went swimming in the river in the pouring rain. We returned in the evening after dinner to observe a traditional Waorani dance and our group sang Party in the USA and Sweet Caroline (Pitt style, of course) in exchange.
The following day, on Tuesday, we woke up early once again to prepare for our trip back to Iyarina. Just as before, we were lucky to have nice travel weather: slightly overcast with a breeze. My group killed the time by sleeping, chatting, singing, and playing hangman. Eventually, after surviving both the canoe and bus rides, we set foot on Iyarina’s soil anew and finished the evening with a nice dinner of stuffed peppers and rice.
