To start off day seven, and the official second half of the trip, we had french toast for breakfast. They also served juice and a fresh bowl of fruit like usual. French toast is my favorite breakfast, so I was very excited when I saw it. Immediately after breakfast we went on a river hike….
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Canoe Rides and Cultural Connections
A lot has happened since my last blog, so let me catch you up. On Sunday, May 17th, we woke up bright and early and brought the backpacks we had packed the night before, filled with enough clothes for two days, to the meeting house. After breakfast together, we boarded a bus for a two-hour…
Meet Minkaye
On Sunday, we woke up nice and early for breakfast at 6:00am, followed by a two-hour bus ride to the canoes that would take us to Geyepare. The canoe ride was six hours; however, it was pretty enjoyable. I liked feeling the cool breeze and mist from the water kicking back up on my face,…
Into the Waorani!
We woke up on Sunday bright and early, around 5:30am so that we could grab a quick breakfast before starting our long travel day. After breakfast we hopped on the bus and got started on our 2 hour bus ride to the river. I will say it was quite a bumpy ride, as all the…
Wow Waorani
Our canoe ride to visit the Waorani started off eventful. Within the first two minutes of the trip, our propeller on the boat came loose and we came to a stop in the middle of the river. The two men driving the canoe spent fifteen minutes trying to reattach it with wire. Thankfully, they managed…
More Than a Tourist: Our Time With the Waorani
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…
Hey Siri, Play “Waterfalls” by TLC
“Don’t go chasing waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and lakes your used to” – DO go chasing waterfalls and swim in the rivers, its the adventure of a lifetime. Our first full day in Iyarina Lodge was eventful and busy but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. We started with a yummy…
The Best Day Of The Trip!!
Today(5/16), we went on a water hike through the river. Rick and Skip told us that we would get pretty wet, whatever that meant. It all started with a ride down to the trail where we got off, took a short hike through the muddy terrain, and we made it to the river. At first,…
WOW, that water is blue!
Today(5/13) started with the standard breakfast at the Hostel with eggs, bread, and juice. We then went down to Cotacachi to have a ride on a boat on the lake. The view of the lake was absolutely beautiful. The lake was so blue that it was truly breathtaking since I am so used to the murky…
Into the Waorani Nation
The past few days we went off-grid into the Waorani Nation: an Indigenous group in Ecuador that is fighting to save the rainforest from the threat of mining and deforestation. To get there, we took a 6-hour canoe ride down the river. I made the mistake of not wearing a shirt and got absolutely beamed…
Caves, Clay, and Chaos
Looking back on this day specifically, I can’t help but describe it as one of the coolest experiences of my life (I feel like I’ve said that every day this trip, but still). We woke up bright and early to eat breakfast, grab our boots, and head over to the forest for our water hike….
Days 8/9/10 – Giquita
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…
Swinging Through Waorani Territory
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,…
Days 8/9/10: Jungle Boy
We started our journey deeper into the rainforest with an early morning. We had an unexpected 2 and a half hour bus ride with the worst terrain you could drive a bus on, followed by our 7 hour canoe ride. The ride was so loud it was crazy and the whole canoe just vibrates so…
Mountain Views & No Time to Hit Snooze
Our second full day in Otavalo was eventful to say the least.. We started off with breakfast at 8 am and had some scrambled eggs, fresh juice, and bread with jam. We left the hostel for the day and headed out to Parque Nacional Cotacachi Cayapas were we went on a 30 minute boat ride…
Introduction to Iyarina
Though I did not know what to expect from our first day at Iyarina, it ended up being far busier than I imagined. After a delicious breakfast of fruit, plantains, and a sweet tamale that reminded me of a Dutch baby pancake, we sat with Ellie as she explained the familial Kichwa tradition of drinking…
Muddy Boots, That’s My Ego Boost
Did you get the reference in my title? It’s okay if you didn’t. Anyways, Saturday’s breakfast was delicious, and I could tell we had an interesting day ahead of us when they just kept on bringing more and more French toast. Which of course was paired with a tasty syrup, fresh fruit, and juice. This…
The Hike of Our Lives
Today was our last day before our adventure 72 miles into the Amazon. It certainly did not disappoint. We woke up and ate French toast for breakfast and then packed up and headed out for our water hike. We weren’t sure if we could do it due to the rain last night, but they checked…
Jurassic Park
Today was life-changing. I felt like I was in the dinosaur age as we swam through the Napo River; but prior to that, we started with another classic 8 a.m. breakfast. I wasn’t feeling my best, probably due to the lack of sleep and the intense activities from the night before, but the French toast…
My favorite day so far – The Water Hike!
Every day on this trip has been more exciting and better than the last! Today (5/16/26) was by far my favorite! We woke up at 7:30 and got breakfast at the meeting house at the lodge. We ate the most delicious French toast and fruit. The best fruit I have ever eaten is here at…