Amazon adventure: A week with the Waorani…

Visiting the Amazon rain forest has been a dream of mine ever since I could read…The Amazon was a distant jungle filled with colorful parrots, dangerous snakes and enormous spiders. Those that ventured into the jungle were great adventurers and of course, National Geographic photographers. They returned with amazing images of strange indigenous tribes with painted faces, and stories of ancient civilizations who had avoided contact with the modern world for thousands of years…

On 24 April I fulfilled another travel dream when we set off into the Ecuadorian Amazon to spend a week with a Waorani family as part of a Workaway volunteering assignment. Our task was to shoot photographs and videos of our time there, while assisting with the advertised project of establishing an eco-lodge on the families property. It sounded like a cool assignment, so we jumped at the chance to experience the Amazon first-hand,

In order to reach the Amazon, we caught a bus from Quito to the town of Puyo….The 5 hr bus ride took us through the mountains and past the town of Banos with its snow-covered volcano. In Puyo we met our host Moi, and jumped on a local bus which took us to the outskirts of the Amazon, where we were joined by Moi’s cousin Fabrizio and a French couple Adrian and Marine, who were also volunteering with the project. We then had to take a 4×4 pick-up down to a tributary of the Amazon river. Our final destination was the Obepare community about three kilometers upstream and the home of Moi and his parents.

We had been told that we would be taking a motorized dug-out canoe down the river to the compound, but there was also talk of our bags going by canoe while we walked for an hour through the jungle with our smaller backpacks. Both options were fine with us, but when we got to the river there was no motorized canoe in sight. In fact there was no canoe at all. Fabrizio looked around and found an abandoned canoe on the banks of the river. Once in the water it started leaking through a crack in its bottom, but he and Moi insisted that it would be able to carry not only our bags, but also the six of us. I immediately sensed danger and questioned them, but they said it would be fine. We all climbed into the leaky canoe together with our smaller backpacks carrying our photography gear, drone and laptops, as well as our large bags.

The minute we sat down in the wooden canoe with 3cm of water in its bottom I had a very bad feeling. Once fully loaded it only had about 5cm between the river and the lip of the canoe, so every time somebody moved or shifted their weight the canoe wobbled dangerously and took on water. Within the first 3 minutes on the river we almost capsized twice, and we could see water bubbling in through the crack in its bottom. It was then that I began insisting that we get to the river bank and come up with an alternative solution. After a third capsize threat and lots of shouting Moi and Fabrizio finally realized their error of judgement and we headed to a broad beach just before the first rapid.

We scrambled out of the canoe and hastily carried our now wet large bags ashore, after carrying our equipment- filled smaller bags to safety. We then discussed our options going forward. We were on the wrong side of the river, with the footpath to the house on the opposite bank. It was decided to load only the large backpacks into the canoe, with Fabrizio carrying on down the river as far as the house, while we would cross the river and walk with our smaller backpacks through the jungle. We walked a hundred meters up the river until we were opposite a small landing spot. The river was quite swift, but Moi assured us we could cross there. I suggested we hold hands and cross as a group of 5 to support each other, but Moi decided that we should cross one by one. He led the way, and grabbed Akhona’s backpack with our drone, gimbal and her Macbook inside. This proved to be a bad idea, which became more apparent as he set off across the fast-flowing river. About two-thirds of the way he began to lose his foothold and the river threatened to sweep him off his feet. It was probably only our shouting that gave him the extra boost to recover and scramble to the other side, but not after Akhona’s bag got a bit of a dunk in the river for a few centimeters. We were pretty sure the water would have reached her Macbook. Disaster!

Now that it was apparent that our crossing the river was not an option, Moi crossed back to our side, leaving Akhona’s bag on the opposite bank. We had another discussion. I insisted that the only realistic option was that he go by foot to his home, and return with the motorized canoe which had been promised, and for which we had already bought gasoline. We would wait on the river bank for him to return. The new French volunteer Adrian said he would go with Moi. We expected them to cross the river, but instead they set off on our side. Not being familiar with the environment we were a bit concerned, but presumed that Moi had a deep knowledge of the river and his surroundings and knew what he was doing. This proved to be a foolish notion…

The three of us were thus left standing on the bank of the river, and I decided it would be better to return to the wider beach where we had made our way ashore, as it would be safer that waiting on a 2m river bank with the Amazon right behind us. The wider bank gave us more space to see any oncoming danger like snakes. It was now 16h30. One hour passed. Two hours passed….Darkness fell…Luckily I had a small torch in my backpack to sweep the area every few minutes, as snakes usually come down to the river to drink at night. Then I saw a light amongst the trees….Hooray! But then I realized it was just a firefly. Another 30mins passed, and finally we saw a flashlight on the opposite bank. It was Fabrizio. He crossed the river and told us to wait as he went to find a canoe. He returned after 10 mins, and we got into the canoe, which he then swung sideways and pushed across the river to the opposite bank, where we jumped out. Moi and Adrian arrived at the same time. It turned out that they had attempted to float down the river, and had got lost several times before finding the path to the house. Fabrizio had realized something was wrong and was already heading back when he came across them…

Akhona’s bag was recovered, and we now had to walk for an hour through the jungle. The path was very slippery, and I was carrying a 10kg backpack and wearing my Columbia jacket. Soon I was really hot in the muggy heat, but we kept up a fast pace. Walking through the Amazon at night is not a suggested past-time 🙂 The walk seemed endless, the bugs were relentless, attracted by our torches. Finally we were met by Moi’s father Delfin who led us the rest of the way to the compound. I was literally steaming hot when I took off my jacket, much to the amusement of the other volunteers. We were exhausted and hungry, and wolfed down the pasta, lentil and carrot concoction dished up for supper. Our Amazon adventure had had a truly bumpy start.

We were allocated a nice-sized tent for our week-long stay with enough space to keep all of our bags in the tent. Inside was an old mattress covered by a sheet, and a thin blanket. No pillows were supplied. The main door had a very dodgy zip which didn’t close the bottom of the door, leaving a worrying gap just the right size for a snake to slip through. Luckily the family dogs liked sleeping in the area and probably kept snakes away. However, when Akhona got up to go to the toilet, she must have been stung on the foot by a centipede as her foot started swelling up, and all I could do was give her two antihistamine tablets and hope for the best. By morning the swelling had thankfully subsided. We lathered ourselves in Peaceful Sleep, but both of us woke up in the morning covered in mysterious bites, which we suspected may have been caused by bedbugs. We reported this to the family, but despite promises to remove the mattress and spray it, nothing was done. The zip on main door of the tent also finally broke, and we ended up spending an hour in the rain sewing the door closed ourselves. Luckily we could use the side door. We realized that we would have to make our own luck during our stay…

In the light of day we began to enjoy the natural beauty of the Amazon forest…It stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, and the sound of the forest insects and birds was underscored by the constant sound of the two rivers which ran close to the compound. The smaller river was pointed out to us as the spot to wash both our washing, and ourselves. The toilet enclosure contained a modern flush toilet and a washbasin, but no shower. Akhona and I decided to boil a pot of water each morning and wash ourselves there rather than in the river, as Akhona was not reacting well to the environment, with new bumps appearing on her arms and legs all the time. Some of the other volunteers appeared to not have washed for a week 🙂

There were 6 volunteers in total, which is a lot. Each volunteer was paying $25/week for food, and we each paid $20 upon arrival to the family. When the first new supply of food arrived we realized that in fact only $30 was being spent on rice, pasta, eggs, vegetables and a few other essentials for each of the two food runs per week. No meat was supplied at all. We asked for potatoes and carrots on the second run and took the lead in cooking vegetable curry for lunch with our Rajah curry powder.

Although we had some serious rain during our stay, we managed to take a few walks into the forest in order to try and experience some of the wildlife in the area. We saw mostly butterflies – lots of them with some being the size of small birds. Some even sat on us when we stopped to photograph them 🙂 We also saw flocks of green, noisy parrots flying around in the late afternoon and sitting in the trees surrounding the compound.

We went on a walk to a ‘beach’ on a wide river bank about 30mins from the compound and Fabrizio showed us some interesting plants – we ate a wild berry from one of the plants. We also came across a mean-looking spider, which on another walk almost ended up in my face. Thank heavens I saw it on the last moment or I may have been been bitten….A tarantula also made an appearance. In fact we saw several, mostly around the common area adjacent to the house.

Of course, we also made the effort to use the forest as a location for a little photoshoot with Akhona. Although I am trying to learn to shoot better landscapes and travel shots, the fashion photographer in me still enjoys photographing a beautiful model in a beautiful setting.

Editing proved to be a bit of a challenge as we had limited power available, only on every second night when they ran the generator for an hour or two, allowing us to recharge our laptop batteries. The family parrot took a shine to me from day 1 and liked to sit on my shoulder while I worked. She is such an intelligent bird, and used to search for bugs in my hair and clean my ears 🙂

After a few days of cooking for the rest of the volunteers we were becoming a bit frustrated with the lack of activity or things to do, which we expressed openly. We were also very unhappy about the condition of the 5 family dogs, who were virtually starving. During the duration of our stay we never ever saw them fed by a family member, and when another volunteer confronted Moi about this he said it was not his responsibility, but that of his father. The dogs were only being given a bowl or so of leftovers from what we had eaten, which was not nearly enough for them. They wolfed down the meagre offering and fought amongst themselves. We decided to use some of our own limited supplies to cook them a pot of pasta on one day, and a pot of rice on another day. We also tried to cook more food, but of course some volunteers had large appetites, and Moi and his family also ate what we cooked, so often the leftovers were still minimal. This aspect of our stay was by far the most negative.

On the fifth day of our visit, the family dressed in traditional Waorani outfits and did a 30min performance for us, with a bit of singing and dancing. I used the opportunity to take lots of photographs of course. The father is Quechua, so he did not dress up, but he was very informative when people asked questions. It was all in Spanish so we have no idea of what was said, but the other volunteers seemed very interested. To see Waorani and other tribes living a completely traditional life it would be necessary to travel far more deeply into the Amazon and live a very primitive life eating only plantain (a banana-like fruit) and yuka (a potato-like vegetable).

Before the ceremony we all got our faces painted with the juice of a berry which the Waorani pick in the forest. The red paint across their eyes is their trademark and I was really keen to capture this on film.

During our stay we realized that we were best equipped to cook tasty meals while other volunteers went off to help cut plantain and place fish traps in the river. The fish traps sadly did not produce any meals during our stay. The only other protein presented to us were fat grub-like worms found by Emily in a rotten tree trunk, but we politely declined the snack 🙂

Our initial plan was to stay for 10 days, but after heavy rain for two days the weather cleared and we thought it was wise to start our journey to the city of Guaquil as soon as the next boat could take us up the river, so we left two days earlier than planned. Delfin and a local boatman helped Akhona, I and a German volunteer Christof load our luggage into the motorized canoe for quite a harrowing boat trip up the river, which involved avoiding submerged trees, being pushed over shallow rapids and having the motor Peter out at least five times because the fuel we had bought had been used for other purposes, leaving only a litre for our trip. We just made it to the point where we had to get off to walk to the local bus stop. Only then did Delfin realize that it was Labour Day, and that busses may not run. He set off to walk to town in search of transport, but luckily a few minutes later the bus did indeed turn up. We loaded our bags and set off back into civilization. We had survived our Amazon adventure relatively unscathed 🙂