South America - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 266

with a refreshing face towel or a piña colada.
The villagers are likely to be engrossed in their
daily chores, making chucula (a sweet drink of
ripe bananas) or tepe (an unfermented manioc
drink), or lying on a hammock in the shade.
Yet when you are introduced they welcome
you warmly and often invite you to spend the
whole afternoon with them, showing you how
they make traditional handicrafts such as bags,
woven hammocks, pots and necklaces.
For several days a Huaorani guide leads you
through the rainforest, demonstrating how they
use plants for medicine, shelter and clothes,
and how to hunt monkeys by climbing up trees
and firing poisoned darts from blowpipes. He'll
also point out an astonishing variety of wildlife,
including blue morpho butterflies, greater
and lesser kiskadees and several species of
Amazonian kingfishers; quite often you'll hear
howler monkeys high up in the trees. Six hours
downriver by canoe, guests camp at another
village, Nenquepara, where you can swim at a
beautiful waterfall and return for a simple meal
of mashed plantain, rice and beans, prepared by
the Huaorani.
On the final day you canoe to the Huaorani's
territorial border, from where you're driven
back to Coca (where there's an air route back
to Quito) through land taken over by oil firms.
The road was built to service a pipeline and
the 2.5hr journey reveals the full effects of
deforestation as you come across oil leaks
and vast stretches of rainforest stripped bare.
It's a sobering trip, in many ways a poignant
reminder of the abundance of life you witnessed
earlier.
The Huaorani have the phrase “wah poh nee”
for anything that conveys understanding and
appreciation. During your time with them you
find yourself repeating it over and over again:
when you see the flash of a kingfisher; when you
arrive at a beautiful natural pool for bathing;
when you've eaten a delicious meal made from
ingredients found in the rainforest. But it
also stays with you long after you've left their
beautiful, unique and threatened home.

Need to know To get there you are taken by
minibus from Quito to Shell (6hr) then fly to the
Shiripuno River airstrip (40min), from where you
travel by canoe to the Huaorani ecolodge (45min).
For itineraries, prices and booking for transport
and accommodation see W www.huaorani.com.
Journey Latin America organizes package trips
that include staying at the Huaorani ecolodge and
accommodation in Quito; for prices and itineraries
see W www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk; T +44 (0)
20 8747 8315.

The Huaorani sell their
handmade crafts, such as
necklaces and bracelets, to
the few intrepid travellers who
reach their remote villages;
Need a basket? The Huaorani
can whip one up in four
minutes flat