Off to visit the Huaorani in the Amazon forest

Being greeted by the Huaorani

Ready to board our plane ( pilot in the center)

The trip to the Amazon rainforest has been one of the most exciting, mind expanding experiences of my life.  Here are a few pictures of the start of our journey.

The jungle is beautiful, filled with wonderful plants and the calls of the birds.  Animals are there, too, but they are good at keeping themselves hidden.  The people are amazing, with skills for living in a jungle that fills their needs if only one knows how.  They can live happily and well in a situation that we westernized people are totally incompetent and lost in.  Now these people are trying to bridge the two cultures, to keep their traditions while living in a world where the western civilization keeps encroaching on them.  The lives of these warm, happy, laughing, and playful people are being threatened by the devastation caused by oil companies who have followed the rubber tappers .  We met people such as Moi, who plans to visit DC and hopes to meet with President Obama in January to discuss climate change, while his family lives in a village.  Our guide, Mincaye, taught us how to live in the jungle, but also gave us his email address!  Amelie, a French-English young woman is teaching at the village of <Keweire-ono and shares her schoolroom home with 3 families of vampire bats is working to help the children learn skills that will help them in the two cultures.  Our naturalist is passionate about keeping farms and oil companies from decimating the forest and making it useless as well as toxic.

More pictures and story later.   Helen

Ready to board our canoe

Minkaye enkedi, our Huaorani guide