ECAD 2011 Auction Item
Lot #2: THE HUAORANI COMMUNITY EXPEDITION FOR TWO (six nights/seven days)
An opportunity to experience something so special you will be the envy of even the most seasoned and well-traveled individuals!
Visit rainforests of Ecuador and areas that are home to the Huaorani, native Amerindians that have long inhabited the headwaters of the Amazon, living as nomadic hunters and gatherers with no outside contact until the end of the 1950s. According to tradition, they migrated to this area long ago to escape from cannibals. The Huaorani speak a language unrelated to any other; their name means "the people", while everyone else is cowore, or "non-human" (that's us).
INCLUDED HIGHLIGHTS:
Adventure led by anthropologist DIEGO QUIROGA, Ph.D. (U. Illinois/Champaign-Urbana) begins in Quito.
Opportunity to meet with the Huaorani, natives of the rainforest, in their territory, an exceptional and privileged experience unknown to even the best-traveled
Drive through the Pacific Rim of Fire and see more than 60 volcanoes, eight of which are active and 10 which are potentially active. See evidence of Tungurahua's 1999 activity in the form of a river of ash and sediment. If desired, bathe in the thermal baths of Banos.
You will be poled downstream in a dugout canoe known as a quilla, enjoying the thick vegetation along the Shiripuno River, and catch glimpses of riverside birds.
Hunt with the Huaorani. They are hunters and gatherers, whose main sources of dietary protein are mammals including monkeys, fish and birds. Project goals are protection of the tropical rainforest and provision of opportunity for the Huaorani culture to continue. You will learn to set traps, make fire without matches, build a shelter in minutes, use a blowgun, practice the perfect machete swing and catch fish in small creeks. You will learn about edible insects, medicinal plants, producing pottery, and taste honey from stingless bees.
Journey concludes outside Huaorani land through the Amazonian oil territory illustrating the reality of the threat facing the rainforest and your new friends, the Huaorani people.
Timing: Almost year round at mutually agreed upon dates in 2011-2012. Wandrian Adventures will forward a detailed itinerary, if requested, discuss arrangements and endeavor to work with the winning bidder to fulfill our obligations as donor. We will work with three dates (pending seasonality) from the bidder and choose the most beneficial for all.
NOT INCLUDED/RESTRICTIONS: Winning bidder responsible for airfare to and from adventure departure city/country (no international flights covered). Winner responsible for tipping guide if they felt service was adequate, responsible for all visas related to the adventure, for any alcoholic beverages requested and not summarily provided due to local customs, must work with Wandrian Adventures to find a suitable date due to seasonality of purchased adventure based on three requested dates
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