A Journey Through the Amazon

Quality Control Executive Heather Fitsell recently
travelled to Ecuador's Amazon.










A very early start saw us beat Quito’s rush hour traffic and hit the Pan American Highway, known in Ecuador as the ‘Avenue of Volcanoes’, as en-route we passed numerous mountains including Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Antisana and Illinisas (left). We stopped for Ecuadorian ice cream in Salcedo, which is a town famous for producing what is a cross between ice cream and an ice-lolly, as we know them.


Having passed through the provinces down the Pan American Highway, we turned towards Baños and our destination, the town of Shell, named after the oil company. On arrival in Shell we boarded a Cessna 6-seater aircraft for our 45-minute journey into the Amazon jungle and our final destination, the award-winning ‘Huaorani Eco Lodge’, which was reached by quilla (canoe) down the Shiripuno River, completing a journey by land, air and sea.


The Huaorani Eco Lodge consists of just 5 cabins, built in traditional Huaorani style, and opened at the start of this year. The project is run by the Huaorani people with the help of a local Ecuadorian company and was developed as an alternative income source to working for the oil companies, which are destroying much of the Amazon rainforest. The lodge offers an authentic cultural experience for adventurous travellers. For those looking for more comfort we would suggest the Napo Wildlife Centre or Sacha Lodge, in the same area but a little farther north.

After a short rest we were taken on a night walk following a short trail through the jungle near the lodge. We found large spiders, large parasite trees and Huaorani torches that use moonlight to guide the way. After dinner combining local jungle food such as manioc and fresh fruit, we fell asleep to the noises of the jungle in preparation of the following day’s hike.

After awaking to a morning chorus and an early breakfast, we put on our boots, covered ourselves in sun cream and insect repellent, filled up our water bottles and set off on our hike through the jungle to the local Huaorani village of Quehueri’ono (keh-weri-oh-noh). After an hour I felt deceived by all the nature programmes that I had seen about the Amazon, as none of them show you how hilly it is. Up and down, up and down we went, and whilst you could have wrung the sweat out of my clothes, there was not a drop to be seen on our Huaorani guide Eme, for the whole of our four and a half hour trek (a much shorter 1 hour walk is available and recommended). Despite the unexpected terrain, humidity, temperature and hard work involved, this was a very rewarding excursion. We stopped at regular intervals to have a go at hunting Huaorani-style, by spear throwing, using a blow gun and making a basket similar to those used to carry the catch back to the community. We were ultimately rewarded with a refreshing swim in the Shiripuno River, before having lunch on the riverbank.

In the afternoon we visited the community of Quehueri’ono, which is where most of the lodge employees live, arriving to lots of greetings of “Waponi” (Huaorani word for hello, goodbye, thank you and just about anything else!). The ladies and girls of the community greeted us in the school and did a small song and dance for us in exchange for us singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, whilst looking like Pippi Longstocking in our Huaorani face paint. They then showed us the handicrafts that they had made for purchase from local materials, which included, necklaces, bracelets, bags, hammocks, wooden machetes and miniature blowguns.


The rest of our time in the community was spent visiting local families in both traditional Huaorani and more modern style homes, and interacting with members of the community, whilst they drank chicha – a fermented drink made by the women. We were able to interact with the Huaorani people, asking questions through our interpreters and playing with the children and their pet monkeys. All the Huaorani have smiles on their faces and it seems that the relative simplicity of their lives, compared to what we know in the Westernised world, may be the reason for this. There is innocence about the Huaorani and I feel privileged to have met some of them.


We took the leisurely route back to the lodge by quilla where, after dinner, we collapsed into our beds knowing we had to be up at 5am for a long journey to the Huaorani community of Nenquepare. The quietness of the quilla journey (which was essentially punted by our guide Eme and his assistant Yeme) presents an excellent chance of spotting wildlife, or at the very least hearing the different noises of birds, such as toucans and howler monkeys. The Huaorani are very good at impersonating the sounds of the animals and birds, which is a skill they used to help them when hunting for the community. It was also nice to listen to Eme and Yeme talk in Huao. Their language is like nothing else I have heard before and sounds a little bit like they are not quite finishing their words or sentences.

After lunch we went on a small walk through the jungle, slipping and sliding a little in the mud and on wet leaves, before using a rope to descend to the base of a beautiful waterfall for a swim in the water with Eme, Yeme (Eme’s assistant), our translator/guide Xavier and two of Yeme’s grandchildren, who skipped and ran barefoot through the jungle, on incredibly light feet without falling once, unlike me! We shared some biscuits with the Huaorani just before dinner and then after another good meal, tired from the early rise, we put our heads to rest in the tent, to the sound of the Huaorani talking to each other.


During the night, there had been heavy rainfall, so I was glad that our tents were pitched on raised, covered platforms. However, it meant that not only had our clothes and towels not dried, they were wetter than when we had hung them up the night before, despite being under cover. After omlettes for breakfast, damp clothes and towels were packed into our rucksacks, as we said farewell “Waponi” to the Huaorani at Nenquepare and embarked upon our journey back to Quito.

As the weather had dried up, we opted to go in the peaceful quilla, rather than on the engine powered canoe. Our translator/guide Xavier and fellow passenger Eduardo opted to have a go and the controls of the quilla, whilst Eme took a rest. We then continued through the rain, as Eme took shelter under one of the leaves cut to make roof repairs to their homes and Xavier pushed his punting pole so firmly into the mud so that it got stuck. After a little reversing we continued on to “the bridge”, where we picked up our four-wheel drive to take us on the penultimate leg to Coca, from where we caught our flight back to Quito.

The journey to Coca showed us a very different rainforest landscape - that of an area destroyed by deforestation as a result of the arrival of the oil giants into the Amazon. These are areas that are home to other indigenous rainforest tribes and the difference was stark. It brought home how important the Huaorani Eco Lodge is as a project to help the Huaorani people maintain a way of life that protects the rainforest and their home. These few days were extraordinary and provided many memories to treasure.

Call 020 7873 5000 to discuss a Tailor-Made holiday to Ecuador's Amazon.