Day One (Part Two)

After another day of motoring, we have finally arrived to the community that is to be out home for the next 6 weeks. This community consists only of Otobo's family including his parents, a brother and his wife and a sister and her husband. We set up our camp under a traditional Huao structure that was built not long ago---this camp was about 500 downstream from the main community structures. Relieved when I arrive that our tents will at least be not fully in the open as the rain is likely to be a big factor. All of the Huoas go up to their main community area while Joe and I take this opportunity to unload what we deemed highly precious cargo--emergency food reserves and two handles of rum that was smuggled in for its medicinal purposes. It has already been dicussed that if sh·t hit the fan on this trip we are taking our air mattresses and the bottles of Rum and trying to float downriver into Peru. By eagerly agreeing that we would set up our camp by ourselves, we have basically broke Safety Rule number 1-Dont go anywhere and be left anywhere without a Huaorani. Deemed this rule break necessary to hide our emergency provisions.

Conan, who is Otobo's right hand man and also the camp cook, returns and goes through the food that we brought in...he appears pretty disappointed at our variety and even the amount. Acts as if we have not brought enough--I'm pretty certain we won't starve as we lugged in about 50 pounds of rice but I am already loathing the future outlook of our diet.

By a dim light we eat a dinner of rice, plantains, and canned tuna sitting on the dirt floor as there is no tables or chairs. Reminding myself that I volunteered for this and wondering if I may have made a mistake, which would be the first in my otherwise impeccable record of judgement.........

Updated pics on my album---the first several our from the trip out by the rest our chronological...use the beard as a time index. Still have much more but uploading as we go.