Nothing compares to spending two weeks deep in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, staying with hunter-gatherer tribes
Everywhere you look life of all kinds is bursting forth, striving to survive and thrive. We saw countless species of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish. The jungle is no joke, either: you need to be vaccinated against several diseases, do battle with mosquitoes and be conscious of snakes at all times. Ever since learning that our bodies and minds evolved for the hunter-gatherer way of life and not our modern one, I have wanted to meet people who lived like that, to learn more.
Our exceptional guide, Jacob Tangoy from Rio Delfin Expeditions, was a Kichwa who grew up in the jungle; he told us countless fascinating stories about life there. He also told us about other tribes that live there, their different cultures and laws. He told us stories about the two isolated tribes in Ecuador, the Taromenanes and Tagaeris, who fiercely resist contact with the outside world.
We came away with a different, and deeper, understanding of what life is and how it works. We learned how all life competes to survive but the key strategy that we humans have is to be hyper-cooperative in our communities. It was made very clear to us that surviving on your own in the jungle is a non-runner. You need your community, and your community needs you. There is a lesson for all of us in that.
A story about backpacking…turned into mentioning vacxines and CIimate impact. 🙄 No enjoyable articles these days free from The Agenda™️