To reach the
Huaorani Ecolodge, you must first drive four hours from Quito to Shell, where you switch to a 5-seat airplane for a 45-minute flight. Arriving on a grass runway, the Huaorani people greet you and escort you via motorized longboat down the Shiripuno River. Finally you arrive at your lodging for the next three nights, five wooden cabins and a dining room perched overlooking the river. On the edge of Yasuni National Park, the Huaorani Reserve is easily one of the most remote destinations in South America, deep in the Ecuadorean Amazon, at least 100 miles from the nearest signs of civilization.
What you get in return for your effort is an incredibly authentic travel experience straight out of the pages of National Geographic. Bare-breasted grandmothers show you around their communities, picking the juiciest papaya off the tree for you to try. Led by our Huaorani guide, Emy, we swam under hidden waterfalls and against the current of the Shiripuno River, visited small communities along the river while spotting monkeys, toucans, macaws, caimans, and kingfishers. We also learned the important skills of living in the Amazon bush, how to climb trees and hunt with a 7-foot long poisonous blow dart. Emy hunts wild boar, monkeys, and toucan when hungry. When asked what toucan tastes like, he told me it was better than chicken. Don’t worry. Your menu back at the lodge consists of tilapia, fresh baked bread, green bananas, and fresh fruit juices.
Who knows how much longer this authentic travel experience will last. The Huaorani sit atop one of the largest petroleum preserves in the world. For the past 7 decades oil companies have tried to remove them from their land, but thankfully the Ecudorean government has always intervened. Let’s hope the oil companies can remain happy on the outskirts of Yasuni so that future generations of the Huaorani can live off the grid in this dense foliage.
From Quito’s new international airport, it’s over an hour drive to the heart of the city (a $28 taxi fee). The Andean metropolis stands at an elevation over 9300 feet, ringed by volcanic ridges. It’s a sprawling city that fills up the valley, but once you reach its core, you’ll find impressive colonial squares and Spanish churches dating from the 1500s. We stayed on the oldest street in the city, La Ronda, that dates from Incan times in the late 1400s. It’s a narrow winding street lined with restaurants, cafes, and music clubs that once attracted the city’s noteworthy writers, poets, and musicians. Today, locals fill up the street on weekends to dine and listen to music. We stayed at a wonderful property smack dab in the middle of the street called La Casona de La Ronda. Rooms were spacious, designed with contemporary Ecuadorean art, overlooking an inner courtyard. Outside, La Ronda Street was a festive scene while inside this tranquil retreat welcomed us every time we flew back into Quito on our travels. 
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