In November of 1999 I made a trip to the headwaters of the Amazon in Ecuador’s Northern Oriente as part of my series on indigenous people and their spiritual mediators—the people we in the west refer to as Shamans. I traveled with a three man film crew working for the Discovery Channel. My intention was to meet with one of the well respected shamans of the Huaoriani Tribe--a 64 year old man named Mengatohue. Our guide was Mengatohue’s grandson, Moi, a 35 year old Huaoriani warrior who had learned Spanish and had managed to unite the very independent Huaoriani people in their fight against the Oil Companies that threatened their territory.

The day we arrived in Quito two of Ecuador’s volcanoes erupted covering Quito in ash and closing our intended route into the Amazon Basin. We opted to take a seldom-used pre-Incan foot trail starting at 12,000 ft in the town of Oyacachi and winding down into the Amazon Basin. Because of the nasty condition of the trail, on the third day out we had to send the pack horses back and carry all our gear and provisions the rest of the way. During the ordeal our film director decided he had had enough and quit.

To view a clip of Into the Amazon, the Discovery Channel documentary that was made on this trip, please click here... ( only recommended for fast connections. )