A Dangerous Turning Point: Entering the Land of the Savages

 The Amazon 5000 Expedition Continues

The Amazon Jungle is full of wonder and mystery, but it is also full of danger. In the remote jungle there are no rules, there is no enforcement,  everyone lives by the law of their own land.

No one knows this more than the 4 indigenous tribesmen who have joined Mickey for the Amazon 5000 Expedition. These men have been born and raised in the jungles of the Amazon. This jungle is their home, their playground and yet there is still a part of
this jungle that brings much fear to these people.It is the land of the Tagaeri's.

In the heart of the Amazon Jungle, near the Ecuadorian/Peruvian border is the territory of the Tagaeri's. The Tagaeri Tribe is one of the last known uncontacted indigenous tribes in the world. They live a very primitive life and are hostile to those who cross their territory. They are most known for their deadly weapon, the spear. Known as one of the world's most violent tribes, they are in every essence of the word, savages.

The Tagaeri, once a part of the Huaorani tribe, live in voluntary isolation and have a distrust of the outside world due to the deforestation controversial oil companies are doing in the area that has been killing off their food source. Living off the land, it is essential that they protect it by any means possible. It is the most valuable thing to them, they can not survive if their food sources are contaminated, consumed, burned or torn down.

In his years as adventures leader in the Amazon basin region, running his Eco-Planet Adventure travel company, Mickey had a brush with fate. Mickey had a brief close encounter with the Tagaeri people. He knows first hand about this tribe.  Now Mickey and his team are about to enter this perilous land of the Tagaeri people to continue the lengthy Amazon trek of 5000 miles East. This most ominous path he is taking now will bring aboard a great chance he will encounter with the Tagaeri people - once again! The only difference is then he traveled only at the outskirts of this territory while now he is intending to cross straight through it, into the heart of the Tagaeri land.

Many stories about encounters with the Tagaeri's turned deadly. One of the most famous encounters was depicted in the film End of The Spears. A film about missionaries who came to visit the tribe and were speared to death as soon as they arrived to the community.

These events, encountering the Tagaeri, hit close to home for Amazon 5000 expedition team member, Bartolo. Bartolo has a horrifying story of his own.  

Read here as Mickey unfolds a very dark moment from Bartolo's past and what happened when his family encountered the Tagaeri's...  

   

Mickey:
Bartolo is a 38 year old Ecuadorian from Pavacachi, a member of the Kichwa tribe.  I have known this man for a little over 6 years, he has helped me on several occasions as a guide while I led my eco-adventure survival courses through his land located at the Amazon basin.  Bartolo is a helpful member of the Amazon 5000 expedition team, he is the strongest of the indigenous and has the most energy.  He served some time on duty in the Ecuadorian military where his physical strength and strong mental endurance probably came from.  

After a short break of few days  in my expedition, giving my team members time to gain energy back, I am now preparing to embark on Leg 6 to my expedition and ready to enter the dangerous land of the savage. For the past several days I have met  with local people of the region and interviewed them about the Tagaeri tribe and their known habits to the locals in that stretch of land I am about to cross . Bartolo, who lives with his family along the South edge of the Tagaeri territory became agitated as our final preparation took final shape. Its obvious he is nervous. He carries a heavy load of memories on his strong built shoulders and he decided he will share it with the expedition team so we will all know what’s ahead of us. At no point did Bartolo suggest he is pulling back and leaving the expedition.

We are sitting by the fire letting the last light of the day vanish into the canopies and the last sound of the Amazon birds turn to silence. 

 
Knowledge is power and I agree with Bartolo and support his decision to tell us all his story:

Bartolo:
The Tagaeries are a family clan that separated from the Huaorani tribe.  They are a very violent and vicious tribe that remains uncontacted to this day!  

 
About 8 years ago my father in-law, mother in-law, and my 6 year old son were traveling up the Curary river to bring their load of fruit from our land to a far friendly community along the river. they stopped on the way and camped out riverside in a small thatched roof shelter that they quickly fixed up before night fell that day.  Being all alone  and knowing the jungle rules they purposefully camped out on the South riverside that was opposite of the Tagaeri territory to avoid any confrontation with them.  The river was by local acquiescence the border between the Kichwa and the Tagaeri tribes. One accepts civilization, the other not! The Tagaeri are hostile to the Kichwa community for adapting civilization.

My family woke up around 05:30 (as costumed here) to prepare a fire for breakfast.  My father in-law was busy preparing the fire while the grandmother and grandson - my child - were down at the river washing. It was a peaceful morning not revealing what is about to happen. They have not noticed they were followed the evening before by eyes and shadows hiding behind the thick jungle trees on the North side of the river. Under cover of darkness of that night while my family slept sound a small group of the Tagaeri had swam across the river and prepared to attack my family. they waited until first light to make their move.  My father in-law was the first to be attacked... when I went later that day to seek for them I found my father in-law’s body with 13 spears pierced into his heart and soul.  The Tagaeries, as per their custom, marked their kill by leaving their spears in him.

And then, they hid again!
When grandma and my son came up back to camp she immediately noticed her husband’s lifeless body impaled by the Tagaeries’ spears.  she began to scream frantically!  Yelling for her grandson to go run as far as he can and hide!  My son could not move at first, she pushed him and his feet finally began to move and he ran into the jungle and hid.  From his hiding place he watched in horror as the Tagaeries impaled his grandmother with 6 spears.  Holding back his cry, understanding this is a very bad moment he looked at the scene with eyes wide open afraid they will come after him next.  

 
The Tagaeries did not wait too long after they killed my in-laws and began to strip them of all their belongings.  They then looked for my son, but couldn’t find him. luckily he had a very good hiding spot and remained undiscovered.  

When the Tagaeries finally left, my young boy stayed hidden without a move until nightfall. It  began to rain very hard and he knew he had to survive.  All alone and with no one to help him he went back to the shelter my in-laws built the night before and cuddled up against his grandparents bodies. Frightened and tired he fell asleep shortly after. The next day he traveled along the river until he saw some people riding a canoe. They picked him up and brought him back to my community where he fell to my arms and told me what had happened.  

It took him two days to finally get home and be comforted by his family for the horrors that befell his eyes. Once I heard my son’s story I went immediately down river to see for myself what my son’s eyes witnessed  and to retrieve the bodies.  When I arrived to the site my in-laws still had the spears in them and were laying lifelessly in the same places where the Tagaeries murdered them.  
My son is still very disturbed from that event.  He is now 14 years old and cries every time someone asks him about that horrific day.  

As Mickey and his team progress on the Amazon 5000 Expedition they will now be entering the land of the Tagaeri's. After hearing Bartolo's chilling story it is clear just how dangerous this expedition really is. Passing through this land has cast a dark shadow over the team and they move with much caution and now carry arms.  The anticipation has frightened one team member so much he has chosen to depart mid-route!

But the Tagaeri's are not the only dangers that lie in the jungle and along this expedition Leg. If Mickey chose to avoid the danger of running into the Tagaeri tribe his only other option would be to follow the Napo river down to Peru. As soon as he crossed the border into Peru territory he would be entering the Red zone of the drug underworld. Narcotics are trafficked along the watery highway here, the same watery highway pirates and bandits patrol.

Mickey was faced with a dilemma. Shall he proceed through the thick jungle and risk facing the ferocious warriors of the Tagaeri Tribe or dare sticking to the river and running into the drug infested world of the amazon jungle?

What would YOU have done if you were in Mickey's shoes?

 Bartolo's story as you have just read here, has been filmed on location of the Amazon 5000 Expedition for Mickey's documentary the Impossible, Possible Journey! So that you (the reader) will be able to watch Bartolo tell it all on film.