Planning hallucinogenic visions
- 8 Dec 07, 10:06 AM
Posted from: Wijint
We're in Wijint and having a bit of a hard time again. It took us nearly three days on boats to get here, on smaller and smaller rivers, travelling 15 hours a day and leaving before dawn to arrive after dark. We did travel through the most amazing jungle though, and I sometimes had to pinch myself to remember where I was and how lucky we all are.
We got here a day late, and were hoping to stay a night before moving on to a remote community in the forest. However, we lost so much time it looks like we'll stay here and film.
The Achuar are a pretty suspicious bunch. They have had a hard time at the hands of the oil companies and we are finding it tough to win their trust. We had a long day of meetings yesterday and finally they agreed we could stay but finding a household that will take Bruce as a guest is proving trickier, as they are all very nervous of us.
Members of the Achuar tribe
We want Bruce to take ayahuasca with the Achuar here: it's a hallucinogenic vine that will give him a vision. We've met a great old boy who has agreed to be his guide, who we've nicknamed Silas Marner.
The village Wijint
We have just over a week here to make half a film, so we're feeling a bit of pressure. It's hot and humid and we are all sleeping in a huge open-sided hut in the centre of the village. At night we have a crowd of 100 people watching us brush our teeth. Last night was Zubin's birthday and the whole village watched his party. It was a good night though, with a cake that came all the way from Wales and a local hooch that tasted like Night Nurse. Simple pleasures. We drank all the whisky the night before.
We've met some good characters here and seen some amazing things - we just need to film some of them now.
The highlight of the day is washing in the river. A small splash of bliss.
Find out more about the Achuar
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