Takeaways from Karawari

The children are so excited to see us that they run along the shoreline or jump into the water to get close to us to make an impact

Some villages seem quite true to how they actually live. Few villages seem to have a shtick that makes the visit focused primarily on selling goods.

The children are the most likely to have traditional dress or no clothes at all. As they get older it\’s more likely to see them wearing more western clothes.

It really is beautiful to see people in their dugout canoes fishing, paddling, or just hanging out

There\’s not much tied to ownership here. Canoes or left on the side of the river and anyone can take them. I get the feeling that the souvenirs that we can purchase may simply be what is owned by the locals. Houses are shared among multiple families.

People in karawari are excited to see me and follow me around but it\’s hard to interact with them. But when I\’m able to get them to get excited then interacting with them is much easier

If everything to do when I get to a tribe that has many people looking at me is you interact with a few people individually and then get the whole group to follow me around by saying let\’s go and motion my arm. For the most part I know that they\’ll follow me around anyway but when I say let\’s go then wave my arm it changes the experience entirely. It changes it from being curiosity to being something that the tribe is involved in. And it makes them want to interact with me all that much more which is so much fun

Nearly all locals, including our guide walk around barefoot