"I spend 9 hours in a Dani village with this man and his extended family. If the trip ended today, it would be worth it. They sat with us, touched us, put on a feast, put on a ritual battle. I learned the male greeting “wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-“ said staring into someone’s eyes in a mutual rhythm. Every villager greeted us. Children walked holding our hands.

We climbed a steep trail to a salt pond where the Dani soak banana stalks, bring them down to the village, dry them, burn them and use the crystals. People held our hands all the way up and down for balance. It was incredible.

Our guide has a 25 year relationship with this village so we were very special guests."