Curaray

The Curaray River (also known as the Ewenguno River or Rio Curaray) is a river that flows through eastern Ecuador and Peru. It is a tributary of the Amazon basin's Napo River. Several indigenous ethnic tribes, including the Kichwa and Huaorani, live on the river's banks. Caimans and piranhas may be found in the river.

During Operation Auca, an attempt to convert the Huaorani, five Christian missionaries were slain by Huaorani tribespeople on a sandbar on the Curaray in 1956. The bodies of the missionaries were then dumped into the river. Four of the victims were eventually found and buried in a mass grave on the riverbank by a rescue squad. The fifth, Ed McCully's, was allegedly unearthed downstream by a group of Indians who manufactured McCully's wristwatch. His corpse, however, was never found and identified.

The missionaries had come by aircraft and decided to land on the sandbar because it was the only land area close that was free of trees. They established a camp on the sandbar, which they dubbed "Palm Beach." They also constructed a treehouse nearby.

The Huaorani stripped the plane of its fabric skin after the attack. The plane was then ditched into the river. It vanished and was not discovered again until 1994. Someone was walking down the sandbar when they discovered a naked metal piece jutting out of the sand. It was eventually determined to be a section of the metal structure of the Nate Saint's Piper airplane. The river had nearly totally covered the river's vestiges in the sand. The plane's structure is presently on exhibit at the Mission Aviation Fellowship's headquarters.

Today, the Huaorani Christian community frequently uses the Curaray River for baptisms. Steve Saint and his children were christened there as well. The region is said to be the origin of criollo cacao, the most uncommon kind.

Length: 497 miles