Jordan Hauenschild, who lives in Australia’s Queensland, had no idea she would end up falling for her real-life Tarzan after reaching out to him on Instagram.
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The 26-year-old was scrolling through the Explore page on her Instagram late one night in December when she stumbled across 24-year-old Pitiuruk’s profile.
She decided to message the Indigenous Ecuadorean man wanting to learn more about his culture and way of life living in the Amazon forest.
I couldn’t believe someone form the Amazon jungle, on this exotic piece of land, just responded to me
Jordan Hauenschild
“I was just doing the late night doom scroll before bed and I came across this gorgeous man who was posting incredible content over in a country I knew nothing about,” Jordan told news.com.au.
“I was so intrigued about how people still live this way of life and to some degree I knew there were tribes in the Amazon, but I had never taken the time to learn about it.
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“I clicked on his page and I just messaged him.”
Jordan revealed that she is a big believer in taking risks – and this one clearly paid off.
“You never know, you might just end up finding the magic you never knew existed,” she said.
“Mine just so happened to be on the other side of the world, in a country I’d never heard of, and I don’t speak the language of.”
That night, she sent Pitiuruk a message, gushing about how ‘gorgeous’ he was and asked him to teach her about his culture.
“I didn’t expect a response back If I am completely honest,” she said.
And when he did, it left her stunned.
“I couldn’t believe someone form the Amazon jungle, on this exotic piece of land, just responded to me,” she explained.
“For a girl that lives a Western life on the coast in Queensland, who is always going to the beach, who lives in a house, to be talking to someone from the Amazon who lives in a hut, was just so surreal.”
Pitiuruk’s family is located in the province of Pastaza, Puyo canton Amazonia Ecuador, where they offer guided tours as a way to educate others of their ancestral culture.
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The pair soon began to video call each other most days, discussing how different their lifestyles were.
Jordan said: “Our conversations were mainly about our way of life, what we do during the day, what we eat, where we sleep and simply, how we live,” Jordan said. “I would show him my bedroom, the fact we have a bathroom and my front and backyard – just the little things.”
“And he would walk me through a day in his life living in the Amazon, which is pretty unique.”
After four months of chatting online, Jordan decided to go travelling, and wanted to meet Pitiuruk in person.
She decided to quit her job to go travelling to Peru, Argentina and Brazil, and asked whether it was also possible to come and visit him.
“I just said to him, ‘I can actually come and meet you. Call me crazy, but we can do this’,” Jordan added.
Without hesitation, Pitiuruk was on-board with the idea and worked with his family to plan an itinerary for Jordan.
After four flights and more than 30 hours of travel, she finally arrived in Guayusa Runa (name of Pitiuruk’s family home.
“As the plane was landing in Quito, I realised the magnitude of the situation – I had gone on a whim with a ‘why not’ attitude and I was about to meet someone I had never seen in real life.”
But once they were together, Jordan said she had never felt more at ease and the connection was instant despite not speaking the same language.
“I just couldn’t believe he was real,” she said. “It was my first time in Ecuador and I just wanted to ensure I was really respectful, but I just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.”
The next two weeks were spent living and learning Pitiuruk’s way of life and while the pair are not fluent in one another’s language, Jordan said a lot of their connection is based off body language.
“If the spark is there, it doesn’t matter if you can’t speak each other’s language. I’ve never had such a connection with somebody where I know exactly where I stand.
“When I arrived, Pitiuruk had worked with his family to plan a two week itinerary for me around the capital city and then in and around the region of their home (Pastaza).”
Jordan said Pitiuruk’s family welcomed her with open arms, ‘Our jungle is your jungle’, they would say to me.”
She explained that in order for Pitiuruk’s family to maintain their story and educate people about their way of life, they have to embrace tourism.
“And the best way to do that is through social media platforms and establishing an online presence. They’ve had to integrate into understanding how to use the internet and create a website to maintain the way they live.
“But they don’t want to change anything with how they live – they are happy the way they are.”
During her stay, the couple’s romance grew, “Honestly, I had no idea how my holiday would pan out, but all I can say, is that it was cinematic,” she said.
“Everything was as magical as you can possibly imagine. It was better than my day dream.”
But Jordan had to go back to Australia and she shared their love story on social media where it went viral with 6 million views.
Their story has attracted so much attention that Flight Centre have funded Jordan’s flight back to Ecuador to see Pitiuruk again.
“We were both in tears because we didn’t expect to see each other for another year or so,” she explained.
The pair both agreed they would regret it they didn’t try and see things through to the end and while Jordan hasn’t decided on a return date just yet, she is scrambling to get her affairs in order as this time she hopes to stay for a few months.