Aloha Wanderwell Baker

Making the most of your time here on the blue planet.

In 1930 and 1931, Aloha learned to fly a German seaplane, "Junker" that she would later land on an uncharted part of the Amazon River when the Wanderwells traveled to the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. They set up camp at the Descalvados Ranch in Cuiabá and were ostensibly searching for lost explorer Colonel Percival Harrison Fawcett, who was looking for the legendary Lost City of Z (some speculate this to either be synonymous or different to the legendary city of Eldorado). They made several flights with a seaplane, once running out of fuel on the Paraguay River and receiving help from the Bororo people. The crew's cameraman filmed a ceremonial dance, a first contact scenario with Boboré villagers, and Bororo men experiencing sympathetic labor pains. The 32-minute silent film called Last of the Bororos is preserved in the Smithsonian Institution's Human Studies Film Archives and includes Aloha's meeting with Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon.