Letter 20 - Stranded in the Amazon Jungle - Aloha Wanderwell - Part 2
Hello Bregdan Woman,
There are some women who simply can’t be told about in just one letter. Aloha is one of them. If you didn’t read yesterday’s letter, you definitely want to go back and read it!
For today… I’m going to tell you about Aloha being left alone in the uncharted jungle of the Amazon Basin.
Remember me telling you that Aloha eventually married Captain Wanderwell? She didn’t have to change her name since she had already been given his last name as her stage name. 😊
Aloha was just 23 years old when they headed off on an even more extraordinary adventure deep in the Mata Grosso region of the Amazon basin.
I’ve done the geographical research for you…
Most of Mato Grosso lies on the western extension of the Brazilian Plateau, across which runs the watershed that separates the Amazon River basin to the north from the basin of the Río de la Plata system to the south. This elevated region is known as the Mato Grosso Plateau, and its elevation is about 3,000 feet.
With the knowledge that it was 1929, you’ll understand how concerning it was when their plane (with the Captain piloting) failed and went down in the uncharted jungle. Miraculously, it landed safely, but it was not going to fly again – at least not without replacement parts.
What to do?
The only way to get replacement parts was for them to make their way back to civilization to obtain replacement parts. And no, there were no roads or transportation. It would take several months.
They would go together.
Until Aloha decided to stay behind – with an indigenous tribe that simply knew they had dropped from the sky in a broken airplane! I’m sure they were fascinated by the tall, blond woman. 😊
When the Captain left on his trek across the jungle, Aloha charmed the natives, started filming, and carefully documented their lives.
It was two years before she returned home to California.
When the Captain eventually returned with the spare parts that would enable the plane to fly again, she had the footage to create two films; FLIGHT TO THE STONE AGE and THE LAST OF THE BOROROS.
It was the earliest filmed record of the Bororo tribe. It stands today as a historical and important anthropological resource within the Smithsonian Institute’s Human Studies Archive.
Aloha was a fearless Bregdan Woman!
Just like with any Bregdan Woman, she had to deal with curve balls that threatened to derail everything.
Back in the United States, after her jungle adventure, she and the Captain made plans for future expeditions and films.
Their plans were destroyed when the Captain was murdered by an unknown assailant on their 110’ yacht, “The Carma”, in Long Beach, California. His death remains one of the most famous unsolved cases on the West Coast.
Despite Aloha’s grief, and the intense media scrutiny that followed her husband’s death, she returned to the lecture circuit. The Captain had died, but his legacy would live on.
Aloha remarried and became Aloha Baker. She continued her travels with her new husband to India and Australia. The wanderlust never lost its glitter! She went on to have a long and distinguished career as an explorer, documentary filmmaker, and travel lecturer.
From a restless teenager to the notoriety of Aloha Wanderwell, The World’s Most Traveled Girl, this Bregdan Woman proved what was possible during a time when a woman could scarcely dream of a life without borders.
In 1980, when she was 74, Aloha gave her last known lecture and screening, at the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles. She asked her audience how they traveled.
“By car and plane.”
I can easily imagine her laughing and saying, “Not the way I did!”
She proceeded to dazzle them with movie clips of her travels by car before superhighways existed, and by plane when commercial airlines were in their infancy.
In her later years, Aloha carefully tended to her priceless collection of films, photos, journals, diaries, and artifacts from her travels. Understanding the legacy she had created, she arranged for much of her work to be preserved in the Library of Congress, Smithsonian D.C., and various museums and educational institutions throughout the United States.
Her beloved husband, Walter Baker, died two years after their 60th anniversary.
Aloha died the next year, at 89.
What a remarkable life! Aloha, from childhood, shunned the world’s expectations. Determined to live life on her own terms, she created a legacy that will exist forever.
Aloha created her legacy with films. My hope is to create a remarkable legacy with my books and the letters Suess and I are writing about memorable Bregdan Women – that will be compiled into books each year!
Aloha will continue to be a powerful inspiration for me.
I hope she does the same for you!
What do you want your legacy to be?
How are you going to achieve it?
You don’t have to travel the globe. You don’t have to write novels.
Remember the Bregdan Principle.
Every action you take creates a legacy!
What will you do today to impact history??
We’re on this journey with you…
Ginny & Suess
