Some stories are so incredibly real, they seem to have come straight out of the pages of a book, or the movie screen. This is how one can describe the unexpected love story of Jordan Hauenschild, a 26-year-old living in Queensland, Australia, and Pitiuruk, a 24-year-old indigenous man living in the Ecuadorian part of the Amazon rainforest.
One day Jornan was spending some time on the “Explore” page on Instagram, when he came across Pitiuruk’s profile, and decided to send him a message.
“I was scrolling before bed and came across a gorgeous man who was posting amazing content in a country I knew nothing about,” Jordan said in a TikTok video.
“I was very intrigued by how people still live this lifestyle, and to some extent I knew there were tribes in the Amazon, but I never had the time to learn about it. I clicked on his page and ended up sending him a message,” she told Australian website news.com.au.
Jordan said he believes that in order to have the best time, you have to take some risks. “You never know, you might end up finding the magic you never knew existed. It just so happens that mine is on the other side of the world, in a country I’ve never heard of and don’t speak the language of.”
That night, Jordan sent Pitiuruk a direct message, first she stressed how “gorgeous” he is, then explained how she would love to learn more about his culture.
She confessed that she didn’t expect that she would actually receive a response, but that she felt stunned when it happened. “I couldn’t believe that someone from the Amazon jungle, on this exotic piece of land, just answered me. For a girl who lives a Western life on the Queensland coast, who is always going to the beach, who lives in a house, to talk to someone from the Amazon who lives in a cabin, it was so surreal.”
The two began talking, first by text, then by video calls, in which they explained to each other about their respective ways of life.
“Our conversations were mostly 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 room, the fact that we have a bathroom, and my front and back yard — just the little things. And he would tell me about a day of his life living in the Amazon, which is quite unique.”
Pitiuruk’s family lives in Puyo, in the province of Pastaza, Amazonia, Ecuador, where they offer guided tours as a way to educate tourists about their ancestral culture.
Four months of conversation
Jordan and Pitiuruk spent four months talking almost every day on the phone, until she boarded a plane to South America. She quit a job at the office, booked a trip to Peru, Argentina and Brazil — and arranged to meet him.
“I just told him, ‘Actually, I can go meet you. Call me crazy, but we can do this,'” Jordan told the news.com.au.
Pitiuruk agreed to the idea, without a second thought, and worked with his family to plan an itinerary for the future visitor.
After more than 30 hours of flight and 5 hours of bus ride from the capital of Quito, Ecuador’s capital, to Guayusa Runa (where Pitiuruk’s family lives), she finally arrived.
“When the plane landed in Quito, I realised the magnitude of the situation – I had acted on a whim with a ‘why not?’ attitude and was about to meet someone I had never seen in real life,” she admitted. But as soon as she saw him in person, she says she’d never felt so comfortable — and it didn’t take long for them to develop a romantic connection.
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I just couldn’t believe he was real,” Jordan said. “It was my first time in Ecuador and I just wanted to make sure it was really respectful, but I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.”
Jornan spent two weeks living and learning Pitiuruk’s way of life, and although the two don’t speak the same language, she said much of their connection is based on body language.
“If the spark exists, it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak each other’s language. I’ve never had such a connection with someone where I know exactly where I am. By the time I arrived, Pitiuruk had worked with his family to plan a two-week itinerary for me through the capital and then through the region of his home (Pastaza).”
The pair spent four days in the city and the surrounding mountains. Jornan says that she had to get used to the weather, since Quito is well above sea level, being known as the “City in the Clouds”, a family member of Pitiuruk took them by car to the family home – where she says she was welcomed with open arms. “‘Our jungle is your jungle,’ they would tell me.”
Living day to day in the Amazon
, Jordan woke up every morning to the sound of drums, visited local farms, helped his family cook, and immersed himself in nature.
“They live about a 15-minute taxi ride from the nearest town. And the city has everything you need,” she said, explaining that in order for Pitiuruk’s family to maintain their history and educate people about their way of life, they need to embrace tourism.
“And the best way to do that is through social media platforms and establishing an online presence. They had to integrate to understand how to use the internet and create a website to maintain the way they live,” she said, noting that the family does not want to change anything in the way they live and are happy as they are.
She said Pitiuruk intends to one day work and travel to other countries, and dreams of getting work as an indigenous model to promote and educate about their culture, and to support her family.
“Magical and undeniable” connectionJordan
said that during her stay she and Pitiuruk developed a “magical and undeniable” connection that even shocked her. “Honestly, I had no idea what my vacation was going to be like, but all I can say is that it was cinematic,” she told news.com.au. “Everything was as magical as you can imagine. It was better than I could have dreamed.”
As the two learned more about each other, their feelings also grew stronger. However, time passed and Jordan had to return home to Australia.
When she shared the love story on TikTok, it didn’t take long for it to go viral, and people from all over the world started sharing their own stories.
“He’s stunning! He just has a beautiful, soft but strong energy, beautiful but so masculine. He exudes life. And you’re beautiful too,” one person wrote. “We’re very invested right now. It’s not your love story. It’s our love story,” joked another.
“I did it. It was 110% worth it and I never thought I’d be so happy. Take that leap,” one woman added. Another wrote: “I had a similar experience with a man. He didn’t speak much English when we first met and somehow that seemed to strengthen our connection. I’ll pick you up at the airport today. Love finds a way.”
Jordan said she’s overwhelmed by all the support she’s received from people on social media, and to her surprise, a travel company offered to fund her next trip to Ecuador.
“They’re going to fund my flights, which is just incredible. When I told Pitiuruk, we both just cried,” she said. “I got an email saying they were invested in our story and wanted to see us reunited. We were both crying because we didn’t expect to see each other for a year or so.”
Jordan and Pitiuruk agreed that they would regret it if they hadn’t tried to see things through to the end, and while Jordan hasn’t decided on a return date yet, she’s struggling to get her act together as this time she’s hoping to stay with her beloved for a few months.
