The Orinoco Delta

We were growing tired of the dirty water around Trinidad, but the calendar and the hurricanes swirling in the Caribbean told us it was too early to head North and West. Luckily, we heard about an area of Venezuela that was safe for Americanos located to our south. This area is called the Orinoco Delta and we got Navigational waypoints to guide us deep up a river called Manamo.

The Orinoco delta is a vast, intricate labyrinth of waterways weaving through a simmering jungle to carry the waters of the Orinoco to the Atlantic Ocean. The Orinoco Delta - the landmass now known as Delta Amacuro State - has formed over the course of thousands of years as the mighty river has deposited millions of tonnes of sediment into the ocean. Over the last century alone, some 1,000km² has been added to the delta, which continues to extend into the Atlantic at a rate of 40m per year over its entire 360km coastline. The Orinoco branches off into over 60 caños (waterways) and 40 rivers which diffuse through 41,000km² of forested islands, swamps and lagoons.

The Warao Indians – literally the ‘Canoe People’- are the native inhabitants of the delta. With a population of 24,000, the Warao constitute the second largest indigenous tribe in the country. Family groups reside in palafitos (wooden houses raised on stilts) along the banks of the river, and spend most of their daily lives in canoes fishing the nearby caños and hunting and gathering in the surrounding forests. Skilled craftspeople, the Warao build their palafitos and canoes from forest wood using traditional techniques, and, owing to increased contact with tourists, have also begun to carve figurines from balsa wood and to make necklaces, baskets and hammocks from the leaves and seeds of the ubiquitous moriche palm. The moriche palm, however, supplies more than just the basis for artesania. Otherwise known as the ‘tree of life’, the moriche provides the Indians with fruit, juices and a sweet pulp that can be made into a type of bread. Moreover, the trunk of the palm is used to cultivate a thumb-sized beetle grub, the moriche worm, a nutritious dietary supplement.

A massive variety of habitats has arisen within the delta, both terrestrial and aquatic. Mixed tropical rainforest, dominated by towering palm trees, prevails over much of the terra firma, fostering a variety of flora including fruiting trees, orchids, bromeliads and arboreal ferns; the latter of which flourish in the moist air of the canopy. Grassland swamps and marshes brim with aquatic plants, and estuarine waterways towards the ocean are thick with mangroves. Throughout the delta, the caños are themselves hugely diverse in form. Wide channels break off into narrow rivulets, isolated pools and lagoons. Some, heavy with sediments are brown in color, others are black with tannic acids. Many are carpeted with vast floating meadows of water hyzcynths (bora) and grasses, slowly drifting along with the current.

Needless to say, the wildlife of the delta is also extremely rich and varied. Jaguar, puma, ocelot, red howler and capuchin monkeys, capybara, agouti, giant otter, manatee and dolphins are just a handful of the countless species of mammal that can be observed in their natural habitats. Among the extensive bird population are the scarlet ibis, hoatzin, macaws, parrots, toucans, caciques, kingfishers, cormorants, egrets, falcons, hawks, harpy-eagles, weaverbirds and hummingbirds. There is also an untold number of amphibians, reptiles and fish species, including anaconda, boas, vipers, fer-de-lance, coral snakes, iguana, cayman, turtles, piranha, stingrays and catfish.

We slowly cruised up the river watching the depths and trading with the Warao as we passed the villages. The river was wide and we could just drift with the slow current as Daddy conversed in Spanish and used a few Warao words we had learned from other cruisers. We traded tee shirts and fishing supplies for baskets, a hammock and even a hand-carved Warao paddle.

Negotiating for the paddle was interesting. I asked if they were willing to trade for one of their two paddles and when they said Si, out came our trading goods. Kim and I offered a hunting knife and two yards of material in a plastic bag with two needles and some matching thread. Both heads nodded quickly and the woman’s paddle and our goods exchanged hands. I noticed that the handle had a small gouge and his paddle looked better crafted. Never one to leave good enough alone, I asked for his paddle instead. Big head shake NO! Out came another bag of material from the Emily Grace “mystery bag”. The woman’s eyes lit up and she started a fast and furious Warao conversation with her man. He kept lifting and looking at his paddle and protesting, but it was a loosing battle. The language difference was not a barrier between our two cultures. It was clear to me what was happening. He exchanged paddles with me (reluctantly) and the deal was done. We waved to each other farewell and she was in the bow of the canoe clutching her prize and he was paddling solo using her paddle back to the village.

Fauna abounds (where the songs of the birds and the unique sounds of howler monkeys serve as the morning wake-up call) in the surrounding area. We saw monkeys and flocks of Ibis, fresh-water dolphins and Emily was even adopted by a Parrot at a lodge we stopped at…but that, Dear Reader, is left for a future blog.

Tom