Image from [voyagesphotosman ](https://www.voyagesphotosmanu.com/mapa_delta_amacuro.html)
Perhaps the Delta Amacuro State is the least known place in Venezuela, considering the fact that it does not have airports, roads or a large capital city with a large population, but I can assure you that there is no place in the world more interesting than the land of the Waraos. In my case, I arrived there with four companions from the city of Puerto Ordaz, State of Bolivar, after taking a flight to that destination from Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetía (near Caracas). Outside the José Manuel Piar airport which serves the beautiful city of Guayana the group and I took a cab to go there, where "the Orinoco dies".
Orinoquia Bridge [Source](http://www.radiomundial.com.ve/article/puente-orinoquia-cumple-10-años-fortaleciendo-integración-entre-venezuela-y-brasil)
After crossing the Orinoquia bridge which joins both banks of the Orinoco River immediately the aroma of fresh pine takes over our sense of smell; we are in Uverito, the largest forest in the world created by humans. It is necessary to emphasize the immensity of Uverito, territory of the Caribbean Pine, a variety that grows perfectly in that territory parallel to the north bank of the Orinoco River, between the States of Anzoátegui and Monagas. The road to Uverito is a long straight line, almost infinite where you had to avoid the hundreds of holes and potholes that took over. It is important to highlight the sensory concert that meant listening to the sounds of the birds next to the song of the Orinoco father which merged with the beauty of the bluish green forest of the tropical pines and the intoxicating aroma of its leaves. We could not see "Padre Orinoco" but we would go to meet him later.
[Uverito.
](https://noticias.masverdedigital.com/venezuela-el-hombre-que-construyo-el-bosque-mas-grande-del-mundo/)
Once the long line from Uverito was over, the city of Tucupita welcomed us, not for long since we immediately went to one of its river ports where our guides were waiting for us in their small boat: "El Profe" and Jose, who would give us the transfer of our tracks to the network of pipes that characterize the Orinoco River, I told them, we would meet him again, by the way, that would be the last time we would see a vehicle with wheels in a week. Now our destination is the town of Curiapo, in the heart of Delta Amacuro. I must admit that sailing in such a small boat, in such a superb river, in unknown territory and in the confines of the Amazon rainforest generates fear, but it dissipates as you go deeper into the beauty of this conjunction of water, sea, jungle and wildlife that we are getting to know.
https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPY1Mv1c4ff5uLpmBto73ht7ibkXXpbXNymActKtjnBgi/Ca%C3%B1os_de_curiapo.JPG[Curiapo](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caños_de_curiapo.JPG)
He had no knowledge of how huge oil tankers are until we passed him at the front (by port in the sea-river language) and he had never felt so much fear as at that moment, but our guide José who is an expert navigator, who knows his boat like the palm of his hand, did not tremble at the time of maneuvering his little boat to pass moments before that rusty iron colossus did so in order to reach the entrance of Curiapo. After four hours of sailing from Tucupita we arrived around 4:00pm to this picturesque little palafitte town on the shores of the main navigation channel of the Orinoco Delta. When we disembarked from the boat and finally touched the wooden dock I felt a sense of relief and at the same time I thought another adventure was beginning.
[Tonina (river dolphin)](https://toninadelfinrosadoregionorinoquia.blogspot.com/2018/09/blog-post.html)
We stayed in a small hostel called Orquídea, a palafito with several rooms (more like wooden boxes with beds) on the river. The owner of this inn was a lady with marked Indian features (from India the Asian country) and being Venezuelan she didn't speak Spanish only English and Warao. Her son was fluent in both Cervantes' and Shakespeare's languages and of course in her own. The first thing I asked the teacher was what does Warao mean, to which he answered: "born of the water" and certainly never a name was so accurate because the Waraos make the river their own life. The Waraos are extraordinary swimmers, their taste for swimming is such that you can easily confuse them with the so-called "toninas" (river dolphins), gray to pink aquatic mammals that usually inhabit the waters of the Orinoco. But the warao is also the language, same that refuses to die in spite of the evident influence of the English in the zone and the relative impact of the Spanish in spite of being Venezuelan territory.
Hotel Orquidea, Curiapo. [Source](http://www.geocities.ws/delta_amacuro_ve/info.htm)
Curiapo has a curious thing, the effect of the tides creates one of the most interesting phenomena that I have seen. Near the sunset the Plaza Bolivar of the town is left alone as the water floods it, so that the bust of El Libertador seems to float on a small lake that forms around it. The same happens over the cemetery of Curiapo, during the day you can walk over the cemetery but once the night comes the water takes over the place and only the wooden crosses emerge over the surface. The Prophet tells us that in this town people die twice: once of what they died and the other drowning in the cemetery.
Cemetery of Curiapo. [Source](https://images.app.goo.gl/8Hv3w1KNEPxY2BAYA)
The first night in Curiapo was impressive, I had never seen so many stars in the sky and on the other hand the "cocuyos" over the river intensified that sensation of being flying in space. I did not notice the other rooms of the Orquídea Hotel but mine had the particularity that if it was daytime you could see from the window the jungle and a big owl standing on a stake staring at me but curiously you could not perceive the river. At night the river took all that, next to the moon and its retinue of stars reflecting on the water and the Orinoco flowing under your feet, you could say then that you slept lulled by the song of the Orinoco.
Church of San Francisco de Guayos. [Source](https://www.verpais.com/venezuela/delta+amacuro/san+francisco+de+guayo/foto/34647/)
The next town we visit is called San Francisco de Guayos, four hours away from Curiapo. In the distance you can see its church and a Catholic mission. This town seemed to me to be a little more vibrant and active than the previous one, I think it must be because of the presence of religious (priests and nuns) foreigners in the place and because of the mining activity, especially of gold and uranium from the south of the country since Guayos is a transit area for this type of traffic. It is worth mentioning that as we went deeper into the tangle of pipes and jungle of the Orinoco delta, it seemed more like we were in another country, not so much because of the coexistence with the Warao but because of the important presence of the English language and foreign missions in the place. It is remarkable to see palafittes with high definition televisions connected to a small solar panel. It is evident that between the missions and the mineral traffickers they keep the tribal chiefs looking the other way in exchange for favors.
Nabasanuka. [Source](https://tanetanae.com/la-sobrenatural-desaparicion-dos-waraos-nabasanuka/)
Following our route, we headed for an equally remote village called Nabasanuka, in my opinion the most authentic of the three we visited. Being there was like living in a place that was thought to be extinct and discovering that there are still vestiges in the world where original human beings live. The Warao culture is alive, latent in Nabasanuka, its inhabitants are proud of their origin, their language, their culture. Teachers and children sing the national anthem in Warao, stores sell in Warao and everyone greets you in that language. Of course, the Prophet and Jose translated for us, although I was delighted to be there and to live with them.
[Warao girl. Source](http://orinoco.travel/waraos)
In general, at least that's how I perceived it, the Warao don't smile (children do, adults don't express emotions); on the other hand I could perceive a disturbing reality is a people who have a short life expectancy, who are over 30 years old can certainly feel lucky (like the teacher for example). The child population is high as well as the cases of mortality among children. According to the prophet, this has to do with the poor quality of the water, which they ingest directly from the pipes and are therefore exposed to the risk of ending their lives due to gastric diseases. Faced with this situation, a large part of the population is turning to alcoholic beverages to avoid ingesting water, which is why they also suffer from diseases associated with the abuse of these beverages.
On our way back to Curiapo we had to sail in the most impressive area of Venezuela: where the Orinoco meets the Atlantic Ocean, in that fight of contrary currents the jungle was lost among so much water, salty and sweet, and our little boat in the middle of that fight. The teacher told us: "here, whoever falls into the water will never see the surface again" so we held on with all our strength not to check if what the old man was saying was true.
Finally we were able to arrive at Curiapo at night. It is incredible the way Jose could steer the boat in the dark guiding himself by the position of the stars with better precision than our GPS, a life lesson to three venezuelan and a Chilean who was admired.
Delta Amacuro was a journey to a hidden territory, it was like discovering El Dorado but with something more valuable than gold: the men and women born from the water.
Carlos D. Pérez Guerrero @waraira777.
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