Some years ago, during a visit to close friends in Caracas, Venezuela, we took the opportunity to spend a few days in the Amazon region of the Venezuelan interior. The Orinoco river, some 2,000km (1,300 miles) long, starts in Columbia to discharge into the Atlantic. The river basin is huge, estimated between 880,000 and 1,200,000 square km (340,000-460,000 square miles). The landscape changes from tropical jungle source to savannas, finally arriving at the Atlantic delta of mainly marshes with mangrove forests. The name Orinoco is derived from Guarauno language meaning “a place to paddle”. 
We flew down to the Orinoco mid region to spend several days cruising up river towards the source. This was not your typical cruise and definitely lacked the amenities found on today’s luxury cruises. This was in 1989 long before Eco Tours became popular. Our boat was basic, bunk beds with mosquito nets, an open-air shower pumped water up from the river and the toilet pumped back into the river. We shared our days and nights on the boat with the captain in an old cowboy hat, with a half-smoked cigarette hanging from his lower lip. The crew all consisted of a young girl was by his side and another younger man who spoke some English. In addition to the motley crew, we had another two Spanish couples and their kids join us. Our days were spent watching the changing scenery, animated by the howler monkeys and screaming macaws. Hammocks slung along the boat helped make the heat a little more comfortable, otherwise standing on the top of the boat’s cabin helped catch the winds. We stopped at various villages bartering whatever food was available for dinner. In the evening we tied our rustic boat up to trees on the banks of the river. Sometimes, after a light dinner we were treated to music from local visitors, sharing either a glass of beer or rum before heading to our bunks. At night, we enjoyed the peace and quiet. After our first night it was clear the mosquito net was possibly the single most important item on this trip. One Spanish fellow traveler opted to sleep outside the netting, and by morning he was peppered from head to toe with red bites. Needless to say; we all slept more soundly thereafter, and our bunk mate didn’t spend the night swatting the wildlife.
Piranhas are apparently not always as dangerous as portrayed in the films. One day we bathed in the river, then fished out piranhas from where we had been swimming. During the rainy season, and up river they’re not as vicious as when the river is lower and nearer to the Atlantic. The locals are known to cook a tasty piranha soup which might accompany whatever bird they’ve been able to add to the dining table. We stopped at one village that had been visited by a large anaconda the day before. We only paddled as far as our knees that day, no question of swimming! After stopping in various villages, we eventually ended up in Puerto Ayacucho on the Columbian border, where we were scheduled to fly back to Caracas.
Looking out window from commercial airline over Angel Falls
Next trip, a couple of days later, was to Angel Falls in Canaima National Park. Angel falls cascades off the Auyan Tepui (the characteristic flat-topped table mountains or mesas) for 979 meters (3,211 feet) down to the jungle. For reference, Niagara Falls drop is a distance of 60 meters.
The falls are named for Jimmie Angel, an adventurous pilot from Missouri who crash-landed his turbo prop nearby in an ill-fated search for gold in the 1930’s. Though the Pemón Indians were among the first to encounter the waterfall, the name Angel Falls stuck after word of the arduous 11-day trek of Angel’s traveling party reached the outside world.
As a UNESCO world heritage site, it is the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world. Canaima National Park is spread over 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres, about the size as Belgium) in South-east Venezuela, along the border between Guyana and Brazil. Much of the park is covered by tepui. The name of the park comes from the Pemón people who inhabit the area and means “spirit of evil or devils mouth”. There are no overland routes to the settlement of Canaima. The only access is by air. We flew there on a commercial airline. During this visit, we rented a small airplane to get a closer view of the waterfall, certainly a dramatic experience! The whole park has numerous waterfalls, one of which we were able to traverse behind, hanging on to ropes anchored to the rock face. This park is well worth a visit, with plenty to see.
