A long journey to the jungle delta...

Today I got lucky. I'm genuinely surprised to have arrived at the Orinoco Delta camp with no major problems or hassle. Of course, that doesn't mean that the journey was pleasant, fast or safe.
I started with a premature taxi ride to the Caracas Bus terminal. The driver says stay inside, it is not safe when it goes dark. My first problem is that there are no buses to Tucupita today (my destination town), so I buy a ticket for Maturin, a city close-by. My second problem is I'm very early, I have nearly 3 hours to wait in a scary run-down depot with everyone staring at you knowing you're a foreigner. Truth be told, the time passed and I got on the bus (realtively) easily after talking with a few locals. The bus set off (an hour late) and was quite empty, so i got some alright sleep.

 My third problem came when we pulled into some bandit-looking town and the driver instructs everyone to get off. We are about halfway to Maturin, and have to board another bus waiting for us. This one is old, disgusting and packed. We get on and fill every available seat with none to spare. Hot and cramped we set off with a bang and a grind. The drivers all over the place, probably drunk, and the sounds of the bus aren't comforting...

It's 2am and dark. I have a good view out of the front window, and I see the distant sky glowing orange. As we get nearer, the sky becomes brighter. Then, over the horizon appears several balls of fire. We drive through endless oil refineries, with tall stacks that emit enormous bright flames 200ft above the ground. On all sides of the bus the sky is alight as though it were sunrise, from the countless columns of burning fire. Venezuela sits on the worlds largest natural oil reserve, and these refineries go on for hours...
I eventually arrive at Maturin in an equally run-down depot and ask about catching a bus to Tucupita. I get very lucky, as one is just about to leave. The woman explained that if I were a few minutes later, I would have waited 24 hours for the next one...

This bus is comfortable and I sleep into the early hours before arriving at Tucupita 8am. What a shit-hole, but I strike lucky again meeting Carlos, a man here to pick up his wife, and who actually speaks a little English. I gratefully take a ride with them to the river, where I will aim to hitch a boat-ride into the delta. However, he tells me my destination is very far and there are very few boats on a Sunday...

On arriving at the river there are many locals gathered and police everywhere. We see the dead body of a national guard laid on the ground, and people mourning. The body is bagged, taken away in a van, and people leave. Carlos leaves too and I explain my gratitude for his help, as I am now left alone on the shore thinking what the fuck just happened!?
I strike luck a third time. Within 5 minutes of the commotion, 4 guys lower a boat into the water, and I approach to ask about getting to the delta camp. After some awkward exchanges of broken Spanish, I realise they are heading to a settlement close to my camp, and after offering a generous amount of money, I climb on-board and we speed off down the wide open river. This boat looks shit, but my God is it fast!

Problem number 4 came when the oversized engine blows up at full speed. Well, that's what it sounded like as I was thrown forward off the bench and the boat came to an abrupt stop. The guys didn't react much, and after pulling off the engine cover and sticking their hands in, the engine was started up again in minutes. It was music to my ears. I smiled and gave the thumbs up as a wave of relief hit me. It didn't last long though, as the same thing happened a few minutes later.

After 2 hours, 3 stops, and 6 more 'break-downs', Venezuelas finest speed-garbage-can slowed down and approached the camp at 1pm. By some miracle, I had arrived safely (and with all my stuff) at my home for the next month in the heart of the Orinoco Delta. And this place is jungle paradise....Read more