The geographical position of the Orinoco River. The Orinoco River is a heavenly river. Feature, description, photo, video. Flora of the river

Geography

Orinoco(from Spanish Orinoco) - a river flowing in South America. It mainly flows through the territory of Venezuela and flows into. The length of the river reaches 2,736 km. The source of the Orinoco is Mount Delgado Chalbaud, near Parim, on the border with Brazil. From there, along a wide arc, it turns from the southwest to the west, then to the north, and, finally, to the northeast, where it flows into the Laria Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. At the bottom of the Orinoco River spreads out into hundreds of branches, forming a delta with an area of ​​41,000 km. In floods, the width of the river reaches 22 km, and the depth is up to 100 meters. Navigable, ocean-going vessels are able to reach Ciudad Bolivar, which is 435 km from the Atlantic Ocean, if you sail upstream. Orinoco crosses the subequatorial belt. Orinoco staple food- rain, present sharp fluctuations water. During the dry season, some of the tributaries of this river become small stagnant lakes.

Delta Orinoco mainly inhabited by the Warao Indians. This nationality is the second largest population in Venezuela. Here you can get acquainted with the culture and customs of this people.

During the rainy season, usually between June and October, vast areas are flooded with water, resulting in swamps. The local animal and bird world is very diverse. The most exotic species are found here, from the well-known anaconda to the scarlet ibis.

Interesting Facts

• Orinoco is a classic example of river bifurcation.
• The Orinoco is home to the Amazonian dolphins.
• Orinoco is inhabited by Orinoco crocodiles, this is the rarest species of crocodiles.
• Orinoco holds the largest reserves of tar sands, or, as it is also called, heavy oil.
• More than 100 colonies of wading birds are found in the Orinoco Delta.

The Ohio River flows through the United States. It is a left tributary of the Mississippi River. Its length is 1580 km. The Ohio River Basin is formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahila rivers, which originate in the Appalachian Mountains. Thus, the basin area is 528.1 thousand km2.
The river has several main tributaries. Of these, the right ones are the Miami, Wabash and Muskingham rivers, [...]

Orinoco from the languages ​​of almost all Indian tribes of the basin is simply translated - River, just like that - as a proper name, with respect.
And this means that it is both "great" and "great", as this translation is sometimes expanded. The Warao Indians living in the Orinoco Delta call it the "River in which you can load an oar", that is, "navigable river", and their self-name means "boat people". Orinoco is also called by the Guajiro Indians. How long ago people began to settle on the shores of the Orinoco is still not fully clarified, there is only one evidence that they lived here at least three thousand years ago, this is the rock carvings of the Arawak Indians on the border of Venezuela and Colombia. passing along the river.
Orinoco begins with a fast stream in the Venezuelan state of Amazonas, near the border with Brazil, on the slopes of Mount Dilgado Chilbaud in the Serra Parima ridge of the Guiana Highlands. From it and the spurs of the Andes in the west, numerous rivers flow into it, and the Orinoco current in the upper reaches is rapidly gaining strength. Skirting the Guiana Highlands, before the confluence of the Meta River, Orinoco passes through many rapids and rapids, the most significant of which are Maipures and Atures. In some places of the upper reaches of the Orinoco, low - up to 17 m - waterfalls are formed. Descending from the heights of the highlands, then the river flows through the Guiana Lowlands, expanding to 3-10 km. In the gorges, called in Venezuela angosturs (gorges), the Orinoco channel narrows in places to 250 m. Below the largest port of the river - Ciudad Bolivar - its channel widens sharply, and in the area of ​​the city of Barrancas it branches out, forming a complex network of water channels and oxbows, spilled between land areas, overgrown with dense humid jungle, mangrove thickets. Numerous lagoons and swamps adjoin them. This network forms 36 arms spread over a large area. The most significant of them - Boca Grande - is up to 20 km wide, and the most convenient for navigation is Macareo. These two natural channels flow into the Paria Bay of the Atlantic Ocean, most of the remaining branches into the Boca del Serpiente, between the continent and the island of Trinidad.

History

When Christopher Columbus on August 1, 1498, during his third expedition to the New World, saw the Orinoco Delta, he called it “the river of paradise,” and he can be understood. The natural world of the delta is unusually rich and colorful. Many tall palms rush to the sky, fruit trees are hung with ripe fruits, orchids, bromeliads and other exotic tropical plants bloom under their crown, tree-like and liana-like ferns stretch their powerful feather-like leaves. It is home to jaguars, ocelots, capuchin monkeys, giant otters, manatees, hundreds of bird species, as well as anacondas, caimans and crocodiles. The Varao Indians, who still live in the delta today, were friendly to the newcomers, but the Spaniards had no time for them: obsessed with the desire to find Eldorado, they were sure that the country of their dreams was somewhere close. They did not meet anything like that, and they blew their frustration at the same warao, destroying their villages. For a very long time, the Orinoco was considered the most mysterious river in South America in Europe. Its source was discovered only in 1951, but the delta was explored in the 16th century. In 1531, the conquistador Diego de Ordaz walked from the mouth of the Orinoco to the Meta River in search of the same Eldorado, by the way, this was, by the way, the first such deep penetration of a European deep into the South American continent in history. In the same year, the delta was explored by the expedition of the German Ambrosius Ehinger. The Governor of Trinidad Antonio de Berrio made a great journey along the Orinoco and its tributaries. And the first is for real Scientific research Orinoco was made by the founder of the geography of vegetation, Alexander Humboldt, who described the features of the river, and its flora and fauna, he was the first to describe the river pink dolphin.

Nature

The life cycles of the river are directly related to the wet and dry seasons. During the rainy season, the water in Orinoco rises by 8-10 m and vast bodies of water are formed in the lowlands, and when the water subsides, many small tributaries of the Orinoco turn into chains of small closed swamps, immediately inhabited by malaria mosquitoes. Further, everything is even more severe: in the open spaces of the savannah in the middle reaches, the grass withers, clouds of dust begin to walk, some trees even throw off their foliage. Apart from the thickets of the delta, during the drought period, only the tropical palm gallery forests of the southwestern part of Llanos Orinoco, stretching parallel to the water stream, are fully preserved. And of course, cacti in the savannah.
The avian world of the savannah is no less diverse than in the delta area; a huge number of species of ibises, herons, storks, flamingos and other wading birds, tree ducks, as well as parrots, hawks, kites, falcons and vultures live here. Savannahs are home to a myriad of insect species, and large termite colonies are also common.
And the main predators, just like in the delta, are jaguars, cougars and ocelots. In general, counting all types of fish, crustaceans, birds, reptiles and mammals living in the Orinoco basin, we can talk about many hundreds of species. And all this richest animal world, judging by the fact that drought does not cause great damage to its numbers, it is perfectly adapted to the extremes of the local climate. The harm is caused by the person. The rarest species of reptiles - the Orinoco crocodile - is now listed in the Red Book, there are only 250 individuals of this Orinoco endemic left due to the fact that poachers killed it for the sake of a beautiful skin. Several dozen more species of mammals are on the brink of survival, and for the same reason.

Population

Most of the indigenous population of Venezuela lives along the banks of the Orinoco. These are Indians of relatively numerous tribes (from 10 to 30 thousand people): Tamanuki, Guayacho, Makiritare, Yaruro, Yanomami, Varao, Guahiro (this tribe, in addition, lives on Lake Maracaibo); mestizos, people of the European type - a small number. The growth of cities and ports in the Orinoco Basin began around the middle of the 20th century, when the mining of iron ore and other minerals in the Guiana Highlands began, but, as a rule, all these towns, standing in high places to protect against flooding, are small. The largest city in the Orinoco basin is Ciudad Guayana at the confluence of the Orinoco and Caroni, it was created in 1961 near the largest hydroelectric power station Macagua and the Guri reservoir and stretches for 40 km. With a population of over 900,000 people, it includes two cities: the old one, San Felix (founded in 1576) and the new one, Puerto Ordaz (founded in 1952).
On Llanos Orinoco there are plantations of agricultural crops and pastures, but their areas in our time are not so significant that one can talk about serious economic development of these spaces by man. With the exception of oil production in the oil-bearing, or, scientifically, tar sands of the Orinoco belt, in which oil is contained in the form of oil shale. Experts call such oil “unconventional”: its carriers require refining already at the initial stage of their production. In 2011, OPEC announced that Venezuela, thanks mainly to the tar sands of the Orinoco Belt (previously not well taken into account), has become the world leader in oil reserves. A year later this position was confirmed by the BP corporation: as of December 31, 2011, Venezuela possessed 296.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, or 17.9% of all its world reserves, while Saudi Arabia, which had been the world record holder for many years of oil, had 265.4 billion barrels on the same date.

general information

One of the largest rivers in South America and the northernmost large river continent... It flows mainly in Venezuela, partly along the Venezuelan border with Colombia.

Source: Mount Dilgado Chilbaud (Guiana Highlands) at an altitude of 1047 m.

Estuary: Gulf of Paria of the Atlantic Ocean.
Food: mainly rain.
Largest tributaries: the right - Ventuari, Caura, Caroni; the left - Guaviar, Vichada, Meta, Arauca, Apure.

Largest cities and ports: Ciudad Guayana, which includes San Felix and Puerto Ordaz, Ciudad Bolivar, Santa Barbara, Puerto Ayacucho.

Largest reservoir: Guri (on the Karoni River).

Nearest airports:- Simon Bolivar International Airport; Ciudad Guayana - Manuel Carlos PR Airport; Ciudad Bolivar - Ciudad Bolivar Tomás de Jerez Airport.

Numbers

Length: 2736 or 2410 km (according to various sources).
Maximum width(during the spill period): 22 km.

Maximum depth: 100 m.

Water discharge: 30,000 m 3 / s (varies depending on the season in the range of 5-55,000 m 3 / s).
Annual flow: about 915 km 3.

Pool area: 1086 thousand km 2. 76.3% of it belongs to Venezuela, the rest - to Colombia.

Delta area: 41,000 km 2.

Total length of shipping lanes in the Orinoco Basin: about 12,000 km.

Economy

Natural resources of the Orinoco Basin: oil, gas, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, vanadium, chromium, bauxite, gold, diamonds.
Industry: ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy (aluminum smelting), pulp and paper and food industry in Ciudad Guayana. A cascade of hydropower plants on the Caroni River in the Orinoco basin with reservoirs providing 76.3% of Venezuela's electricity needs.
Agriculture: cattle breeding, cultivation of cassava, corn, cotton, rice.
Fishing.
Navigation: vessels with a displacement of 8 tons reach from the mouth to Ciudad Bolivar (435 km from the mouth), lighter ones during the Orinoco flood - to Puerto Ayacucho (1127 km).
Service sector: ecological tourism.

Climate and weather

Tropical.
The rainy seasons last on average from April to October, dry - from November to March. In the north of the Orinoco Plain, where the northeastern trade winds penetrate first, the dry season lasts longer, and the rainy season is only three summer months.

Throughout the year, the temperature does not drop below + 20 ° C.

The average temperature, even in the coldest months of the dry season, is + 25 ° - + 26 ° C, and at the beginning and at the end of the rainy season, it reaches + 29 ° C.
Average annual rainfall: in the north of the Orinoco plain - 800 mm, in the south - up to 1000 mm.

sights

■ The waterfall (in Venezuela, it is called the Kerepa-kupai Meru) on the Carrao (Churun) river flowing into the Apura, one of the largest left tributaries of the Orinoco, the highest waterfall in the world (979 m, according to some sources - 1054 m, the height of the free fall of water - 807 m). National park Canaima, on the territory of which the waterfall is located, and it itself are included in the list of the World natural heritage UNESCO.
■ A network of plateaus of various heights of the Gran Sabana (Great Savannah) between the Lemma and Carrao rivers, near the city of Ciudad Guayana (in the territory of Gran Sabana is the Canaima National Park).
■ City of Ciudad Bolivar: bridge "Angostura" (1967) in the city of Ciudad Bolivar.
The length is 1678 m, the height of the supporting towers is 119 m. For some time after its opening, it was considered one of the most outstanding technical structures in South America. Colonial architecture; Cathedral; The Museum of Contemporary Art named after Jesus Rafael Soto, the famous creator of the kinetic sculpture style and painter, a local native, with a collection of his works; at the airport of the city - the plane "Flamingo" by James Angel, which in 1933 flew over Angel Falls and thereby opened it to the world. The waterfall was named after him, although he was the first to visit it at the beginning of the 20th century. Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz.

Curious facts

■ The Casiquiare River, which branches off from the Orinoco (this phenomenon, as a result of which the river is divided into two parts, is called bifurcation), flows into the Rio Negra, one of the tributaries of the Amazon. This forms a natural channel linking the Amazon and Orinoco.
■ Electric eel, a fish that lives in the waters of the Orinoco, capable of generating a discharge with voltages up to 1300 V and amperage up to 1 A, grows to 2.4 m in length and weighs up to 19 kg. Needless to say that meeting with this fish can cost the life of both man and horse? Catfish living in Orinoco, which the Indians call kuyu-kuyu, can reach a meter in length and 18 kg in weight. In the back of the body of this fish there are processes that support the caudal fin, which makes it look like a prehistoric fish.
■ In 1532, when the conquistadors attacked the village of Warao, they used ... environmental weapons against them. These were hot pans with hot red pepper powder poured on them. From the acrid smoke the Spaniards began to sneeze, cough, the tears that came out covered their eyes, and they were powerless with their guns against the tomahawks of the Indians.
■ Jules Verne has a novel, The Magnificent Orinoco (1894), about the adventures of several Frenchmen on the river itself and in the jungle.
■ In the city of Ciudad Bolivar, which until 1846 was called Santo Tome de Guayana de Angostura del Orinoco, the Venezuelan Constitution of 1811 was adopted, written by the leader of the Venezuelan and several other revolutions, Simon Bolivar (1783-1830 biennium), in whose honor the city was renamed.
■ The Indians say that there are still several small tribes living at the source of the Orinoco, avoiding any contact with the outside world.

The Orinoco Delta is one of the most remarkable places in Venezuela. It is formed by the rivers Orinoco and Apure, flowing down from the foothills of the Andes.

This unique nature reserve occupying an area of ​​over 25 thousand square kilometers, it has several different ecosystems: evergreen a tropical forest, swampy and savanna forests, mangroves and never-dry fresh bogs. The change of season in the Orinoco Delta is a sight to behold.

Rich in plants and animals, the Orinoco delta is of particular interest to tourists who love travel and excursions in wildlife. Entertainment such as piranha fishing and caiman hunting will keep thrill seekers bored, and getting to know the locals will give you the opportunity to learn more about their lives and buy handmade souvenirs from them.

Carrao river

The Carrao River is a tributary of another river, the Caroni (which in turn flows into the Orinoco). Due to its picturesque views, the Carrao River is very popular with tourists. Another undeniable reason for the increased attention to Carrao is the fact that the Churun ​​River flows into it, on which Angel is located - the world's highest freely falling waterfall (its height is 978 meters).

Rafting on the Carrao River is not only a tourist fun, but also one of the main ways to get to the remote areas of Venezuela. Carrao is surrounded by impenetrable jungle through which no roads can be built.

South America rich in many rivers, but it is Orinoco(Spanish Río Orinoco) can be called a unique river. Most of its channel is located on the territory. The total length of the river is about 2.74 thousand km.

The area of ​​the river basin is 880 thousand km ², the water consumption is close to 30 thousand m ³ / sec.

Originating from the side of a mountain Delgado-Chalbaud(Spanish: Montaña Delgado Chalbaud), located not far from Parim (on the border with), Orinoco turns in a wide arc to the west from the southwest, then to the north and finally to the northeast, where the Atlantic Ocean flows into the Gulf of Paria (Spanish Golfo de Paria). More specifically, the river bends (plateau) and, crossing the southwestern part of the Guiana Lowlands, flows into the ocean bay.

In the lower reaches, the Orinoco River forks into many rivulets, forming a river delta. The area of ​​the entire delta is about 41 thousand km². When floods begin, the river spreads, reaching a width of more than 22 km, and its depth at that moment reaches 100 m.The right tributaries of the Orinoco are the following rivers: Caura (Spanish Río Caura), Caroni (Spanish Río Caroni), Ventuari (Spanish. Río Ventuari). Left tributaries: (Spanish Río Apure), Guaviare (Spanish Río Guaviare), Arauca (Spanish Río Arauca), (Spanish Río Meta), Vichada (Spanish Río Vichada). On the river (Spanish Río Churun ​​- tributary of the Caroni) there is the highest waterfall in the world - (Spanish Salto Angel; about 980 m high)

The river is of interest for navigation, as ocean vessels can reach the city (Spanish: Ciudad Bolívar), moving upstream. Ciudad Bolivar is located 435 km from the ocean bay.

Orinoco is located in the subequatorial zone. If we talk about the feeding of the river, then mainly the river is filled due to the abundant tropical rains. Therefore, the river is characterized by sharp fluctuations in water level: in the dry season, several tributaries of the Orinoco turn into small stagnant lakes.

When in 1498 the great navigator first saw the mouth of the Orinoco, he called it “the river of paradise” - he was so struck by the beauty of these places. The Warao Indians who met the travelers were very friendly. But greed and indomitable thirst for gold turned the locals against the conquistadors. The Spaniards were obsessed with the search for the mythical city of gold - Eldorado (Spanish Eldorado), moving up the river, they destroyed absolutely everything in their path. However, there was no "Golden City".

Locals

Why is the South American Orinoco River so attractive for tourists? Partly because of the incredible beauty natural world basin, partly due to the Indians living in the Orinoco Delta. The indigenous inhabitants of Venezuela usually live along the banks of the river.

The delta of the river is inhabited mainly by the Warao Indians, who, in terms of their number, occupy the second position in Venezuela: the number of the Warao reaches more than 20 thousand people. This nationality has inhabited the territory of the Orinoco delta for more than 12 thousand years. The Warao tribe are known as the people in the boat. They probably got this name because their houses are built on piles above the water. Interestingly, there are no walls in the houses. As vehicle warao use canoes.

Arriving in Venezuela, tourists can get to know the Indians better, with their distinctive culture and way of life. Varao are quite friendly, they can treat tourists with traditional local cuisine. Travelers are very fond of canoe tours, where the Warao Indian acts as a guide. The Indians organize jungle excursions and piranha hunts.

In addition to the Warao tribe, tribes such as the Yaruro, Guayacho, Tamanuki, Guahiro, and many others live in the Orinoco River Delta. It should be noted that the tribes of the indigenous Indians are quite small.

Flora and fauna of Orinoco

During the rainy season, which starts in June and ends in October, the river overflows over large areas, resulting in swamps. The fauna of the river is unusually rich and varied.

Travelers can contemplate exotic representatives of the fauna: giant anaconda, white ibis, cougar, parrots, hawks, jaguars, flamingos and many other species.

In addition, in the waters of the river you can see the Amazonian dolphins and the Orinoco crocodile, which is the rarest species of this genus. Orinoco crocodiles have long been exterminated by poachers because of their valuable and beautiful skin. Orinok crocodiles are listed in the Red Book, since there are no more than 250 of them left.

As for birds, there are over 100 colonies of wading birds. The most remarkable plant growing in the river delta is the Morice palm, famous for its perfectly flat trunks up to 30 m high. The inhabitants make cellulose from this palm. In addition, the Morice palm is one of the main materials for the construction of huts. The core of the tree is edible.

24.03.2014 09:22

The driver asked how we live there in Russia, because we have Putin, dictatorship and free, mucho free. I replied that we were all, only instead of freeo, we were tormenting calories.

Wikipedia: (Spanish Río Orinoco) - a river in South America, flows mainly through Venezuela and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The length is 2736 kilometers.

We're going to the delta Orinoco river, where we are waiting for the last three days of rest on this vacation. Are you still relaxing on the couch, in the country house or at the sea? Stop doing nonsense! You need to rest in the jungle. Go!

We went from Ciudad Bolivar. On the way with the driver we discussed cheap gasoline in Venezuela and hard life in brotherly Cuba. And he also suddenly asked how we live there in Russia, because we have Putin, dictatorship and free, mucho free. I replied that we have all heard the same thing about Venezuela, only instead of freeo - tormenting calories.
- Mas o menos, - said Giovanni and changed the topic of conversation to the weather)

The destination is getting closer, Trinidad and Tobago radio is already playing in the receiver.
On one of the bridges, the driver stopped the car and sent us to observe the life of real Indians. These are not country houses. This is how people live here.

A little more, and we got to the village of San Jose de Buja. This is the center of a small universe - a river port where you can get fuel for a boat, buy pasta and plastic basins. In general, from the point of view of an urban person - a hole is a hole.

But, for the local population, it is a portal connecting the world of the Indians with the so-called civilized world.
This portal, like all strategic objects, needs reliable protection. The guards work in several shifts - while some are roasting in the sun, others are resting in the shed.

Have you already remembered that the main thing in Venezuela? The main thing here is politics. It doesn't matter if the elections will be in five years, in a week, tomorrow or yesterday. It is important to always remember who you need to vote for, who you owe everything to, and how you need to behave so as not to upset the unforgettable commander Hugo Chavez - he always sees everything, even in the jungle, even at night!

River delta

An Indian met us here and explained that we need to wait for other vacationers. A car drove up half an hour later. Our old friend Izzy, with whom we drove to, and with whom we said goodbye yesterday, turned out to be "other vacationers" c))

Everyone is now ready to advance to camp. Our boat rushes along the water surface with a breeze, but from time to time it drops its speed to almost zero. The fact is that most of the local population travels in rowing canoes, and if you rush past them on a motorboat, they will simply be overwhelmed by a wave.

So, at the fork, or rather at the confluence of two rivers in the middle of the swamp, a pier was discovered. This is our home for the next three days - Eco Camp.

The camp really stands on a swamp, into which wooden piles were driven and the floor was laid from planks. That is, you will not be able to go outside the camp on foot. We're trapped)
Okay, let's settle in, get acquainted with the inhabitants of the camp.

This is the owner of the camp. Unfortunately, I did not remember his name, but he is the most indigenous inhabitant here. There is still a noisy chicken running from the locals, but she is completely stupid, and therefore did not get into this review)

The parrot hails from the harsh jungle, so even his gaze should terrify potential enemies. But, depending on how he looks at you, he can look like an evil warrior and a fluffy cat.

Here he is, by the way, with his best friend. When the girl is having dinner, the parrot must sit by her side and help. How touching this is, I cannot describe in words.

In addition to birds, three dogs and three cats also live here. In general, there is always someone to talk to.
When fresh tourists are brought in, Indians come to the camp and sell their beads-bracelets. Everything is made from what the jungle gives - no synthetics, and prices are lower than in the city.

Having played enough with the dogs, we go to check in to the apartment.

In the description that Thomas sent us, it is written that we will live in "comfortable wooden cabins".
In short, it looks like this. Palm leaf roof, palm leaf curtain entrance, wooden floor. There is a mattress on four wooden blocks in the middle of the room, around which a mosquito net is stretched. Nearby is another stylized stool, on which you can light a candle in the evening. There are no walls in front of the entrance at all - there is a jungle.

The guide, conducting a tour of the camp, asked not to forget to close the doors if we leave home for a long time. They are strange people - they give out the keys, but there are no locks ...

What is there to do here? First, eat well. Not that there would be gourmet restaurant food, no, everything is home-like here, but delicious and practically unlimited - you go up to the pots and put as much as you want yourself.

Before lunchtime, you can take a canoe ride, paddle a little, and admire the clear waters of the river, which reflect bright flowers.

And after lunch, be sure to swing in a hammock and cuddle the dog. Then you can safely jump into the boat to drive to the dacha - well, where the beds, hotbeds, all sorts of chickens graze.
Dacha is just an excuse. The main goal, of course, is to observe nature.

Toucans sit in the trees.

Undershoots and other birds. There are thousands of them here (without exaggeration), and all are different.

Macaws fly in flocks.

Monkeys are jumping in the trees. They are very hard to spot. Only in the morning at dawn, when the jungle wakes up, they cheerfully jump along the branches and watch the tourists with interest.

Bushes bloom along the shore.

And turtles relax on snags.

Usually tourists take sticks into the boat to fight off crocodiles and anacondas, but our guide Antonio said that all this evil spirits crawl in the dry season, when there is not enough water in the swamps. At such a time, we have to evacuate or additionally protect the farm we are sailing to - snakes steal piglets.

And here is the dacha. There is some kind of young hemp forest here. What is this plant? It is grown in many places in Cuba.

There are also many fruit trees, but we could only eat a green orange. Everything else will be, you guessed it, a maniana. Not even a manian, but after a few months or even years. The garden is still very young.

An ownerless watermelon was found in the grass, Antonio took out a machete, chopped it into pieces. We ate it and went for a walk.

Orinoco River on the map

At sunset, as usual in Latin America, they drank cuba libre, sang songs about Che Guevara, and caught piranhas with bacon. This time we did not succeed, only experienced Antonio pulled out a couple of predatory fish.

We returned home at night.

Australian Ron, who, as it turned out, has been traveling in South America for more than a year, decided to stay here for a month as a volunteer, tell tourists about the local beauties, study nature and wait for his plane to Europe, showed us where the spiders live. It turns out that in one of the palm trees (at least one :)), standing right in the center of the camp, there are such wonderful creatures, the size of a palm.

A couple of hours after sunset, a generator is running in the camp. During this time, you need to have time to have dinner, swing in a hammock and cuddle the dogs. And then the lights go out.

Torches are lit along the "paths", and people go to their huts to sleep.

What is the jungle at night? You can, of course, watch some BBC jungle movie, but this is all nonsense. You will watch a movie at home on the couch and feel nothing. The jungle at night is warm, a little stuffy, a little foggy. The night jungle is sounds: screams, rustles, creaks, murmurs and ringing silence, in which your every movement is heard.

River

You can look into the darkness for a long time, looking out for the flashing moths for a moment, listening, in the end, to the drain of water from the toilet and imagining creeping predators and reptiles in your imagination. Moreover, every minute you need to smear with different dichlorvos so as not to be eaten by mosquitoes.

And the worst thing that I had to face on the first night was not even a black cat at the entrance to the hut, but the tide - the water in the river rose to such a level that our camp footbridges just slightly rose above the water. What if the water continues to arrive at night? And in general, when I went to bed, for a long time I could not fall asleep due to the fact that a huge (well, not very huge by local standards - 40 centimeters) fish splashed under the bed.

In the morning you usually wake up from the fact that a crazy chicken has climbed into the hut, which for some reason is chasing a cat sleeping in your fleece. But this time we were awakened by the noise inspiring horror. The horror because you do not understand what it is. Some kind of endless test of the Soviet system for alerting citizens to an emergency. Antonio to the natural question "WHAT IS THIS ???" answered - "Monkeys." We did not believe him and went to the Indians, who confirmed the guide's version. I am afraid to imagine a picture of what is happening in the jungle and how many of these monkeys are there.

In general, the jungle is not as scary as it seems at first glance - it is interesting. We have never encountered this, and this is how a person is arranged that, due to a lack of knowledge, he begins to be afraid of everything. I think our cities are perceived as much more terrible than the jungle, if you bring in them Indians, for whom the jungle is their home.

(Rio Orinoco) is one of the most big rivers South America.

Before breakfast, we went boating again, watched monkeys, and there were at least two species of them - capuchins and some redheads a little larger. Well, as usual - thousands of birds. In addition, two dogs rushed after us, desperately following our boat. We were very worried about them - we are afraid of crocodiles, boas and piranhas ...

After breakfast, Ron showed me the bats hiding from the sun behind a tree. And last night, I thought it was butterflies flying over our heads)

By the way, Ron was very fond of the Indians working in the camp. Well, imagine if a foreigner came to visit you with a name, for example, "Vodka" :)

At the beginning of today's story, there is a photograph showing the drying rubber boots. They are there, you guessed it, for a reason. Now we will go for a walk in the jungle on foot.

In the forest, even in the daytime, it is always twilight, and the thickets are often so dense that if you lag behind by 5 meters, you may no longer find a guide.
Everything, absolutely all plants in the jungle are very important and necessary. There is not a single blade of grass that would not be useful - houses are built from something, clothes, mosquito nets or hammocks are made of something, they are killed with something, and treated with something. This tree is used for communication. If you hit it with a machete, it sounds like a drum. A boa constrictor strangles you, and you tap SOS for the whole forest - fellow tribesmen will hear, come running, save you, and the boa constrictor will be fried and eaten - there is a holiday in the family)

And this is a termite mound.
- Touch, taste! It's delicious, like wood! - says Antonio.

For about an hour we walked, chopped vines, ate coconuts and read berries, looked for scorpions and snakes (we did not find). And then Antonio confessed - we were lost. The most offensive thing is that it is impossible to understand whether the guide is joking or telling the truth. In general, we soon found ourselves, saw our boat. There was just one problem - we were separated by a swamp. Having tried various methods, we came to the conclusion that you need to jump over, grabbing the liana.

Everyone drowned except me)

Saved - everyone is alive. And we celebrated each successful rescue with a piranha hunt. Some even managed to catch it. If you catch normal Orthodox fish in normal Soviet reservoirs, then you need to observe silence so as not to frighten off the fish. Here, the opposite is true, having planted a bloody piece of meat on the hook, you need to carefully tap the water with the fishing rod so that the piranhas pay attention to you, then you can throw it.

I caught my only piranha from the dock in the camp. The fish jumped off the hook, fell onto the boards, and was immediately grabbed and dragged away by the cat on duty next to it. Here's a sad story.

Most of the time they lie in hammocks.
Sometimes, when tourists come, they try to sell them something. For example, a hammock.

At this time, the mythical elder brothers are somewhere hunting mythical kopibars and anacondas.

And when you're tired of everything, you can watch TV.

Hugo was a real politician. He relied on an illiterate, impoverished population, to whom he gave the necessary minimum of the benefits of civilization, sufficient to be known about him (about Hugo). He expanded the television network into the jungle, and provided televisions and power generators to the population so that they could listen to his daily speeches.

In addition, if I understand correctly, every family has the right to choose - send one child to the city to study, or get a motor for a boat. This is real freedom of choice. Now almost every big family has a motor!

Well, when the TV is turned off, you can study offline campaigning, pasted on the pillars.

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