Ever since I visited the Danube delta in Romania I developed a certain fascination with deltas so when I learnt about the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela I knew I had to visit. There were two main reasons for the visit. The first as usual was wildlife, and the second was to pay a visit the native Warao Indian Tribe.

Parrots here are quite common and people keep them as pets running around with clipped wings. There was a family travelling on their canoe and they had a group of parrots tied on the front of the boat. We approached them carefully for a picture but the big macaw got scared and fell in the water. It was hilarious although you couldn't help not pity the poor bird who overcame his embarrassment and made it back up on the canoe all by himself.

I expected to see more water common birds in the delta, for instance there weren't many egrets or anhingas around. However what wasn't expressed in numbers was made up for in exotic species. I managed to see blue and yellow macaws, the big parrots you usually see in pet shops. The toucans, the one in the Guinness ad, and the scarlet ibis the only scarlet bird you'll ever see.

The delta is one of the most prestine places I've been too. The place doesn't really cater for tourists and the sole fact that there weren't any showers says it all. The only place where you can take a shower was the river. At night don't expect any beds either. The bed equivalent here is the hammock which takes a while getting used for a whole night's sleep. After two days it became as comfortable as any other bed.

Even in remote places like this one, people have the basic commodities like electricity and water. All this thanks to the president Chavez who ensures that everybody knows this. Political propaganda is huge in Venezuela. Apart from the usual billboards, graffiti and papers stuck on the wall you can find inflatable toys, toy soldiers, mugs and a whole list of things with Chavez on them. The president also has his daily TV show where he addresses the nation and gives an account of the proceedings of the day.

I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking so make sure to visit the gallery here.