Please note that the following itinerary is for your guidance only. The order of the activities may vary without prior notice depending on local weather conditions and water levels.
Daily Itinerary
Day 1
Our driver will be waiting for you either at Maturín airport or beside the bus station (terminal de pasajeros). You will travel by car for 40 minutes to the riverside village of San José de Buja, passing through cattle and buffalo farms. At San José, a motorized canoe will take you to the Eco Camp – a 30-minute ride along the river bordered by dense tropical rainforest and Warao communities.
When you arrive, you will have a short tour of the camp before you go to your Warao-style hut to relax before lunch. In the afternoon you will take a boat trip along some of the smaller channels of the delta, searching for wildlife such as macaws, toucans, capuchin and red howler monkeys, sloths and freshwater dolphins. You might also have the opportunity to fish for piraña – anything you catch can be cooked for you back at the camp!
At sunset, when you return from the trip, you can relax in your hut or in a hammock before your evening meal. Then you can spend a few hours socialising with the other guests and enjoying a drink from our bar before lights-out. Each night there will be an option for some guests to go out on the river in a small canoe to look for caiman, snakes and other nocturnal animals.
Day 2
In the morning after breakfast you will once again go out to explore the delta by boat, travelling through primary jungle and mangrove forest. Your guide will lead you on a walk through the jungle (rubber boots provided), explaining how the Warao use many of the trees and plants that grow there for food, medicine and tools. You will either have a picnic lunch on the river or back at the camp Later you will have the chance to swim in the river (in piraña-free waters).
You will also visit a Warao community to get a glimpse of how native people live, and to buy some of the locally produced handicrafts such as jewellery and baskets. The evening is spent back at the camp, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of delta, interrupted only by the sounds of jungle animals.
Day 3
After breakfast you will travel by boat, passing through virgin forest to visit our small farm on the savannah. The landscape changes dramatically, and it should be possible to see a variety of bird-life such as egrets, horned screamers, herons and scarlet and black ibis. If there is enough time, you can once again fish for piraña, before returning to the camp for lunch.
In the afternoon you can relax in the camp for a few hours before going to visit a Warao village to learn some more about the way of life of the original settlers in the Delta. Some people may be able to spend the night in the village, sleeping in a hammock in a Warao hut and returning to the camp the following morning.
Day 4
After breakfast you might choose to go out again in a small canoe to explore the river or visit the Warao to buy some souvenirs. Otherwise you can just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the camp and laze in a hammock before preparing for your departure to San José de Buja – either before or after lunch depending on your itinerary - and onwards to the next part of your Venezuela adventure.
