Call of the wild waters of Orinoco Delta

Amid the heat, humidity and unrelenting bugs, it seemed a good idea to grab the boat from the jungle lodge, crank the outboard motor and head upriver to catch the sunset.

Large tapirs ran up and down the wooden boardwalks and banana-beaked toucans and chirpy macaws rested on the reception table.

Four days into an epic adventure along the tributaries of northern Venezuela's Orinoco Delta, sweating gallons and suffering feverish dreams, I was finally acclimatising.

Risky territory

You know the expression “It seemed like a good idea at the time''? Taking a swim, with the sun casting a rainbow of colours in the dusky sky, seemed like a good idea at the time.

The knowledge that piranhas patrolled these waters in hungry packs would have suggested otherwise.

Considering I had come face-to-face with them just the previous day, the pint-sized killers should have been more on my mind — especially when I dove head first into the murky waters of the Orinoco.

With teeth like razors and skin like barbwire, piranhas have the disposition of a bloodthirsty death squad.

Sharks may be the soldiers of aquatic terror but South American piranhas are the riverside hitmen, notorious for shredding their prey with efficient ferocity.

Found in rivers from Argentina to Colombia and feared throughout nature, they hunt in large packs, sending out scouts to locate prey before initiating a feeding frenzy.

Kayaking through piranha-infested waters along the Orinoco Delta sounded more like an adventure sales plug than a reality. Yet here I was — and it was real.

I'm all for thrills but throughout the week, I trembled at the prospect of joining the indigenous Warao people for a swim.
Too many James Bond movies, too much love for my appendages.

Gone fishing

A far more civilised encounter took place when my Warao guide handed me a stick, some gut wire and a crudely fashioned hook.

Piranha fishing kills time and puts food on the plate. All I needed to do was splash my stick on the water's surface to attract the beasties. Within seconds, my bait had vanished.

If only to reaffirm my place in the food chain, I was determined to catch a piranha.

With dark clouds of mosquitoes on my neck and a Warao dog at my side, I persisted, replacing the ever-vanishing bait.

Finally, I snapped up at the right time and a small, thoroughly displeased piranha appeared.

Using a makeshift grill, a dash of strong lime and some Tabasco sauce, piranha is a tasty, albeit bony, fish, maybe not enough to satiate strong hunger pangs — but at least you're on the right side of the fork.

And thus I found myself splashing about in piranha-infested waters, doing my finest impersonation of human bait.

Lucky pink

Amid the breathtaking sunset and the thrill of it all, I might not even have noticed a bite until it was too late anyway.

But I did see a rare and endangered pink dolphin, launching itself into the air, the glow of the sun reflecting off its skin.

According to the Warao, seeing a pink dolphin is a sign of good luck.

Fortunately, for my budding career as an adventurer, the waters would keep their mysteries and dangers to themselves.

I had to believe the piranha had better meals on their plate at the moment.

Later, I grasped the true madness of that moment on the river.

Although with an outbreak of rabid vampire bats in the region, it turned out my swim with the piranhas was just one more Esrocking adventure in the sweltering equatorial jungle.

— Robin Esrock is the host of the hit Nat Geo Adventure series Word Travels. You can read about his full adventures in the Orinoco Delta at www.wordtravels.tv

If you go

The Orinoco Delta is located in northern Venezuela, with dense jungles rich in wildlife.

Jakera Tours (www.jakera.com), located in Playa Colorado, offers week-long kayaking and boating trips, which include meeting with indigenous Warao people.

You can reach the Orinoco Delta Lodge (www.orinocodelta.com) by chartered flights from Caracas or Margarita Island. Tours are offered throughout the year. Expect rain — and plenty of mosquitoes.