Orinoco River, Venezuela

The Orinoco is exactly how I imagined it - a brown river lined with mangroves, palms and thick vegetation. On the long boat ride to our jungle camp a guide spots a sloth in the trees. It barely moves as we all crowd around to take photos.

Before reaching camp we stop off at a Warao community called Wakajara de la Horqueta on the banks of the river. The Warao are the second largest indigenous group in Venezuela, after the Guajiro. The name literally means 'canoe people'. Their houses are built on stilts at the riverbanks connected by a wooden walkway. Litter is everywhere. I'm particularly disturbed to see lots of empty plastic Coke bottles tossed in the undergrowth, a sign of how western civilisation is creeping in.