Day 7

I think I could get into a routine here. Wake up early while the moon is still out, go to my favorite stream of water for washing, wash clothes, watch the sunrise, and sit on my favorite rock and write in my journal. I felt very at home.

Another clear day, and today Carlos would take us for a morning adventure, while Fernando stayed back to cook lunch. First we saw the "abyss", a big hole in our path which dropped downwards around 20 feet. Next we came to the "amphitheatre", which was an area that looked like a bunch of seats surrounding a stage. Next came the "jacuzzis", which were little 4 foot deep pools that looked like they could seat 6 people. But they were anything but hot water, the temperature was about 45 degrees. We were to hit them on the way back.

We kept walking to the other side of Roraima, until we came to the edge. Just before the edge was "La Ventana", or "the window", from which you could see through a hole in the mountain, straight down 3300 feet to the rainforest. If you didn't know it was there, you would go right through. Nearby, there were views of the rainforest and other tepuis that rivaled the previous day. We were later told that in the 33 times that Fernando had been up there, on only 3 of those was it clear enough to see what we did. Again, I could tell that I was afraid of heights, and stayed far from the edge. We just sat there for 45 minutes and admired the view. If this was in the United States, there would have been a railing, a plaque, and a telescope for you to deposit a quarter in. Here, there was nothing and no one around.

On the way back, we stopped at the jacuzzis. Carlos stripped down and jumped right in, forcing us to follow suit. Holy mother of pearl was it cold. I couldn't help but let out a scream, and could only stay in for seconds. But with the sun so intense and hot, I felt warm again in no time. In the hour walk back, our clothes were completely dried.

We had lunch, rested, and headed out for an afternoon walk. We were headed up the "Car of Maverick", the highest point on Roraima, about an hours walk from our camp. It was called this because when you look at it on the approach to the mountain, that portion looks like the old Maverick car of the 60s or 70s. The climb up was a bit tough, but again great views, this time of the entire area we had trekked to get here. We could see Parapetui from here, and it looked a long way away. We saw others making their way up the steepest part of the climb. This was about 1km away, and we could still hear them. Actually, Fernando was having a conversation with the guide that was helping them up. We just sat up there and watched the clouds come in and leave, actually hoping for a bit of rain so we could see what it was like up there after rainfall. We could also see our campsite from here.

After climbing down, we headed back to camp and had our dinner. Fernando and Carlos went to another camp by flashlight, and returned about an hour later. That night Fernando and Carlos told us old lore and ghost stories about Indian legends, some of which Fernando believed to be true. We heard of the two Piama, one good and one bad. We heard of the 10 meter tall man, and the conejo (rabbit) who was always playing tricks on jaguars. Almost all the stories involved death, cannibalism, torture and revenge. None seemed to have a happy ending, and all were spooky. Spookier yet was that as Fernando told these stories, the fog rolled in, and soon we could not see anything in front of us. You could hear thunder and see lightning in the background. Very eerie. Sufficiently spooked out, we headed to bed.

Day 8

I went through my usual routine in the morning, and we were out of camp by 7:30. We got to the edge for the climb down in about 20 minutes. Now, though it wasn't tiring, it was very tricky. It was very steep, and we had to balance our packs, and it was tough. You constantly lose your footing, only to regain balance just in time to prevent yourself from falling. Trees become your friend, as you use them for balance, sometimes swinging on them to get over rocks. It was actually pretty fun. Its actually similar to skiing. It took two hours to get to base camp. The climb up had taken 4 hours. At that point, the legs were really wobbly, as climbing down takes a huge toll on your quads. And your toes hurt too from jamming into the front of your boot. At base camp, we learned that Carlos had come across a bushwacker snake along the path, the most poisonous snake in South America. I wish we saw it, but I'm sort of glad we didn't.

1 1/2 hours more gradual downhill walking brought us to Rio Kukanen. It was sunny and hot, and our legs were shot. Immediately took off the shoes and socks, slipped into sandals, and went fully clothed into the river. The water was cool but incredibly refreshing, and there were spots in the rocks that you could just sit and relax while the water flowed in and around you. Brian and I figured out you could make your way down river by sitting on your butt, and using the force of the rapids to push you down over the mossy rocks. We called it ass rafting. We stayed in that river for at least an hour, before coming out for lunch. After lunch, back in the river again, as we had plenty of time to spare. It was only another 1/2 hour to camp, and it was still early afternoon.

The river crossings were much easier this time, as it hadn't rained for a few days, and the water levels were low. I took another bath in the Rio Tek, but the puri puris were really bad, and I got bitten up terribly. I itched that whole night. That night we just stared at Roraima. Clouds had returned to it, and you could see lightning over it. This is going to sound corny, but the mountain seemed alive, as if it was warning would be climbers that they should turn back. Something out of the Lord of Rings.

I had a spider in my tent that night. Had to kill it, 'cause I didn't want to find it in my ear the following morning, and I couldn't shoo it out.

Day 9

We woke up at 4:30 in the morning, so we could make an early start by 6:00 back to Parapetui and beat the sun. Our legs hurt like crazy, as the downhill from the day before really hit us. It hurt to take one step, and we had 12 km to go. We had a determined walk back, as we kept changing who would set the pace. After two hours of steady walking, mainly slightly downhill, we took a break before continuing again. We eventually reached the top of the hill that had kicked my ass on the first day. Looking down I could see why. After going through the forests, we had one final, steady, brutal uphill to Parapetui. We made it back at 8:37, in "record" time according to Fernando. Man was I thrilled to have made it. What an incredibly great feeling.

Fernando went to get "Indian beer", a beer made from fermented yuca. It was pink and it was terrible. I could not drink it. Brian was polite enough to finish his, though he accurately described the taste as that of dirty dishwater. Everyone in town seemed to be drunk that morning. There must have been a party the night before.

At 11:00 our ride to take us back showed up. The driver was a very loud and energetic guy who made a lot of noise when he talked and had many hand gestures. Too bad we had no idea what he was saying. His driving was crazy, as he took the drive back way too fast, and we often thought we might overturn. We got beers in town before we left, and immediately after we hit the main road, we stopped again to get more, as well as lunch. After that, 1 hour back to Santa Elena, which included yet another stop for beer, as well as a road stop for all 5 of us to relieve our bladders. That was a funny scene.

It was Wednesday again, and we were to play futbalita again. Our legs were shot, but we could not pass up this chance. We slept for 2 1/2 hours solidly through pouring rain. We were sort of hoping that futbalita would be cancelled, but it was not, and we were on our way back there that night. We brought rum with us, and hung out with Fernando's friends drinking rum and cokes for a while. Fernando and his friends were big Chavez supporters, and he had just one the election while we were on top of Roraima.

After drinking and trying to converse in Spanish, we were back to the soccer fields, where this time we got more playing time. Again, we were a big hit, and when Brian scored a goal, the place really went nuts. While we were in the stands, there were these children who were selling popcorn, and kept coming to us. They were fascinated by Brian's digital camera in which they could see themselves immediately. Brian was forced to take about 15 shots of these children. We played more futbalita, and actually got into a pickup game for a case of beer. It was quite clear that regardless of who won, Brian and I would be paying for the beer. We bought beer all night. We were in lots of pain after futbalita, so we hung out again with Fernando's friends until it was time to go home.

Day 10

Today, we were going with Fernando to his village, Araimatepui. We were going to stay at his mother's house, which was located right next to the rainforest, which we hoped to hike through a little. We caught a ride to the bus station, and caught the bus that would take us there in 3 hours. The bus was a luxury bus which took us through La Gran Sabana and great views. We got one last look at Roraima. After we left La Gran Sabana, we had virgin rainforests for about an hour and windy roads through them. We got off for lunch at Las Claritas. Fernando then waved down a car which would act as a taxi and take us to his town. Brian and I really had no idea what was going on, but so long as we needed to get to where we wanted to go, everything was cool. Of course, the music was loud. "Only You" was one of the songs. By the way, all trucks in Venezuela seem to be "Se Vende" (for sale)

15 minutes later, after picking up another passenger, we were at Fernando's mom's house. She had beautiful gardens everywhere, and we were going to stay in an open air thatched hut in hammocks. There were great flowers all around, and hummingbirds everywhere as well. This was not what we expected. After meeting his mother and relaxing for a while, we headed out his backyard and into the rainforests.

On the way, we passed his uncle's farm, where he grew pineapples, oranges, tangerines, and of course made yuca. Cute kids there as well. Evidently, it had been a year since Fernando had been there, and a lot of the rainforest had been cleared since then. It was depressing to see. We went into the non-cleared part and it was rainforest all right. Very hot, humid, lots of bugs, and lots of sounds. I was pretty nervous about snakes. There was barely a trail, and we just follwed Fernando as he knew it like the back of his hand. We didn't see much wildlife as it was mid-afternoon, but did see some red howler monkeys, some cool birds, butterflies, and leaf cutting ants. We learned a ton though. This is the land that the locals live off of naturally, and they make use of everything in it. We smelled bark used to cure itching and back pain. We see bark used as a repellent to jaguars. We cut the branch of a tree and drank the water that gushed out. We found out that a similar branch would poison you if you did the same thing. We saw trees used to make bows, arrows, and darts. We saw vines to swing on. We heard the "bad luck" bird make its call, and we heard a bird that would answer everytime you hit a particular tree with the broadside of the machete. Eventually, we walked back to the house, stopping to pick fresh oranges along the way.

As if we didn't have enough soccer, there was to be a full field soccer match in the middle of the village. So we walked over there, and found a great full grass field, better than anything you can find in Lincoln Park. It was mainly high schoolers and younger playing, and were invited to play. Again, everyone got a great kick out of the gringos playing soccer. I played goalie as I was not feeling like I was up to running. Brian played on the team against me. Every time I touched the ball, even if it just rolled gently to me, everyone went crazy. We played for about 1 hour, and then headed back to the house.

Fernando's mom had made chicken curry with potatoes, rice, and yucca, which was great but very spicy. The hot sauce she gave us might have been the hottest I have ever tasted. Brian suffered greatly as he took way too much. I knew that this would not suit my stomach however, and I would soon learn I was correct.

Chickens everywhere. Roosters chasing chickens everywhere. Lots of noise. Complete comedy. Sleeping in a hammock sucked for me, as I could not get comfortable. Roosers went on all night, and when one rooster made a call, all the roosters in the village found it imperative to respond.

Day 11

In the morning, we were woken by roosters chasing chickens again, and the chickens making a racket as they raced around the lawns, roosters close in pursuit. I was sick. My stomach was not pleased with me, and we had a 7 hour bus ride to Puero Ordaz, my brilliant idea to get a chance to see the country side. Of course, a random car pulled up for us to take us to the bus station. We said our goodbyes with Fernando, and got on our luxury bus for the 7 hour ride.

The bus was really nice, but for the blaring Venezuelan music videos the entire ride, the constant stops for passport checks by the military, and the fact that there was no bathroom aboard which made me very nervous. But we also got three movies, "The Big Hit", "Home Alone 3", and "The Perfect Murder". Finally, after 7 hours we were in Puerto Ordaz, a large city, which must have nice hotels.

We caught a cab, a Ford Fairlane 600 which was started by twisting wires, to a four star hotel. Had the greatest shower ever, and had a small dinner. Just ice cream for me. We then watched live coverage of the Bill Clinton impeachment hearings, and had a great sleep on real beds.

Day 12

Woke up early, feeling a little better but not 100%. We got on our flight to Caracas, and were there by 8:30AM. We didn't know of any hotels in Caracas, but our guide book said the Hilton was nice, so we told the cab driver to take us there. They told us the room would be $217, and we didn't even think about it. The hotel was old, the rooms were huge, and the shower was great. We headed out into Caracas for a while, used the train system, and wandered around. Its an ok city, lacking in character. We had lunch, watched soccer on TV, got some fresh juice, of which we had recently become big fans, and headed back for a nap.

In the evening, we headed for a part of town called El Hatillo, a trendy little area which tons of shops, restaurants, and bars. All the buildings are no more than two stories high, are all painted different colors, and are all built around the town square. We shopped, people watched in the squares, and ate. In the square, we encountered a sloth that seemed to be stuck at the bottom of a tree. The tree seemed to be too hard for the sloth to get a grip on, and it really just looked pathetic. I felt like picking it up and helping it. They don't move very fast.

Day 13

Had some time in the morning to have breakfast outdoors in Caracas and a nice juice. Had good flights back to Chicago via Miami, and Korin was waiting for us there with no hair.

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