HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Leaving Brazil finally-time for a change
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Can’t think of a single thing
WORD OF THE DAY: Kate’s Venezuelan Hair-doo
DISTANCE TRAVELLED:
It’s time to leave…….Brazil. I have had enough of the country and I have been here 25 days less than the rest of the group, so I can understand why people are ready to leave and get into a new country. Brazil was beautiful, Rio de Janeiro has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, they have rainforests, waterfall, animals, beautiful people, beaches-t really is a country that offers everything, but enough is enough…….it’s time to leave….Brazil.
We got an early start this morning, firstly Boa Vista didn’t have much to offer, so no point hanging around and heading into Venezuela today, we have a border crossing and they can be as unpredictable as the Amazon weather. There was also a group heading to Angel Falls for 2 nights, so once we got to Santa Elena, they were going to have some lunch and then continue for a further 9-10 hours in private vehicles to get them to Ciudad Bolivar late tonight and then head to the falls tomorrow. There were three options for us to see Angel Falls.
1. 3 days/2 nights-extra hiking time-no thanks
2. 2 days/1 night-not much walking-now you’re talking
3. 1 day-fly over to fly over the falls in one day
Most of the group chose option 2, so we were to stay the night in Santa Elena and then truck it up to Ciudad Bolivar, spend the night there and leave early the next morning to start our Angel Falls experience. I didn’t realize till today just how difficult the falls are to get to. It involves a 1.5 hours flight and then a 4 hour motor canoe to get to them. 90% of us have also added on a scenic flight of the falls as well while we are there. This is an optional for the trip and the 2 days/1 night package was 350USD and then the scenic flight was additional to that at 70USD, which I didn’t think was too bad.
So on the road at 6.30am and the hotel were kind enough to put breakfast on for us at 6am, which is early in anyone’s terms, but we ate, we got back on the truck and we were on our way. We got to the Brazil border at 9.30am and as this was literally a stamp out procedure were all back on the truck within 15 minutes for the 5 minute drive to the Venezuelan border control. This was one visa I was going to get in my early part of my South American trip, as I had looked up the Travel Agent site before leaving Australia; we had to have the visa before arriving at the border. But after starting the tour both Mark and Gray said that you don’t need to have one before and we can do it the day we cross. They would know, so it was nice to know that at that point I only had to worry about my Brazil and Paraguay visas. So it was now D-day to see if they were right and after Chris emerged from the small office being the first cab off the rank, we knew we were going to be okay. There were a few people that had got their visas before for the cost of 110AUD and we didn’t need one and got stamped straight into the country! The truck took longer to clear, so as we were only staying 10km away from there, they said to Gray to drop us all off and then bring the truck back to have it cleared. Awesome, thanks guys. We love Venezuela already and we have only been here 20 minutes!
So our overnight stop was at a small town called Santa Elena. Santa Elena de Uairén is a small Venezuelan city (29,795 inhabitants) in the state of Bolívar near the border with Brazil and Guyana. The city's name originates from the first daughter of Lucas Fernandez Pena Elena, and Uairén by the river that crosses the city. The town is notable for its influential presence of indigenous peoples; there is even a community called Manakrü (pronounced mah-nah-CREE) populated entirely by indigenous people. The schools in this neighborhood use both Spanish and Pemon, an indigenous language. Due to its proximity to the Brazilian state of Roraima, Santa Elena sees a busy exchange between the two countries of Brazilian consumer products from Brazil and Venezuelan oil. Santa Elena was founded in 1923 by Lucas Fernández Peña, attracted by diamond's mines found there. In 1999, a free zone was declared in the city, due to its proximity to Brazil, the city is crowded of Brazilians during the weekends seeking low prices (food, electronics, hygiene products...) and we thought we were free from the Brazilians!!!!
We are staying in a backpackers here and I have to say it is a pretty groovy spot where we are. The rooms themselves are clean and comfy, nothing special, but they FAST and FREE internet and the café next door serves the BEST passionfruit juices in the WORLD. They are blended with ice so technically they are like a passionfruit slurpee and they are just awesome. It makes a nice change from all the soft drink that I have been consuming in the last few weeks. Add to that we are now done with spending the Brazilian rial and we are now spending the Venezuelan bolivars the drink was costing us 1.25AUD. Have I mentioned we are loving Venezuela? Lunch was an awesome carbonara pasta for the grand price of 4AUD and a few more of the passoionfruit drinks over the course of the afternoon, I rekon they would have gone great with a dash of vodka in it. Mark had arranged a money changer to come to the backpackers which was great and he was offering a great black-market rate, so we were all happy campers as we exchanged out our Brazilian Rials. It is strange that if you have cash you will get 8.6 to the dollar; if you use an ATM or ‘proper’ money changer you get 4.3 to the dollar!!! Massive difference and it makes our buck go double the pace. Have I told you we love Venezuela so far!
The group of 10 left just after 1pm and we had a free afternoon. There is nothing to see in Santa Elena, so I did some overdue bookings for the last of my flights. I needed to book a flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas and then a flight from Las Vegas to LA. It was interesting to see the different booking engines of all the American Airlines and just comparing on the user friendliness of them all. I found the Delta web site the best one out of all of them and the American Airlines the most confusing and when I got to the payment screen it knew I was in South America and wouldn’t accept an Australian address or phone number, so I couldn’t complete the booking and ended up booking on a United flight, which in the end was cheaper anyways. I also started my search on Barbados accommodation, I really need to book that in, so I spent the rest of the afternoon checking out sites and properties and I think I have settled on the Bougainvillea Beach Resort, but I didn’t book it in just yet. I also needed to purchase new travel insurance as my Australian policy expired 3 days ago and they wouldn’t let me re-new it. So I felt a little venerable the last 3 days, but I purchased a 3 month policy that only cost me 271AUD, so I am now back on the protected list which was a relief! I was also able to load my Amazon photos here and to look back on them it starts to sink in that I was in the AMAZON! It’s a pretty cool claim to fame. It really was beautiful out there…..
I really can’t wait to have time after this adventure finishes to just re-read my blogs and soak up all the experiences and places I have seen. My blog domain offers a service to print your blogs and you can a do a preview as to what it will look like, so I had a look it and it is amazing! You can choose between 50 covers, an inside cover page and an index page with the name of each blog with page numbers. The programme then drops your blog entries and any photos you have into the pages. Too see my blog in a book format was quite exciting and I can’t wait till I have an opportunity to get a part of it printed to see how it looks in hard copy before getting the whole trip printed. I still need to work out how I will break up the sections as it will be too big for one book, but I’ll have time to think on that. But a cool idea and thanks Blogger. It is a great platform for people looking for a blog host and it’s free.
I was also on Facebook chat back and forth with friends and it was great to have the time and connection to speak to them for a long time. I also got a message from my sister-in-law (my little half- brothers wife) while I was on line and Paulie and Karla have just had a beautiful baby boy, Noah, a few months ago and Karla (who I have never met) heard from my step mother that I was coming to Darwin in July. She wanted to check that this was still the case and if it was to let her know dates and she would organize Noah’s Christening for the same time, so he can have all his Aunty and Uncles present! How sweet is that? I was tickled pink that they were thinking of me and I will certainly let them know a date in the next week, so I’m not holding them up. So thank you Karla and Paulie, it means a lot to me and I can’t wait to meet my little nephew considering I never thought I would become an Aunty by heritage it is a BIG deal for me. A lovely way to finish off a relaxing afternoon with a smile on my face!
So that is my welcome to you to Venezuela. I think I am going to like this country and it is a great one to cross off the list. Let’s see what the next 12 days bring us while we are here…..
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