Land of Cheap Petrol

Tiffany

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At the end of last month I was still in Brazil, well, since then I have moved on quite a bit.
I seem to have got ahead of myself a bit and so here is a rundown of how the last month has been treating me.

I set off from Manaus, riding with Raymundo Huerta (from Mexico) on his Harley Davidson - yes, it did look an odd combination, a BMW and a Harley travelling on the road north through the jungle. We crossed the Equator (my fourth time by bike) and stopped for a photo session - I am now officially back in the northern hemisphere, though the humid jungle around me didn't feel much like the northern hemisphere that I know.
There was a lot of wildlfe to be seen - some of which I couldn't even begin to identify- I would pull up on Thelma and charge off into the undergrowth to get a closer look, but then Ray would turn up and I could see every creature within earshot looking round with a "What's that???" expession on their faces as the engine thundered loudly before they then disappeared as fast as they could - so, a tip for any of you budding naturalists out there - don't take a Harley Davidson on nature watching trips.
I was pleased to get close to a large hairy anteater - but then it looked round at me with a nasty expression and I turned and fled - I have to confess I am not one to take risks with unknown animals. Other animal subjects were some of the road-kills we saw- one of the plus points about biking in the Tropics is the range of exotic wildlife that is dead in the road - I think Ray was finding my interest in these dead animals a bit morbid as I stopped to take pictures of dead alligators and something that looked like it was off the Clangers.

We reached Venezuela at last (after three months in Brazil for me) and we suddenly found ourselves travelling at an altitude of 1000 metres and for the first time since February I was feeeling cold - very cold as the rain started. We didn't hang around and headed down to the Orinoco River where I saw some manatee swimming in the river. I should add that I was particularly pleased to reach the river as Orinoco was my favourite Womble - anyone not British/Irish probably will not understand that reference.

Then to Angel Falls - this involved leaving the bikes in Ciudad Bolivar and flying across the jungle in a light aircraft before heading up-river, trekking and by boat, spending two night sleeping in the jungle in hammocks and listening to the noises around us while fending off an over-curious monkey. It was definitely worth it to see this spectacular waterfall, the highest in the world - almost a kilometre-high sheer fall of water.

Venezuela is the land of cheap petrol - around 4 cents a litre - as petrol is always the main expense wen travelling it feels a bit unreal to be able to fill the tank for less than a dollar. It is good quality petrol as well - a bit of a relief for Thelma after the strange concoction that they call petrol in Brazil, though considering that many of the vehicles there are run on "alcool" - a spirit distilled from sugar cane, I shouldn't complain.

Ray left his bike in the Harley workshop for the day and so was a pillion passenger for several hours -the Tiff & Thelma White Knuckle Ride as it is known in various corners of the world. It was quite a learning experience for him, he has never been a passenger on a woman's bike before and he also added to his knowledge of colloquial English as I "communicated" my displeasure with some of the cars around us that were not showing sufficient respect. Ray continued his journey to Colombia and was also researching whether it is true that Venezuela has the most beautiful women in the world...

Much of the Caracas traffic is in a permanent gridlock - an enjoyable challenge for me to weave in and out between the various vehicles- with the metal pyramid-shaped man hole covers adding to the excitement. I have to say that the Venezuelans make the Brazillians look like good drivers - there doesn't seem to be a right or wrong side of the road and as so many of them are driving around in huge old American gas-guzzling cars it doesn't really matter what side they are on as they block the whole road.
Caracas is also like Dodge City without the sherrif - after seeing a gun being pulled out at what I thought was a minor road rage incident (not involving me I hasten to add), I am now being very careful about not picking arguments with people I don't know.


Other than that, I am enjoying the diversity that Venezuela has to offer - I have been to the Andes mountains for some trekking and rode Thelma over a 4000 metre mountain pass - VERY cold in my summer gear. I have also been to Los Roques National Park - pristine Caribbean Islands 100 kms off the coast where I was snorkelling and diving.
I celebrated my one year on the road with some other travellers in a Bar in Caracas - one of the travellers had been unfortunate enough to be pick-pocketed within 4 hours of arriving in the city from Europe - I explained to him that I walk around with my best John Wayne stride and a tough look on my face - though he seemed a bit startled at my tough look when I gave a demonstration. Never mind, it seems to work for me.

I have been across the border and into Colombia where I bought some dollars and then smuggled them back here and changed them on the Black Market where I get 25% more for my cash.
Apart from that, life is pretty normal...

:cool:
 
Hola Tiffany,
Well done another great write up, I've just fitted a lazer race can to cut down on weight but you've now got me thinking about backfires, not so much the wildlife its the wild locals in Caracas dont fancy a bullet hole in me tank even at 4 cents a litre, keep up the great reports, which way are you heading next?
Gracias
jose
 


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