After finishing Machu Picchu, we spent a day in Cuzco to rest before heading off to Venezuela. After the longest, best sleep ever we finally woke up and slowly got ready for the day. We headed out for a late lunch and found parties in the streets! It was June 21st by this time, which was the original winter solstice, which is of course is a big deal in Inca spirituality for they worshipped the sun and moon. The main roads were blocked off and there were thousands of people in the streets! People had set up blankets on the sidewalks all the way up the street filled with items they were selling. There were street vendors selling food everywhere including candied apples! Along one side of the street we could see something of a parade. There were tonnes of groups of people dressed up in what I assume to be some sort of traditional outfit and they were dancing! We had seen kids do this sort of thing before we left for our hike but I guess this day was for the adults. We wandered around and eventually stopped for lunch at a little restaurant, which was delicious of course. We were in there for about an hour and came out to still find people dancing in the streets! I was thinking, "wow! This is the longest parade ever!" We sat and watched for a while, taking a pictures. It was so amazing. The energy in the town was soooo high and it seems that everyone comes out to enjoy these events. And some of the outfits! I couldn't understand them but they were definitely interesting! It kept going and going so we slowly wandered back toward our hostel and realized that the celebration wouldn't be ending anytime soon as there were still groups filling the streets dancing waiting to get to the main square. Later that night we met up with the couple that came with us on the hike and had drinks and then dinner. FYI - do not order drinks you are used to at home when in south america. I ordered a long island and we decided it tasted like gasoline. Ick! Anyways, we played ninja, cowboy, bear (google it!) to decide which restaurant to go to for dinner. Anik and I have used this technique a few times to make decisions! We ended up going to an Indian restaurant and it was delicious! We didn't finish until around midnight and the parade was still going!!!! I couldn't believe it. These south americans know how to party! We had also heard the festival was going all week and June 24th they head out to the Saqsaywaman ruins to really celebrate! Wish we had been there for that. If you're going to Cuzco, go in June. There seems to be a festival every week there! Its cold but the atmosphere makes it worth it.
Bright and early the next morning we headed to the airport and flew to Lima and then onto Caracas, Venezuela. We flew with LAN to Caracas and we couldn't believe it. I hadn't been on a plane with TV's in the back of the seats since the flight from Toronto to Miami but this flight was on what seemed to be a brand new plane! We got pillows and blankets and free movies. It was luxury! Once we arrived in Caracas, we were hoping to find our way to Isla Margarita, an island right off the coast with many many apparently beautiful beaches. We had cowboy, ninja, bear'd it again to make the decision to risk it and not book anything before arriving in Venezuela. All I can say is that everything in Venezuela is way more sketchy than it had been in Ecuador or Peru. When we arrived we found a person that would help us (without expecting money for it) who told us there weren't any flights to the islands. Not that we didn't trust a random guy in the airport, butttt... well yeah we didn't trust him. We decided to walk to the domestic terminal and ask a few companies ourselves. Shit out of luck. Apparently not flights to the island, and we could bus but we were both sick of busing and if we could just find a flight it would only be a 1/2 flight rather than a 5 hr bus ride and 4 hr ferry ride. So we found this guy who promised to help us out. He said that what he does is finds a flight for us. We were sketched out by it but what other choice did we have! He kept running around saying he was going to find us one so we sat with his young daughter and tried to communicate with her with our terrible spanish (it ended up being her acting animals and us saying them in english and spanish haha). She was cute! He also asked us if we needed to exchange money to get some Bolivar Fuerte (which I will call Bols after this point). We didn't have any local currency but weren't sure about changing money. One thing about Venezuela is that they have a black market for American dollars which gets you double the rate of what you would get going to a bank. The reason is that you can't get American money at any banks in Venezuela. You can't take them out of ATM's or even exchange Bols for $ at the bank. I guess its supposed to be the whole Anti-American Socialist type of life (which was ironic because it was the most americanized country we had been to with brand names everywhere!). So, if locals want to buy a business or do any trade any where outside the country, or to travel to the US, their currency is basically worth nothing so they have this black market where people pay good money to get american dollars. We agreed to give this guy American so he gave us a rate of 7 Bols for $1 (it was around 4 Bols for $1 at the bank rate). We wer just praying that the money wasn't fake and he wasn't part of a scam. We gave him about $300 US in order to be able to pay for our flights and have a little money left over. After 3 hours of waiting, we were about to leave when the guy comes running up to us and says we have a flight at 9:00 (in 1/2 an hour) so we have to run. We jump up, grab our bags, and run across the airport behind him. We get to the ticket counter where the guy says that the flight is at 9:00 en la manana! (tomorrow). We weren't very impressed with this as we didn't want to stay in Caracas for a night but they kept insisting we should do it. They even told us its actually a chartered flight and they shouldn't be putting us on it but they were. Hmmmm. Well, here's hoping! We handed over the Bols we had just received and waiting for a ticket of some sort. All that we got was a receipt. A normal looking hotel receipt. Then the guy says he has a cab driver that will take us to a hotel near by that's super nice and its only 100 Bols! for the cab ride (as if that's cheap!) and the hotels only like 300 Bols. Only?! Whatever. We were tired and sick of trying to figure out if things were legit. Into a cab we get and to a hotel we go. Anik told me the next day (thankfully not at the time!) he was concerned it was all a huge scam with a bunch of buddies since we had exchanged our american and then also given them the Bols for the flight and taxi so we may have given them $300 american flat out without really anything to show for it. Without knowing that was on his mind, I went to bed that night hoping that we were actually getting on a flight tomorrow!
Early morning again to catch our flight. We arrived 2 hours early, as we are used to the way things go in Canada. We see a big line up at the counter where we had got our "ticket"/receipt the night before so we hopped in line. I haven't ever seen an airline move slower. Seriously. Anyways, after like 1/2 an hour to 45 mins of waiting we get to the front, for the girl to explain that we couldn't check in for at least another 1/2 hour and to come back. What?! I came so freaking early in the morning to hear her say that. Bah. That means they wouldn't even think about checking us in until less than an hour before our flight would leave! We still weren't sure things were legit. We had some breakfast and then went back down to the desk, where another huge line had formed. We asked first this time and we think they said it was the line to Isla Margarita so another 1/2 hour of standing in line. We finally get to the front and she checks our bags. It wasn't a scam! Woooo! They handed us our boarding passes, which were actually laminated pieces of paper with a number on them. That's it. She told us where to go for boarding and off we went to pay the airport tax and then head down to the gate. We now know why they don't really care about checking you in until like 45 minutes before the flight is supposed to leave. Its because everything is delayed! Someone said its because in a socialist type country they just don't seem to care. It's delayed, come back tomorrow, no big deal. Pffffft! And once I thought about it, sitting in the airport the night before we noticed on the departures board that 90% of the flights were delayed 1/2 hr to 3 hrs, with 2 flights just saying "no information". Finally, after 45 minutes of waiting at the gate without really knowing what was going on we get loaded on a bus and head to the plane. It really was a chartered flight as everyone else was a local, the seats weren't assigned, and it was a tiny tiny plane. Anyways, we got onto the island and realized how hot and humid it was, beautiful after the cold in Peru! I couldn't be happier. We found our hostel, one owned by an irish guy who married a venezuelan woman, and settled into our room. We spent the 3 days following this one at the same beach, laying in the sun on our rented beach chairs, snacking, and swimming in the very warm ocean. What a life! We were such lazy bums but felt like we deserved it. TIP for traveling to this country: bring all the american $ on you that you will need for staying there. Since the black market rate is usually close to double the bank rate, you are getting ripped off huge if you take money out of an ATM. Everything is so expensive (in south american terms) if you don't get the black market rate. Rooms are at least 200 Bols a night which is $50 a night at the bank rate or $25 at the black market rate, which is much more reasonable. And we never had a problem with getting fake money from the black market trade, although we may have been lucky.
Anyways, on the 4th day we finally ventured a little further on the island to another beach. The beaches here did have beautiful white sand and this one had bigger waves to play in. Along the popular beaches there are always people renting chairs, selling crafts and jewelry, and offering to bring lunch right to you at your chair. Plus the seafood was amazing! Still another lazy day at the beach playing in the waves and laying in the sun. What a lazy time we had on the island, but that was really the point. Stay away from the city yet again, and have some relaxing beach time before the trip ends.
Finally, onto the jungle portion! We had planned to do the classic angel falls trip but it was just too expensive for us (even at the black market rate!) since it was the end of the trip and funds were shortening up. We decided to go to a eco-lodge in the jungle half owned by a friend of the hostel owner, a german guy. We paid him and even though we once again had no proof of where we were going or what we were to be doing, we trusted him and it worked out! We woke up early the next morning to get on a ferry back to the mainland, since we couldn't get a flight to Maturin (a city near the jungle). A cab picked us up and drove us to where you buy tickets. The german told us there are guys that stand in line early in the morning and buy tickets and then sell them to you for double the price. Considering it wasn't an outrageous price (still only 70 Bols so $10) we decided to pay double and not stand the 1 1/2 in line waiting for a ticket. We paid these guys, got our tickets and then went to wait for the ferry. Interesting looking thing although not as small and sketchy as the one we took in the Galapagos to the islands! It was crammed though but we survived the 2 hour ride on this little wooden boat. We arrived there and were told by the german to find a taxi that would take us to Maturin (4 hr drive!) for about 100 Bols. We found one and hopped in his car. I should comment that most the cars there are from the 1980s, are massive boats of cars and huge gas guzzlers (which doesn't matter cuz the government subsidizes gas so much that it costs like $1 to fill up a tank), and they're usually very beaten up. In this car, there was no handle to roll down the window, but if one was rolled down, it stayed rolled down which was most unfortunate when it started down pouring. We had another guy in the car with us who sat in the front and talked to the driver. He coincidentally had 2 chickens with him, each in a pillow case. Interesting. We arrived at our destination thinking "we're almost there!". We met the cab at a hotel in Maturin that took us to the small town where the lodge was. Another 1.5 hr car ride. We get to this small town to find we have to catch a boat to our lodge so we hop on and down the brown river into the jungle we go. After a half hour boat ride, we arrive at our lodge situated in the middle of the jungle. Truly spectacular! I can't do it justice without the pictures. It was made all of wood and really did a great job of making you feel like you were in the middle of the jungle without it being dirty and gross. They built it in the classic way with a woven leaf roof and no sides or anything but a huge open area with tables, couches, and hammocks. You walked along a wooden path raised off the swampy jungle floor to your room, which was also a hut where the roof angled straight down to the jungle floor making two walls, the front opened up to the river, and the back that lead to the walkway was covered in leaves as a kind of door. There was only a bed inside covered with a mosquito net (thank god!), two tree stumps for sitting, and small table. Perfect! They actually had a generator on site so they had running water (even though it was jungle water it was nice to have a shower, toilet, and wash your hands!). It was luxury without being the typical concrete hotel trying to make you feel like you were in the forest. You really were in the jungle!
The first day we got there later in the afternoon so the rest of the people at the lodge were already out on a tour. They took us in a little wooden canoe down the river a little ways though and it was so serene. Completely quiet with the sun shining. On our way back to the lodge it started to rain, which quickly turns into a downpour in the jungle but I love the rain so it didn't bother me. We sat around the lodge reading and playing cards before dinner. Everyone else returned and we had a delicious supper of stew. Mmmmm. Afterwards, we took an evening ride in the canoe to look for crocodiles in the river. They also warned us that fish sometimes jump into the boat but to "stay calm". As if! Anyways, off we set into the pitch black looking for crocodiles. Unfortunately we never saw any but a fish did jump into the canoe! Afterwards, the mosquitos were bad so mostly everyone went straight to bed.
We had a great sleep but an early morning so we could canoe down the river again looking for monkeys and other wild life. We did the canoe ride right away and were lucky to see some monkeys along the river. We also saw some right near the lodge as a family comes every morning to have breakfast from a tree right at the edge of camp before retreating into the forest before the sun comes out in its full heat. We then had breakfast, a little bit of down time and then into a big boat with a motor this time to head around the rivers. Every day at the camp was pretty much the same so they're all blurred together. We would spend the day visiting indigenous tribes, looking for wild life and all kinds of beautiful birds, and doing some piranha fishing. We would return before evening and have some more free time before dinner. After dinner we usually went straight to bed because the mosquitos, although not the worst I've dealt with, were still a pain in the ass. The indigenous tribes we visited did lived in a little hut along the river without walls and only hammocks to sleep in. Sometimes there'd be 7 of them just hanging out in the hut all day where they do their cooking and other such things. We saw one young man (probably 16 or younger) who was further back into the forest and lived in the hut by himself for a week to do hunting and then would return to the family. Just crazy! They make their own guns and catch parrots and other things to sell in town so they can buy clothing, sugar, and other necessities. They have such an interesting way of catching parrots. They build a little house high up in a palm tree. Its really just the huge palm leaves folded over so a man can sit in there cross legged. The man climbs up the tree before the sun comes up and sits there all day inside the palm tree hut so he can't be seen. He puts his pet parrot on top of the hut he's sitting in and when the parrot squawks, other parrots come to investigate. The guy in the hut has sticks that are sticking out of his hut that he holds onto that has a lasso on the end. When the other parrots come to investigate he catches them in the lasso. Crazy!!! The indigenous also drink the river water, which is absolutely crazy to me and this is the reason why a lot of their children don't survive. Although these are indigenous tribes, they do still have contact with "civilization" (which is a word I use loosely here but I don't know any other way to put it) but they still do a lot of living off the land.
On our tours, we did a lot of piranha fishing although it isn't ideal season for it since its rainy season so the rivers are very murky and muddy. I caught one though! Just a baby one but it still had teeth. So crazy! We also saw a lot of varieties of birds including many kinds of parrots and toucans. We also saw some howler monkeys and other types of beautiful birds I can't remember the name of. We had a great time at this lodge and I'm so glad we went and experienced it.
On our last night, some "conservationists" showed up to our eco-lodge with a bunch of animals in cages. Apparently, a lot of people catch animals in the jungle and try to smuggle them out of the area to sell. How you smuggle a loud squawking parrot or crocodile, I do not know! Anyways, these animals were ones caught trying to be smuggled so they brought them out to be released. The animals included 2 small crocodiles, lots of turtles, many varieties of parrots, an owl, and some toucans. Unbelievable! We were lucky enough to watch them all be released back into the wild early the next morning so we saw a close up view of some of the most spectacular birds. My favourite was the large parrot that was a vibrant blue with a bright yellow on its chest. This was the morning we left camp so after watching all of this and saying goodbye to the wonderful people we met and fantastic staff, we were back on the boat to the town. We were running a little late but the taxi in town was there waiting to take us back to Maturin where we would catch our flight. In Venezuela, its common for there to be check-stops by the military anywhere along the road and we hit one. One look inside the taxi and the guy decided he wanted us to get out and bring our bags along. After completely dismantling Anik's backpack and patting every article of clothing down in it, he moved onto mine. Luckily for me, he only patted my bag down with all the contents inside of it and then said I was good to go. I guess Anik looks sketchier than me, which makes sense since someone we talked to thought he was Colombian. Anik packed his bag again and we were on our way. Checked into the airport at Maturin, paid the stupid taxes again, and our flight was even on time this time. Nice! Quick flight back to Caracas, where we waited for 45 minutes for our bags to come off the plane!! Caracas airport has been ridiculous for us thus far, and never got better. We had arranged with the german to stay at his buddy's hotel just outside Caracas so the guy met us at the airport to drive us there. So nice to not have the hassle. Traffic was nuts but we finally got to our hotel, which was fairly decent and right on the beach. We walked down the boardwalk where we found a restaurant that served huuuuuge portions for a fairly decent price so we had a delicious supper there before spending the evening relaxing in the hotel.
We spent our last day of our trip on the beach just steps away from our hotel! We decided to spend our last night in the airport but we arranged with the hotel to leave our bags there and then shower there before heading to the airport. It was super nice of them to let us do that! We spent the day eating and enjoying the sun and sea for the last time on the trip. I have to say that if anyone is self conscious about wearing a swimsuit, just go to venezuela and you are bound to feel better about yourself! I can't tell you how many women I saw in thong, itsy bitsy swimsuits that I really wish I hadn't seen. They are either really confident in themselves or completely oblivious. After showering at the hotel, we moved onto the airport. We arrived about 6 pm, which meant we had 12 hours until my flight left. We played a lot of cards and then took turns sleeping and reading. If I could have a super power, I would want it to be that I could sleep anywhere at anytime. I unfortunately never slept for longer than an hour, which I blame partly that it was freezing in there because of the air conditioning. I wish I had my parka and ski pants it was so cold! At 3:30am, we headed down to where I would check in, which was a huuuuge line of people already. I couldn't believe how busy an airport could be at that time in the morning. Finally they opened up check in and we slowly moved forward. Since I was flying with an American company, everything moved along fairly quickly. I moved onto security, which was another line of like 200 people! And they only had 1 security line open. WTF! So infuriating. After an hour in line in security I went through customs and waited for Anik, whose flight was later so checked in after me. I bought some water thinking my security was over but apparently Americans are paranoid (who knew!) and don't trust Venezuelan security. When I showed up to my gate to get on the plane, American airlines had their own security complete with metal detector and bag scanner and wouldn't let me on with my water. How stupid!
Anyways, the rest isn't real interesting. The only tip I can give after my 18 hours in transit is to save time waiting in lines at any point possible, because theres always lines of 200 people everywhere. Going through US customs, I learned they keep a line for American and Canadian citizens only which got me through in less than 5 minutes. The other line was like 200 people and I'm sure took more than 1/2 an hour. Finally arrived in Vancouver at 11:30pm and have never been happier to get in a bed. Almost 36 hours with less than 2 hours of sleep!! I almost giggled as I crawled into bed here in Vancouver.
So that's it. That's the end of my trip. We were extremely lucky to have the experiences we did. We never had a bad experience and I've had people ask what the low point of the trip was, and I'm not sure we had one. Sure, we weren't sure how things were going to go sometimes and at times we were stressed but we really never had a terrible experience. I'm beyond happy I did this trip and I would encourage anyone that can to do South America. The culture is so strong and the people we met were amazing. It's got so many beautiful countries with rich history and culture, plus the food was great!
Next mission: an around-the-world one year trip! Hopefully dreams come true..
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