Venezuela - Ciudads Guayana and Bolivar

I was fortunate to meet a friend in Panama who used to live here in Puerto Ordaz and she put me in touch with her friends who speaks English. They were great, finding me a hostel, driving me around to places, organising my ticket on a river boat tour to where the two rivers joined, one being black and the other brown; 

the local waterfall

a small river beach stop

and to see a live band.

I wanted to book tours to Angel Falls and Roraima in the south. I arrived on a Thursday and was told the agent wouldn’t be around until Monday morning because it was the low season and quiet. That was ok up until late Monday morning when I asked about the agent. I was told the agent hadn’t contacted her yet so I decided to take my second option, a recommendation of a hostel in the nearby Ciudad Bolivar, where another motorcycle traveller had booked tours easily. I packed up and rode the 100km to the other city. Unfortunately Google Maps was a little delayed and I missed the main turnoff, but it indicated another road a couple of kms further where I could take a road to the city. I took the turnoff and after about one kilometre it turned to gravel, then sand, a track that directed me in the opposite direction to Bolivar. I turned around and it was then I realised I was in deep sand. Hesitating at one point, the front wheel was grabbed by 10,000 particles and tossed me onto my side. I rolled onto the ground unharmed and reached back to switch off the motor.

I completely failed to lift the bike, partly due to the funny angle and partly due to my still recovering from a recent sore back. Rather than risk hurting my back again I walked for 500 metres to a small farmhouse where the owner and his three teenage sons came to my aid. We lifted the bike easily and I was happy to share a few hundred Bolivares with them, bringing a smile to their faces. I used better technique to ride the rest of the sand and stopped outside their house. They caught up and kept telling me three words – posada, alemana and pita. 

 I stopped outside Posada La Casita, two houses down the road, and met Peter and his manager Genio, both spoke English. I told them I was really just looking for a tour to Angel Falls and Roraima. Peter told me he owns a tour company, Gekko, and can arrange both for me. I decided it was a good option and that my intuition was back on track, so within two hours I was booked on two tours for a ridiculously good price. Two nights and three days at Angel Falls including flights and all meals; six days five nights at Roraima all inclusive - $380 for the lot!! I was wrapped, paid the money and kicked back to listen to these two expats with collectively 40 years in Venezuela, tell me about the ins and outs of life, politics and the economic rollercoaster of Venezuela.