More pictures...

More pictures added soon, hopefully. They take forever to load. The internet is super slow here. Bare with me.

Thank you for all your nice comments. I love reading them.

Bye!

The bump.

Out of all the amebas, parasites, mosquito induced diseases that are said to be here, I managed to get a pin sized cut on my back from my heavy pack which turned into a bad infection about 4 inches wide, 2 inches tall. Im on antibiotics, with three hot compresses a day, anti-bacterial cream, and sulfur soap. This developed within just a few days... and I just though it was a big zit until the pain hit and it swelled about 3 times its size in 24 hours :0) Im finally off pain killers and feeling good. It’s going away fast and it’s totally disgusting in the process.

Guess I'm not used to the bacteria around here.

Cheers.

The Delta

I survived the jungle. We woke up early, 3 am. Piled into the car with our gear, half asleep. Stopped for some arepas at a truck stop as the sun rose. We arrived at the river at noon and met the group coming back from a 10-day excursion into the delta. All of them looked like they had a serious case of measles, from head to toe. One girl was in her bathing suit bottoms rubbing anti itch cream all over her legs and her butt. Mosquitoes, they warned us. They are evil. Don’t go to the bathroom after sundown. They will eat you alive.

Off to a great start I’d say. Luckily, we were promised that this was not an area for disease.

The Orinoco Delta is home to the Warao natives, which literally means "people of the canoe." They live in little wooden, wall-less huts on the riverbanks. There furniture consists of a few hammocks and a TV, which is a pretty interesting combination. All of their mobility is done in little wooden dugout canoes. They give birth in the canoe, hunt, travel, and eventually are set out into the delta in their canoes when they die. Jakera is the Warao word for peace and love.

Jakera everyone.

So four of us, Ivan, Louis (our Warao guide), Gato (some kid from Venezuela), and little me set out into the delta in our brightly colored, well stalked Kayaks.

We slept in hammocks, saw hundreds of monkeys, parrots, some really big river otters, we had an iguana almost fly down onto Ivan’s head, swam with piranhas, chased snakes, ran into a gigantic spider, were covered with millions (im not exaggerating) of mosquitoes, saw glowing butterflies at night, huge blue ones during the day, bats flying inches from your face, scorpion look out, were woken at 4am to howler monkey growls, paddling down the river in intense down-pour, listening to crazy animal noises at night... AMAZING, amazing. I want to go back to do a 10 day trip.

Here is a little more info on this area: http://www.orinocodelta.com/f_delta.htm#img2



This is a posada in the Warao Village. Our take off point.


Our trusty vessels.

I´m staying at Jakera Lodge right now in Playa Colorada. We read about this place in our guide book and the beach sounded good so we just stopped by. The Lodge is the center of many excursions here in Venezuela. It seems to cater to young tourists and adventure seekers. They have hammocks and communal rooms to sleep in and they cook dinner and breakfast for us. It is run by a 28 year old Scottish guy. Tomorrow morning Ivan and I are headed off to the Orinoco Delta to go on a 3 day Kayak trip into the jungle with an indiginous guide. We will be woken up by howler monkeys in the morning, fish for parana for dinner, and see many small crocodile, otters, dolphins, monkeys, parrots, and lots of really big bugs Ive been told. I´ve talked to others who just got back and they say its a very memorable experience... I´m so excited to have the opportunity to do this.

Besides that, I met a photographer from the National Geographic. He lives part time at the lodge. He also might be going on our kayak trip tomorrow. His other home is in Mozambique right now where he is helping to rebuild a wild sanctuary. Listening to some of his stories have been amazing. Chased down by lions, elephants, etc.

Venezuela is a very beautiful place. There is so much to do and see here, I just don´t have enough time in one month. I´ve trying to get in as much as I can though. Just interacting with the people, hearing the sounds of the country, and riding the bus from town to town are teaching me alot. I don´t feel treatened here. I´ve been staying safe... Just as I stay safe in SF. But the people I have been around have been wonderful for the most part.

After this I am off to Merida in the Andes. I will say goodbye to green waters and soft sand.

One week gone...

Hope everyone back home is doing well. I am doing fine. I´m picking up on my Spanish slowly. It´s hard to communicate with people here because they talk so fast! I´m ending my stay on Margarita Island today. It´s been an expensive few days. The funny thing about this place is that your dinner can cost as much or more than your hotel room. All of the food on the island has to be imported from the mainland. Even the water is from a pipeline coming from Caracas. I havent been eating as much here as I do back home. Partly because its just too hot to be hungry. And also, it´s hard for me to find food that I feel comfortable eating that isn´t over the top expensive. I´ve been eating alot of yogurt, bananas, rice and fish. My stomach has been through minimal battle... I just have to stay away from the tap water and produce that isnt cooked or peeled.

Margarita is a beautiful place though. The water is so warm. The sunsets are amazing. I´m starting to get really tan. Sunscreen is applied every few hours but I am always outside. The sun is hard to avoid. Last night I rested in a hammock in the outside courtyard of a little Peruvian posada (bed and breakfast). Salsa music filled the air along with a light rain. It made me very happy.

Right now I am awaiting a ferry boat back to the mainland. Much patience is needed when traveling here. Transportation can run slow and infrequent when you want to be somewhere fast. My pack is heavy and trying in the heat of mid-day... especially when I have to squeeze on a local bus with no air and no place to put my bag except uncomfortably on my lap.

Tonight we will be back in Puerta La Cruz, tomorrow off to Parque National Mochima. It´s hard to find time to get to the internet because we are moving around so much, seeing so much. But I´m going to check it every few days. That is the best way to contact me. I´ll try and keep my blog updated.

I´m sure I will have plenty of stories when I return home... and lots of picture to share. Traveling is so wonderful!

I love you all!

Bye :0)

Hi. So, 16 mosquito bites later and I'm sitting at Hotel Patrick in JuanGriego, Venezuela. The hotel here is owned by a Dutchman and his family and we are surrounded by blonde hair and blue eyes, a discoteque booming behind me. Oddly European. Started my trip in Caracas which was a culture shock. If you can imagine New York City with 5 times the intesity, no traffic rules, and people everywhere... it was quite the experience. After handling only about a day, Ivan and I traveled to the coast with 50 lb packs and baring the hot hot heat. Note to self, travel light next time. 5 hours on a freezing bus, 5 hours on a giganic ferry boat and here I am on Margarita Island...



Sunset at JuanGriego.



Fish market.