Buenos Aires – Pit stop

Just before arriving in Buenos Aires I had a fun-filled two days with a Venezuelan airline.  I got back to Caracas from Llanos and one of my pieces of luggage was missing and the other was broken.  Not speaking Spanish is a real hassle and I have made note to self that I need to learn this language immediately.

The Venezuelan’s are not the friendliest people to deal with and I had got to a point where I just wanted to leave and go to the hotel, when a lovely young man approached me and asked if he could help.  Woo hoo, someone spoke english.  He was travelling with some friends to Spain and Italy and they too had been the target for robbery and damage to their luggage.  They found their bags open on the carousel and all their gifts of perfume were gone but some of the wrapping was left.  My heart went out to them.

They are Venezuelans and you could immediately detect the frustration and anger in their voices at how the country is being run and the issues that are going on.  Carlos, the young gentleman that had assisted me, told me he wanted to leave to go and live in Australia or Europe, but travel is so expensive for the local  people.  I was having a great time as the exchange rate was incredible, and I started to feel quite guilty by the fact that things were great for me, but it was so hard for them.

Carlos stayed with me and helped to sort out the issue.  Deal was, they lost my brand new tripod and had broken my suitcase which is not a cheap one by any means.  They told me they would contact the hotel if anything showed.  To thank Carlos I invited him to lunch in the airport as he had been such a help. After lunch we parted ways and I headed to my hotel.  I was over Caracas so just had dinner and then got an early night as I had spent 5 hours at the airport trying to sort the issues out and was over it by now.

After hassling Alan to try to sort it out for  me as he speak English,  and making calls back and forth, I get a call to say they have found it.  Man I am sure they were playing games with me.  Anyway there is no way I was going to the airport on my own at night to collect it.

Went early to the airport to pick it up and it was like something out of a bad thriller movie.  Taken into the bowls of the airport building to a dodgy office and left for 45 minutes not knowing what was going on as no one would speak (or could speak) to me.  Then some young lad pops his head in with my tripod and makes me sign some papers and off I go. I was the  happiest person around.

After some attempted sign language to the check in staff, who decided that my excess weight of 1.8kg was not on for my check in baggage, and my cameras were a good  5kg over, we came to some form of agreement (who is to say exactly what it was) and I was on my way to wait for the plane.  Get me out of here.

Arrived late to Buenos Aires and had arranged with the host to meet me at the apartment.  Well got there and lo and behold there was no one there.  Tried phoning them but no answer so I had to book into a hotel for the night after already paying for my accommodation.  Got collected the next day and got to the apartment which looked fairly standard, but a few hours later started to realise just how much was wrong and how dirty it was.  Nothing was as it was advertised.  Tried contacting the owners and of course no reply for two days. So got hold of Airbnd and they were amazing.  They got hold of the owners, organised another place for me and refunded all my money, plus the hotel within two days.  They kept in contact until they knew I was safe and happy where I was at.  Unreal and cannot recommend them highly enough now.  First time I have had problems with a place and I have used it quite a few times.

New place is amazing in a very upmarket area and the guy that has it is just so pleasant.  Johann, who has the apartment, waited for me to arrive and we had a fantastic chat.  This meeting was meant to be.  He is an avid music collector, studied film and is into organising exhibitions, so we had so much to talk about.  Settled in nicely and then it hit me.  I hadn’t been feeling that great the last few days, but then I started feeling pretty average.  I had obviously got some kind of bug in Venezuela or maybe accidentally swallowed some of the water in the shower.  Nothing wanted to be in my body and I had no energy.  I tried going out a few times but managed maybe one block and just had to go back to the apartment.  So my 9 days here have pretty much been indoors.  I am actually quite grateful for this as it has allowed me to get some well needed rest before the Antarctic and to get some work done.  So there is a reason for everything.

However last night I ventured out and met Johann in his neighbourhood for a drink and oh what a delight.  We had such a great late afternoon/evening.  He is a wonderful man and so very interesting and I got to learn so much about Argentina and Buenos Aires.  We walked the streets in his neighbourhood looking at all the amazing homes and great old architecture.  Back at his place he showed me amazing images of the unbelievable  buildings that were destroyed in the city.  I was blown away and now fascinated with this whole side of BA.

But we have agreed that  I need to come back and he will take me to some places and especially to one of my dream holidays, Patagonia.  We also discussed looking into an exhibition here if all goes well in Australia.  So it has been an absolute pleasure to have met him, and feel I have a wonderful new friend in the making.

So here I sit sorting out the last bits and pieces before I leave for Antarctica tomorrow.  I am not sure when I am going to be able to get internet so it may be a couple of weeks before I get in contact again.   I doubt I am going to sleep well tonight as I feel like I did when I was a kid on Christmas Eve.  That anticipation for the next day – can’t believe that my dream trip is actually just around the corner.   I am still reeling at my experience in the Catatumbo and now to think that only two weeks after, I am going to be in one of the most spectacular places on earth.   Who would have ever thought that little old Moira would get to experience these phenomenal places.  Let me just pinch myself once again.

I decided I couldn’t leave Buenos Aires without having a steak seeing as this is the place to have such a meal.  Not a great idea and cursing now, so I think its back to the dry biscuits for me.  I am beginning to think that I will have to come back so that I can get the full experience (and some photos).  Tonight is a big night here, know as the Museum under the stars and there are bands, plays and all sorts of art going on in the parks.  But I think I need to stay close to home and just chalk it down to one of those things that happen.

So the end of the earth tomorrow.  Sure it is going to be one hell of a trip and I will see you on the other side.

Venezuela Nov ’14 – Images

Venezuelan

On the road to Los Llanos

My plans for Venezuela had only focused on the Catatumbo phenomena, that is until I spoke to Alan Highton who was to show me the sights of this amazing country.  After asking what I was looking for landscape and culture wise, he started to tell me about the Venezuelan plains called the Llanos.  With the mention of the giant anaconda  I was hooked.  This had to be the second stop.

The Llanos is one of the world´s richest tropical grasslands. This pretty much flat, grassy “cowboy country,” is rich with wildlife, with more than 100 species of mammals and over 300 species of birds.  Although my focus was on the giant anaconda, I learnt quite quickly that this was not the most important part of the trip as there were so many more species to be seen which are normally quite hard to find, yet we had the pleasure of feasting our eyes upon a good few of them.

At the heart of the Llanos landscape is the mighty Orinoco River, which boasts the third largest river flow on Earth.  The Orinoco flows through a diverse landscape of dry forests, grasslands, and seasonally flooded plains before it disperses into a river delta of swamp forests and coastal mangroves as it approaches the Atlantic. When I first laid eyes on the river delta, I felt like I was in the great Okavango Swamps in Botswana.

So after being blown away by the Catatumbo phenomena, I was sceptical about the next leg – “Could it be anywhere near as beautiful as the Catatumbo, or was I wasting my time”  We spent our first two nights in the city of Merida which sits on a tableland nestled in the valley of the Chama River.

      

THE MAKING OF SUGAR:  Molasses bubbling away, and, sugar being cut into blocks

The town of Mérida sits at an altitude of 1,600 meters (5,249 ft). and in the background you can see the country’s highest summit: the Pico Bolívar with an altitude of 4981 meters (16,338 ft).

Merida also has the highest and longest cable car in the world – which unfortunately was not working at the time so I never had a chance to see it for myself.

Alan’s daughter, who runs the business with him and who does the work in the background while we are off having fun, had kindly booked me into a fabulous boutique hotel in the city.  If you ever find yourself in Merida, you have to book into the Casa Sol.  I nearly fell flat on my face when I paid $20 US for my room and was led into this stunning suite.  Mind you I didn’t get to experience much of it as I was dead on my feet after no sleep in almost 3 days.  Man who could have thought a shower would ever feel that good.  Then to slide between crisp white sheets with not one mosquito in sight – YES life couldn’t get any better.  Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my trip to the Catatumbo EXCEPT for the mossies.  That is something you could do without.  I was told that Venezuela has never seen such an influx of these little critters.  Think they were blaming me as I had told them how much they loved my blood.

Slept like the dead before getting myself together to move to my next abode.  This was less flashy but oh boy what a view.

Quite happy as this was only $15 US a night and  very comfy all the same.  I was not going anywhere as  the usual travel necessities had to be done – washing of clothes, charging batteries, (my cameras and mine), emails, my tax (which was still hanging over my head) and then little nana naps between all of that.  Had myself a wonderful big dinner with beer and coffee for the grand sum of $2.10 – who would have thought.

Alan and Arsenio were waiting for me at 6am as it was a two-day trip to the Llanos.  We first headed up to the Andes and the highest point which is just under 5000 meters.  But nothing was going to get me excited until I had my coffee, and you have to love this place for coffee.

Tasty as, and all along the roads there are people with flasks of this dark strong liquid which will set you back about 30c.  Me being the coffee addict I am, I would generally have two or three of these before departing again.

We drove up the Andes and past stunning little villages with colourful houses lining the town squares.

            

An old stone church  was a favourite of mine along the way.    

When we got to our destination – the top of the world – Alan made sure I had my GoPro and camera’s ready.  As we climbed the hill and rounded the corner I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the car floor.  One of the most astounding winding roads worked its way back down the mountain side and all around you are these majestic ranges. I now started getting really giddy with delight, but thankfully this was due to the altitude.  I was a little worried about my lungs at this height as I had misplaced my asthma pump and was not sure how I would react.  I had nothing to worry about.  Yes it was very hard to breath and I had the worst case of the giggles, but that never did anyone any harm.

              

Alan and myself went for a walk so that he could show me the many varieties of flora and fauna in the area, and of course get a photo of me on this rock formation doing the Titanic move.  It all went a little pear shaped after this.  I sat down on the ground next to Alan to try to get my breath back as I was struggling somewhat – and he forgot to tell me there were these prickly things around.  So as I sat down I planted my butt firmly in a patch of it, and my one hand.  No where to go from here.  Can’t put my other hand down as I will get it full of them as well, and can’t get up as I am laughing hysterically.  There is a lot to be said for lack of oxygen.  We sat there like two school kids crying our eyes out at this silly little mistake.  Arsenio, our driver, then got the giggles just watching the two of us.  Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time I got back to the car – minus the prickles thank god.

               

From there we drove back down the mountains to a wonderful lake where we saw some rare deer and then had one of the most delicious meals I have had in ages.  Once stuffed to the brim, we hit the road again.  Drove over the most amazing rain forest mountain passes and stopped to get some fresh trout from a farm.

Did a bit of GoPro filming feeding the trout and then back on the road.  We arrived at our hotel in Barinas (hope I have that right) and thank god for beer.  It was so hot and there is nothing nicer than and ice cold beer in that situation.  After dinner we had a quiet night and then up early to head to the Llanos.  We had a good 3 to 4 hour journey ahead of us.

The landscape opened up and we now were approaching the Llanos.  I don’t’ think I have ever seen so many birds and iguana’s in my life.

 

Then came the Capybara.  I had seen these in Colombia on my visit in 2006, but never this many.  They are the largest rodent in the world and most closely related to the guinea pig.

               

Loads of Cayman (which I believe won’t attack you), turtles and the fascinating Piranha.  Arsenio and Alan did a spot of fishing on the way to catch a few to show me.  Man they are deadly little suckers. Alan had bought a great big back bone of a cow so that we could go and feed them and get some GoPro footage.  Couldn’t wait.

We arrived at our hosts farm.  We were to be staying with a local couple in the Llanos and this is where I feel most comfortable.  I love living with local people who can show you the true beauty of their country but also any issues they may have.  I don’t think you will ever get to know a place properly unless you live the real experience, no matter how hard that may be at times.  This for me is what travel is about.  I love meeting new people and learning from them.  I always feel so humbled in their presence as they hold the key to the land that you stand on at that  precise time.  You have no luxury comforts to make  you feel secure, you have to work hard to understand if you don’t speak the language (I cheated here as Alan is fluent), and you are totally at their mercy.  But what always amazes me, is that they are the most genuine of people.  They have nothing to gain from me but so much to share.

After a great meal we stood and marvelled at the amazing sunset and lightning in the background.

It had seemed to follow us from the Catatumbo.  Well it actually was the lightning in that area, we just saw if from a long way away.  Bed was early as those damn mossies were at me again and I needed some peace from them.  Up at 5 for a game drive and first thing we sighted was the giant anteater.  You really do need a guide to help you find these, and of course I was not let down here.  We spotted one within the first 10 minutes of leaving the farm and were very fortunate that it ran across the road in front of us.  Supposedly this is a tourists dream.  The rest of the morning was filled with sightings of birds, cayman, turtle, capybara, but alas no giant anaconda.  I was told that it was not a great time as the waters were too high still and you rarely see them when this happens.

               

                

Back to the ranch for lunch and then headed off for a boat trip around the delta and swamp forests.  This was what I was waiting for.  We must have been on the boat for 3 or 4 hours just gliding around the deltas and forests.  At one stage as we passed under a canopy of trees – just above our heads were two snakes lazing in the branches.  I tried to get the GoPro us against its face, but it kept movie off.  Alan then took over and managed to get right up between the branches and as he was coming up to it, it struck out at him and hit the camera.  He wanted to try to catch it as it had two massive ticks on its face and he was hoping to take them off, but it wanted none of that, so we moved on and left them in peace.

We stopped the canoe in a spot and decided to feed the piranha and oh was this a sight.  Reminded me of the movie Piranha as they are just as ferocious as they showed in the movie.  I was told that they don’t hurt humans unless you are bleeding, that you can swim in the river and you will be fine.  Haha you have to be joking, there is no way on earth I was going to test out that theory.  Mind you our good old guide – Alan – more affectionately known at Alanconda (due to his vast knowledge of the anaconda and catching these huge beasts) or Venezuela’s version of Steve Irwin would be a close similarity,  used to do just that to show tourists that it was possible.  But after a number of years doing this he was rushed by about 100 of the little suckers and very lucky to get away with his life I think.  We were told about a man who had hunted a deer and had walked through the river with it on his back, and they found only his skeleton the next day.  Mmmmm wouldn’t tempt fate I can tell you.  Pretty looking fish, mind you.  We did however see the pink dolphins.  In Colombia I only had a brief glimpse of this amazing creature.  Here they were all around us, but still they made it hard to film them as you have no idea where they are going to come out of the water.  Alan had mentioned he had a surprise for me in the Llanos but I had never envisaged it would be this.  I was blissfully happy.

              

I think I was asleep the minute my head hit that pillow.  The heat out there is insane and very draining so it’s always good to crash early.  Up at 5 again the next morning to travel to a new ranch and a new experience.  We were still looking for Mr Anaconda.  I had decided to partake in a little ritual done mainly by the macho men on Venezuela.  No, that’s not fair – it is a very cowboy thing to use chimo.  Chimo is a tobacco paste that you place in the roof of your mouth and then accumulate the saliva and spit it out as often as needed.  No way do you swallow this stuff.  So I decided I wanted to try it. Anything to keep me awake and perk me up as the heat and loss of sleep were beginning to affect me.  Man it has an awful taste and then the constant spitting is quite disgusting.  Our little plastic coffee cups came in very handy for this.  But I was feeling pretty cool and butch with my mouthful of black goo and then spitting into a cup like a cowboy.  First time nothing seems to happen, but second time – woah talk about head spins.  I was sitting on a boat gliding through the delta and felt like I was flying and so alert to everything around me.  However it is not easy to spit in a speeding boat without covering yourself or someone else in a thick black goo.  Major precautions were needed at this time.  Don’t think I could ever get used to that stuff though.  Think I will leave it to the cowboys.  I suppose I am a lady and should start behaving like one hey.

Had a fantastic trip around the place and saw so much wildlife again.  Dinner and drinks before bed and then up again at the crack of dawn for more fun.  This time we got to see the giant river otters.

                

Now I didn’t know this, but it is meant to be quite a rare sighting to see 4 of them together and as close as they were for the amount of time they spent with us.  Stunning animals and so happy I got to see them.  I never got to see or catch my anaconda, but that just means I will have to go back now to try again.  Don’t think I would complain about that.

As the day drew to a close we watched  the cowboys round up the cattle.  Such an iconic sight – something I have seen in the movies before, but loving the experience now.

                      

                

Venezuela has many issues to deal with at the moment and it is a hard country to live in for most people.  I had non stop issues in Caracas and don’t think I ever want to visit the place again, but the country side is just awesome and I have to say that it is going to have to be a very special place next trip take place as my number one travel spot.  Colombia had always filled that spot, but now after seeing the Catatumbo, I can truly say I have never seen or felt what I did those few days.  The Llanos was also an amazing experience and I cannot believe a country that has so many problems and is struggling to find itself, can be so rich and beautiful and not be known for that.

              

There were many worries about my safety when going and rightly so, but in all honesty, I never really felt threatened or at risk.  Yes I was frustrated and annoyed at many a situation in Caracas due to stupid issues, but also at not being able to understand the language.  I need to learn Spanish.  You have to be on the ball though as they will take you for a ride when it comes to money exchange.  I learnt this early on and got screwed over big time by a legitimate business.  I had to resort to black market money to get by.   Looks like we robbed a bank, doesn’t it.  Mind you that is about $200.

Once again I was reminded that what we hear in the media, is not necessarily the truth.  Yes it is dangerous and yes there are shortages of things in the country, but nothing is as we see it.  My biggest surprise was the price of petrol.  We filled the tank of our vehicle and got 35 litres for 50 Bolivar, which is 5c US.  Mad  is all I can say.  But you have to then understand everything else that is related to that, before you can make judgement.

Venezuela is a beautiful country that has so much it could offer.  My wish is that it will one day find its way out of the darkness that it is in, and the people of the country will learn to trust and be hopeful again. A lot of Venezuelans are not that friendly as they are really not used to tourists and are not well informed on why we are there, but in all honesty my experience has been that I have met some of the most genuine people I could wish to meet.  Yes few and far, but those that I did meet will make up for all the other misfits.  My memories of Venezuela will bring a smile to my face each time, if not a hearty laugh.  Special comes to mind.

I

Catatumbo – Welcome to paradise

Wow, where to start. The last ten days have been some of the most special in my life, and as I sit here trying to explain to you just how memorable it was, I can’t seem to find words that would do it justice. It is very difficult to describe what was almost a spiritual awakening and sense of connection with mother earth, and that may sound daft, but that is truly how it felt. So let me see if I can give you a small glimpse into what is the wonder of the Catatumbo phenomena.

I was greeted by my host and guide Alan Highton. The gods were truly smiling down on me when they put his name and number on my internet screen that day last year. We had numerous chats over the months and he gave me all the info needed to make this trip happen, and also kindly arranged my hotels and internal flights in Venezuela. First class treatment all the way.

Alan met me at El Vigia airport and immediately I knew this was going to be a good trip. The warm smile and greeting would put anyone one at ease. We set off for the river where we were to catch the boat for the 2 hour journey to the Catatumbo. About 45 minutes later we arrived at the port and Alan disappeared briefly, only to return with possibly the best tasting beer I have ever had (mainly due to how hot it was and the beer was ice cold). We all bundled into the boats and set off for what would be a spectacular 3 days.

Lake Maracaibo is huge – the largest lake in South America and you get this sense of grandeur as you speed along the lake. We had left quite late and needed to get to the village before dark but this was a blessing in disguise. Along the way we got to see the formation of the storms that would bring us our lightening. Huge cloud columns filled the horizon with various shapes and forms. I just knew this was going to be fun when Alan turned around and pointed to a cloud and said it reminded him of some animal. Memories of childhood, lying on our backs and staring at the clouds looking for shapes filled my mind. This trip was to be full of those special and laugh out loud moments.

              

As the sun slowly said farewell, and the moon greeted us good evening, I was left utterly breathless at the beauty and peace of this great, vast body of water.

As the sky got darker we got a glimpse of our home for the next 2 nights. We unpacked and chose our bed for the night before settling into a nice meal, cold beers, and shit loads of insect repellent. I came well prepared as the mossies do love me and I knew there were going to be a few around. However I didn’t think the whole of the Venezuelan mossie community was going to descend on this one little house. Frigging hell I looked like I was having an epileptic fit most of the time trying to shoo them away. After dinner Alan advised everyone to get a few hours sleep before the lightening started as we would be up all night.

There was no way I could sleep in this place – with so much beauty and calmness, I didn’t want to miss one second of what it had to offer. I sat on the little pier/platform with my drink and thoughts, and nearly cried out of happiness. Red eyes of the Caymen glared back at me no more than 15 feet away in the water but I felt safe as Alan had reassured me that all was fine. Supposedly they are not into humans. I meditated, gave thanks and just took in all that beauty around me. And then it started. Those giant clouds that had formed earlier now started to display it’s light show and boy was it one big show. I reverted to that silly 10 year old who giggles and squeals with delight at something special. Poor Alan had to put up with many of those moments from me during this trip.

                      

The Reuters film crew hurriedly set up their cameras as did the government guests. I however got special treatment from Alan as this had originally been a private trip and he wanted to make sure he still gave me as much attention as possible to get my images. As I have no experience filming lightening, he came in very handy as a teacher. He has been taking amazing shots over the years which have been seen all around the world and in the likes of National Geographic, so I couldn’t have asked for a more experienced mentor.

               

What happened over the next few hours and into daylight just cannot be explained. Surreal, achingly beautiful, heart stopping at some points and a feeling of empowerment, yet realising how small we are compared to this magnificent display before our eyes. You could not wipe the smile off my face from pure joy (except when I got another mossie bite). Man I am sure they were on steroids or something.

Cameras were put away briefly at dawn and it was time for breakfast and then on to a river safari into the jungles to see the many species of butterfly, of which two sub species were discovered by Alan and named after him and his grandfather, who had got him interested as a kid. More beauty around every bend on the river, with a number of sightings of rare butterfly and birds. There is so much to see in these almost virgin forests and waterways.

                  

Back for lunch and then onto the little village of Congo (another village built on the water) to get images and visit the locals. Man what friendly people they were. Left as the sun was setting to get back in time for dinner and round number two of what the Catatumbo is good at – lightening.

              

                 

              

               

                

                           

              

Once again no sleep could be had and now we had gone about 36 hours without it.  At one stage I think I was hallucinating as I started seeing strange forms running across the water. Our two Reuters film crew started taking on weird forms as well when they were in the distance and at one point I had no idea what I was looking at. But the thing that got me the most was how quickly things change there. One minute Alan and myself were lying on the platform looking up at this incredible sky, packed with stars so bright you didn’t need a light, and turned away to have a brief word with one of the guests and when we looked back again there was not one star in the sky.  At that stage I thought maybe I was loosing my marbles, but I was assured that this was a normal pattern in the area. No sooner had that happened, there were a few flashes of light and then then stars were back. The rest headed to bed and I lay there staring into space once again. I was having a field day counting the shooting stars, and then what I thought might have been a comet as it was so big with this green trail behind it as it shot across the sky. Then came the lightening again.

I shot for a few hours and at about 4.30am it died down slightly so I decided to lie down and try get an hours sleep.

But as soon as I lay down my mind just kept racing and then I heard Alan calling me as a mother of a storm was about to happen. God bless that man as he knows this lightening like the back of his hand, and because of that, I got the money shot. I could have kissed him. I think I did some form of mad mans dance around him after I got those few shots and I had him to thank for that. It was now 48 hours of now sleep for us and we had the rest of the day to go. Amazing what adrenaline can do for a person.

Our last breakfast in the Catatumbo, then a sense of urgency to take in as much as possible before heading out later. Once again we all piled back into the boats and headed out to the Maracaibo lake. Alan had told me of the river dolphins and how they swim alongside. I had not yet seen them, but they didn’t disappoint, and a whole pod of them glided through the waters next to us. My mind went immediately to my good friend Rae, who has a special connection with dolphins and I wished she could have been here with me to witness them. We had stopped to chat to a group of people who were coming out to stay at Alan’s house on the water for a couple of days. They had been late in arriving so we passed them on the river. Once we bid them farewell, I closed my eyes and let my mind wonder while the warm breeze fanned my face. I must have been like that for a good 5 or 10 minutes and on opening my eyes I nearly flipped. I thought I had maybe died and gone off to another world. When I opened my eyes I couldn’t see water or sky. All that was in front of me was this brilliant white light. It was so freaky and took me a couple seconds to figure out what was going on. The sediment from the rivers creates this almost white hue in the water which was the same colour as the sky, so you could not see the horizon. One just blended into the other and it was a world of brilliance. There was no beginning or end and that was quite a trip. When I did understand what was going on, I was somewhat disappointed and wanted to go back to my original vision as it was such an intense moment. There were so many of these moments on this trip and I was hoping the rest of my journey through Venezuela would bring me something even a little bit close to what I had had.

Once we hit land, we headed off for lunch and then dropped the crew back at their planes and buses. It was now just Alan, Arsenio our driver and myself. We were both looking forward to a quieter trip.