worthwhile sights is the 'Meeting of the Waters,' where the Rio Negro meets the Rio Solimoes to form the Amazon river. When the rivers meet, the black water of the Rio Negro runs side by side with the brown waters of the Rio Solimoes for several kilometers before finally mixing. After crossing the Amazon river in a small passenger boat we left Manaos as soon as possible, stopping next in Presidente Figueredo. The small town of Figueredo is known as the 'Land of Waterfalls' to Brazilians, and the outskirts of the town are dotted with black waterfalls surrounded by dense toucan-filled jungle. We spent a couple days camping, swimming and practicing Portuguese with the locals. After shaking off the after effects of downing unadvisable amounts of cachaca the night before, we pushed off the edge of the sprawling Brazilian countryside and entered Venezuela.
Our nickname for Venezuela was the 'black box,' an engineering term describing a system where you dont really know whats going on inside, but you have an idea of how it relates to other systems. In this case we had no idea how the Venezuelan black market worked, or what we would find in the remote southern corner of the country,
all we knew was that some crazy self absorbed dictator ran the show and that somewhere on a northern peninsula we had a flight arranged to take us home in a couple weeks. After crossing the border some things cleared up rather quickly. We found a couple of nice shady 'businesses' that would change our currency on the black market, giving us a rate of 8 bolivares to the dollar instead of the official bank rate of 4.3 pesos to the dollar. Once we had our big wad of cash we set out to arrange a trip to Mount Roraima, the tallest of the table top mountains known as tepuis. The next day we set out on a 6 day backpacking trip led by the local Pemon indians. For the first two days we crawled across the Grand Savannah, crossing rivers, passing through small tracts of jungle, and staring anxiously at the approaching mountain. On the third day we began our ascent. After climbing the
rippling base of the mountain we reached the sheer rock wall, where we began to traverse along a steep and wet trail along the face. After a few hours we reached the summit and the alien land unfolded before us. While most mountains have a summit of a couple square meters, the sprawling peak of Roraima covers 31 square kilometers. The isolation from the jungle and savannah below means that Roraima harbors its own unique species not found anywhere else in the world. In the two days that we spent on top we saw 3 types of carnivorous plants, small black frogs with yellow bellies, phosphorescent worms, tarantulas, and many other unique lifeforms. The equally unusual craggy canyons and bulbous peaks that cover the sandstone landscape helped serve as markers as we walked along the unmarked trails; typical Roraima directions might say 'past the giant flying turtle, through the double arch, right at the balancing phallis, and straight until you reach the 3 story tall car.' Some of the most amazing sights we walked to were the jacuzzi, curvy rock pools with unusual color gradients, and the window, a rock that juts out from the edge of the mountain and offers unbelievable views. At night we slept in a natural cave in the rock and on the third day on top we reluctantly started heading back, already planning the next trip.
On Roraima we had met a Spaniard, Raul, and a Venezuelan, Annette, traveling together, and they convinced us that it wouldn't be just to leave Venezuela without paying a visit to the most popular attraction in the country, Angel Falls. At this point we were really pushing the limits of our schedule, and immediately upon returning from Roraima we had to catch an overnight bus up to Ciudad Bolivar. From there we caught an early morning flight into Canaima National Park. The flight turned about to be pretty exciting as Viviana and I were the only two passengers in the miniature 4 seater plane. Around 11AM we arrived in the village of Canaima and soon were getting loaded into a motorized canoe for the final leg up to the worlds
tallest waterfall. The canoe pushed up some unsettling rapids and passed incredible tepuy filled scenery on the 4 hour trip to the base of the falls. At the end it pulled up to a small island and we began the final one hour walk up to the viewpoint. Angel Falls originates on a tepuy much like Roraima, but with a larger surface area and taller cliffs in some areas. The water collects on top and falls almost an entire kilometer (979 meters) down into the jungle below. Although I had seen pictures before, only when I saw it from up close could I really see just how immense the falls are, made even more dramatic by the carved out rock face that surround them, and the smaller waterfall that sits at the bottom. That night we camped right across the river, sleeping in hammocks with a view of the falls. The next day we returned to Canaima to see some of the sights closer to the village. We visited four other waterfalls nearby, following a trail that led us behind one of them. The rest of the time we passed drinking beer on the beach by the Canaima lagoon and swimming in the shallow black waters. After only three days in Canaima we said goodbye to the waterfall and to the immense jungle that we hadn't even begun to explore, and caught our flight back. This time a seatbelt malfunction landed Viviana in the copilots seat in the cockpit of our little plane.
When we landed we didnt really have any plans for the next couple days, so Annette graciously invited us to join her and Raul on a trip to some cays off the Venezuelan coast. The plan sounded good, so we decided to meet at her house first to get some supplies. This was to be the final episode of the trip, and it started to seem as though we had used most of our good luck in the jungle. When we left the airport I saw a cashew fruit I had always wanted to try hanging from a tree, so I picked it and tried the flesh. It was pretty bland, so I decided to try and crack the nut hanging from the bottom of the fruit. Using my teeth as prybars, I successfully spilled anacardic acid, a powerful skin irritant contained in the shell, all over my lips, causing them to burn and eventually peel over the next week. While my lips
began to burn and locals scared me with the dangers of the cashew fruit, it also began to rain, and we decided to delay our trip to the islands. Fortunately Annette let us sleep over at her house, and showed us a number of deliciously unhealthy traditional Venezuelan foods. The following day we headed out, and as the rain started coming down we knew there was only one way to fix our problems: get really drunk. We loaded up our thermos with coconut rum and waded out into the carribean at about 9AM. Around noon, after refilling the thermos numerous times, we bought another bottle and caught a ferry out to the cays. We landed on a tiny picturesque island and kept the party going with water wrestling, acrobatics, and of course more coconut rum. The rum had successfully gotten rid of the rain, but as we all know, bad luck always comes in threes. Without really realizing it, I had been getting ravaged by miniscule 'puri-puri' insects for the last few hours before the sun went down. As I laid down exhausted and itching like crazy, I wanted nothing more than to sleep until noon the next day. This sounded like a good idea until about 11pm, when a couple of boats pulled up to the beach and began unloading boxes. Another half hour later there was a full crew of workers setting up stages, games, and tables, using power tools and lights from a generator located about 10 ft from our tent. At around 5AM this turned into obnoxious music from a loudspeaker, and by 8AM they were already starting the drinking games. Unable to fight the noise, we waded into the sea and caught a water taxi back to the mainland, ready for some proper relaxation back on what is technically US soil, on the beautiful islands of Puerto Rico.As we lifted off from the Punto Fijo airport and saw the continent sneak away behind us, I tried to summon the memories from the trip and fill myself with the emotion of finally finishing my journey. Of course things never really work that way, and all I
could really think about was getting a nice bed to sleep in and not having to wash my clothes in the sink. In Puerto Rico Viviana and I took relaxation to the next level. The majority of the time was spent eating delicious home cooked food, hanging out with Vivianas adorable nieces, and watching basketball. We made a few excursion during the two week visit, visiting some spectacular beaches such as Mar Chiquita and Playa Sucia. Our relaxation reached a climax on the small island of Culebra, where we spent 5 days catching sun, downing Medalla light, and walking along sand that had the texture of powdered sugar. Puerto Ricos mix of spanish and US culture was an excellent segway back into life in the US, and after 2 weeks I was just about ready to be home.
On the way back I stopped by Florida and Georgia to catch up with some family I had been neglecting for far too long. I spent a few days with my grandmother relaxing and sharing stories, then headed up to Atlanta to camp out with cousins, uncles and aunts. We camped on a beautiful lake that has more of my families history in its waters than perhaps anywhere else on the planet. The whole southern trip only lasted one week, but allowed for years of catching up and a reminder of how fun it can be to hang out with family. Then, after over a year on the road, I caught the last plane home.
Now I'm back in my familiar setting. The tropical rainforests of the Amazon have been replaced by the temperate rainforests of the pacific northwest. Gone are the random strangers, sunburns, scarlet macaws, and empanadas. Now I see old friends, hypothermia, scrub jays, and bean burritos (thats American, right?). Goodbye waterfalls, crappy international beer, and reggaeton. Hello waterfalls, crappy domestic beer, and reggae. It's been almost a week that I've been home now, and I'm slowly settling into the normal rythm of life.
Traveling is something that never fits well into anyone's schedule or budgets, but if you can feel the intrigue of exotic places and unique experiences distracting you from your comfortable life, then you just have to make room. When I started planning my trip I had an amazing job, a girlfriend I loved, and a group of friends that will never be replaced. I had to rearrange everything to begin traveling; I quit my job, moved away from my friends, and went 7 months without seeing my girlfriend. When I caught the first 32 hour bus through Mexico my mind was in turmoil as I thought about the challenges that laid before me and the lifestyle that I was giving up in Tucson. Then as I made my way down through Central America new experiences and ideas replaced the nostalgia and worry, and now that it's all said and done I know I'll never be the same person, and never live the same life that I did before.
I wrote this blog at first because I was pressured into it by friends and family, but after only a few posts I realized that I actually kind of enjoyed writing it. Even though sometimes I was writing in a blazing hot internet cafe with mosquitos biting my feet, I found that putting my experiences down in text helped me to understand what was happening as well. I hope that I made them somewhat interesting, and not just a bunch of rambling stories and pointless anecdotes. If there is any message contained in the pages and photos of this blog, I hope that it says that traveling is worth it. No matter what you have to do to make it happen, it's worth it, and if you ignore the urge to explore you will always wonder what awaits beyond the geographical, political, and mental borders of the world.
Here's a few statistics to finish this thing off...
Days Traveling: 424
Countries Visited: 14
Miles Traveled (not including airplanes): 20192
Hours Traveling (not including airplanes): 869
Photos Taken: 7004
Shoe Repairs: 6
Ticks Pulled from Bodies: 25 (13 from me, 12 from Viviana)
Hats Lost: 5
Thanks for following my blog, hope you enjoyed it!!!
