Pantanal Maracana Chapadas Manaus Tepuis South America 2005

SOUTH AMERICA 2005

As the old song goes “we are on the road again”. Another One World Round The World ticket this time traveling in an easterly direction. First stop Chile and Mark. We had a great start in Auckland where Lan Chile upgraded us to Business Class. Which we proceeded to take full advantage of. Especially me with the wine. I could see us being on rations on our travels so I drank a bit by way of recognizing my coming period of abstinence.

Now I hear you ask, “why did we take off so soon after our first trip?” Good question and the answer is because we had not a lot of better things to do. We went down to Nelson to see if we could settle there. It did not quite work out as I could not get work and we couldn’t find a property we really liked. As it turned out we saw the place we may settle on but it’s potential did not sink in until we had left NZ. In some ways we left for the wrong reasons ie we did not sort ourselves out in NZ or anywhere else for that matter, and travel became the line of least resistance. But we had many adventures and mishaps and saw marvelous things over the 8 months we were away. So I am glad we went and we made decisions mostly on what we want to do medium and long term whilst away. So that was good as well.

Mark was up north to Caldera with his girlfriend Cecilia when we arrived. So we had a couple of days in Santiago and the Leah took off for the Atacama and San Pedro. She flew to Antofagasta and got buses from there. I had been there last trip and did not want a repeat so stayed in Santiago for a few days. And tried to keep cool in Marks flat. Impossible though. I then got an overnight bus to Copiapo and met all of them there. Great to see Mark again and to meet Cecilia. She was Novia sized and very brown ie tanned. Apparently a sun worshipper.

Mark had purchased a car a Subaru 4WD which wasn’t too bad. It chewed up the oil and I often wish Mark would take a little more interest in vehicles. I sometimes think he believes that cars clean themselves, they run on fresh air and lubrication is something that rhymes with procrastination.

Northern Chile

Bariloche

Sao Paulo

Iguassu

Pantanal

The Pantanal is a huge wet savannah type area on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The Paraguay river sort of runs through one side with lots of smaller tributaries. It was a recommendation from the Lonely Planet so we bussed there after spending time at Iguassu. A long night trip from Iguassu to Campo Grande (CG) with lots of stops. I always have trouble sleeping on buses and it wasn’t particularly comfortable. In other words it wasn’t a luxury coach – sort of a mid level affair, more for the locals.

We arrived in CG mid morning and after a bit of toing and froing we booked a trip to a ranch in the Pantanal. It was just after the wet season so there was still lots of water around which was supposed to make things interesting. The eastern side of the Pantanal was given over to beef production as it was a little drier. We were heading to an area quite close to the Paraguayan border and a town called Corumba.

However before we took off I went with the tour operator to the local police station where we put in a report regarding the stolen camera. God, what a place. I really felt uncomfortable. All these evil looking cops hanging around – they looked as bad as the crims. I am sure that if I had tried to do the business on my own I either
• Would not have gotten anywhere and probably been chucked out, or
• Had to pay a fortune in bribes and the like

So the tour guy was incredibly helpful and I did get money back from the insurance company although I often wonder if they translated the Police Report.

We got a bus to a drop off point in the Pantanal. Another long ride but quite good as it was dead flat and you could sort of see how all these huge beef ranches worked. The ratio of cattle to acreage must be quite low as the herds did not seem so big. But I think that the Pantanal is not that fertile: the ground is wet or soggy a lot of the time. We were picked up in this old Land Rover type thing. It was pretty beaten up but made for a thrilling ride in to the ranch.

Actually the trip was great – we saw an awful lot of fauna on the way in. Mainly as it was evening and all things come out to play. Lots and lots of caiman, a herd of capybaras, wild pigs, foxes, bats and eagles, large lizards and other things that I can’t quite recall at the moment. Our hostess spoke good English – she was a Chilean from Punta Arenas who had spent some time in the South Island. Amazing to meet her in Brazil. She was really nice and helpful and was married to one of the ranch operators.

The trip in got interesting once we turned off the “main” road and traveled on this dirt track into the ranch. There was a whole heap of surface water everywhere and we spent most of the time trying to pick the best way through. A lot of fun. Even better over the last stretch where the water was pretty deep. They started up this old old tractor and hitched the truck to it. The tractor then towed the truck for about 4 – 5 kms to the ranch house. What a wild ride; the truck would slip and slide all over the place. In some parts the water almost came up in to the cabin it was so deep. And all along the way you could see caimen by the side of the path. They were about 5 – 6 feet long and they were just sort of laying there. Hundreds of them.

The ranch comprised of a main central building with kitchens and the like and a couple of bunk houses. No mosquito netting which was a bummer as they (mosquitoes) were everywhere. We had the front section of the bunk house and the others were all in the main part. Two really basic toilets and showers completed the picture.

Next day was exploration. We climbed onto horses and were guided through all the local waterways. A disconcerting start – there was this dead horse lying not far from the ranch houses. We asked “ how did it die?”. We were told, “oh, it got bitten by a frog mouthed snake on the nose. Horses and cattle are always getting killed that way”. Next question, “where are these snakes?”. “Oh, all over the place. In the water, the reeds and the paddocks”. A bit off putting for we gringos who were all perched on these vulnerable looking horses. I mean our legs were dangling in the water a lot of the time. Still off we went.

Actually it was a great ride. We did not see a lot of wildlife – we made so much noise that we would have scared everything away for 100km. But we did see lots of caimen, birds (jabiru storks, eagles, herons, vultures), some wild marsh deer and a few monkeys. At one point we all rode through a small swarm of wild bees. And they were wild. They stung a couple of horses (including Leahs), all the horses started bucking and galloping away and it took a huge effort to get mine back under control. I thought I was a goner. Horse riding is not a skill set that I have so for me anything over a slow walk is bad news. We spent most of the ride in water up to our knees which had us all watching out for these frog mouthed snakes and giant caimen. Even more so when we passed the skeleton of another horse, another victim of you know what!!

What else did we do? A fishing trip in the local river in motorized canoes. We only caught a few fish but it was a great ride. The fish we caught were quite large – I can’t remember what they were called. There were red piranha (the dangerous variety) in the stream but we didn’t see any. I thought that we were going to be stuck there though at the end of the trip. Our guides had parked the truck at the bottom of a small muddy rise. Well cometh the hour they could not drive it back up the slope. I recall all of we men (tourists included) having to get on the back and push like crazy. I think that finally by some minor miracle a local tractor came along and gave us a tow out. We all then went off to a waterhole on the main road and had a swim. Actually the water (a light brown shade) was quite warm and refreshing. We took the place over from a few turtles.

An evening walk was also interesting. Our guide caught a small caiman so we all gathered around, with the women thinking about their next handbag. I felt a bit sorry for the poor creature. It was then off into the bushes to find a sheep that was staggering around and looking pretty sick. Guess what? Yes, another victim of you know what apparently. We saw bats, some owls, a few other birds and a small armadillo (I think). I mainly remember being attacked by a never ending clouds of mosquitoes.

What else happened? Most evenings were spent talking in the dining room area. There was very little light in the bunk room so once you settled there it was sleep time. The showers were an experience. Water straight from the local swamp, I think. I only had one shower and counted the swim as another. Leah much the same. Toilets were dirty and smelly, but what is new. All in all though the Pantanal was a good experience. I would have liked to have seen a bit more wildlife but we probably did better than most. Some tours apparently stay in relative luxury and end up seeing very little.

Our stay at the ranch would not be complete without a description of nature at its …. best? I was busy doing my laundry one morning when I spotted this long skinny snake (not a frog mouth!!) stretched out nearby. On closer (but not too close) investigation I saw that it had latched onto this frog. The snake obviously was not of the poisonous variety – I mean why hang on otherwise. But it was the start of a long battle. The snake had hold just in front of the frogs back leg. The frog tried everything to get free. It tried to hop back to the water, it twisted and turned, it put a leg on the snake and tried to lever itself off, but to no avail. It actually got free twice but each time the snake struck so quickly that the frog had no chance to hop clear. Well the old frog started to get tired and at stage the snake started to work its jaws around towards the frogs mouth. Easy to see that it was going to suffocate the frog by completely covering its mouth and nostrils. Well that led to the last ditch effort by the frog. It puffed itself up to almost double its normal size. It did that twice and escaped both times. But as before that old snake just struck back and reattached itself. As soon as it did so it was back working its way towards the mouth. Well finally the snake got all the breathing things covered up and it was quickly curtains for the frog. The snake then proceeded to swallow the frog whole. Just like you would imagine an anaconda or boa swallowing a large pig or something. A real life David Attenborough experience and I think that Leah has some video of the same.

Our trip out to meet the bus from Corumba was interesting. We traveled out with a young couple from the UK. He proceeded to demonstrate some Brazillian fighting style (Chacoheira or something) at the bus stop. That was a style developed by the African slaves and is based on the use of legs and feet; on the basis that their hands were tied. He was very good, but we saw better in Salvador de Bahia later. So it was back to Campo Grande, overnight in the local hostel in which Leah had a heated debate with the owner (over the tarrif if I remember rightly) which she won. My abiding memory is our meal at a local kilo restaurant. A kilo restaurant is where you are charged by weight. So you select your food, it gets weighed and you then pay on a per kilo basis. Leah negotiated a special price for a vege only meal and I had the works ie meat and al. It was a great experience – the waiter would keep on coming out with all these different types of meat on a spit. You had to point to the bit you wanted and he would cut it off and put it on your plate. So I had different portions of beef, pork, salami and sausages presented for my consideration. Yum – but I probably did not do my iron count much good that night.

Next day it was on a bus to Belo Horizonte (BH) and Minas Gerias, over 24 hours away

Minas Gerias

The bus trip to BH was the usual long long tiring affair. It was broken by a couple of accidents involving trucks. The first was where a truck carting what looked like flour had rolled and the flour had gone everywhere. The truck was a huge mess and the road was covered. Did anyone slow done though? No way – it was onwards and upwards and full throttle. The second truck was carrying a cargo of coal and it was the same story. Huge mess but the local drivers have a “take no prisoners” attitude.

The countryside was pretty, very rural with what looked like large coffee plantations. Towns were generally small and thin on the ground. Weather – hot and steamy outside but within the bus the air con was on full blast. It actually got quite uncomfortable and everyone ended up with blankets. We were warned about Brazillian air con and they were right!!

The city of BH went on for miles. It is Brazils third city after SP and RdJ. A very mean dangerous looking place. I think our route in was through from the east and traversed the lesser ‘urbs. Lots and lots of shanty town type places, all very muddy and dark away from the road. We arrived not long before dark so did not see all things on the way in to the bus station – and probably just as well.

BH’s bus station was not pretty. Walking around late at night to get from one platform to another is NOT a good idea. Lots of sleazy looking characters and dark alleys do not make for a pleasant experience. You have to be particularly careful with your packs etc – you cannot leave them alone anytime. We were trying to get a bus to Ouro Preto the historic gold town in Minas Gerias (MG). It took us some time to sort it out and I never felt safe for one minute. I think Brazillian bus stations are best handled during day light hours and even then things can still be fraught.

Still and all we finally got our bus and were away. We traveled through some of the main streets to get out of town. I know it was late but it seemed that everywhere there were

• Gangs of young tough looking guys hanging around, and
• A veritable army of police, all armed to the teeth

Quite frankly in Brazil you are not sure in the above situation who you would trust at a pinch. Twice I saw the police handcuffing some young guys against a wall. A real dangerous situation – (say) three police would be doing the cuffing whilst two or three would be standing alongside with guns drawn and pointing. I guess that they would not have hesitated to blast away at the least provocation. I was glad to be out of there.

Rio de Janeiro

We stayed at a Hostel International place in Botafoga, one of the better suburbs in RdJ. They advertised a football game in the Maracana Stadium so how could I not go. Maracana; one of the great stadiums around the world. The South American Wembley stadium. Cost me 75 Pesos and Leah at first did not want to come. However some other girls were going and they persuaded her otherwise.

Anyway it was in a small mini bus and off to the ground. Little did we know!! The closer we got the thicker the crowds. And they were in the main young rough looking males. Even at a couple of k’s from the ground you could feel the tension and menace. Before we all piled out of the van the guide gave us the message. “This is a dangerous situation, lots of fights, pickpockets, male macho, huge crush to get in so follow the driver very closely and make sure your valuables are safe”. He wasn’t just blowing smoke. The crowd was huge – the game was a local derby, Flamenco versus Vasco de Gama. Flamenco was the team from the rich side of town and hated by everyone else. So it was all on. We did as we were told and followed closely. There was no crowd control whatsoever. Everybody pushed and shoved to get in but frequently a fight would break out. As soon as that happened the Police on horses would charge straight into the crowd and start beating everyone with their batons. I mean they took no prisoners – it was bang, whack, pummel and no how’s your father or anything. Police on foot sort of tried to lend a hand but they were pretty ineffectual. The crowd was just too densely packed. They would surge and we got caught in the crush. I was pickpocketed then, lost my ticket (subsequently replaced) and about 10 Pesos in cash. I could not have done anything about it. I was hanging on to Leah and a 5 year old with arthritis could have turned me over without a problem. We later learned that a lot of other gringo’s were groped, lost cameras and money in the same crowd. Another really frightening thing were the firecrackers. Or small bombs – at least that’s what they sounded like. Some idiot would throw one of these things into the crowd and wait for the explosion. Incredibly dangerous as it would do serious damage if it landed on you. The noise when it went off – you would think you were in Baghdad. So a real adventure? getting in.

Finally in our seats thinking our troubles were over. But no we had to figure out which part of the ground we were in ie were we at the Flamenco end or the Vasco end? I cocked it up as Flamenco scored a great goal early on and I started to clap. Stopped real quick when it was obvious no one but no one around me was clapping as well. So discretion being the better part of valour I was careful to cheer for Vasco after that. The crowd were a pack of nutters. One half of the ground Flamenco supporters – the other half Vasco. Huge crowd; about 70,000 people and you could have drawn a line between them straight through the halfway line and up both sides. The supporter demarcation was that clearcut. They egged each other on, traded insults and the noise when either one or the other scored was incredible. Smoke bombs, flags, singing, can throwing: it had the lot. I wish that I could recall Vasco’s team song. Vasco were leading 2 – 1 for most of the second half so there was this continuous chant going on. In fact it was quite catchy.

But the football was sublime. The skill level was amazing – I can see what they mean by Brazil skills now – and it was attack, attack all the time. They wanted to score goals, which is the point of the game. And someone told me that these two teams are near the bottom of the Brazillian premier division. Hard to believe that anyone could be that much better. The game ended 2 – 2, two players were sent off and plenty of shots on goal. So a connoisseurs delight and the draw probably satisfied everyone. No major dramas getting out. In other words it wasn’t a bloodbath. We assembled back at our van, had to wait a while for everyone to turn up and also for the traffic to clear. Then off back to the hostel.

What a night!! It had everything. Would I go again? Probably, but I would be more careful and not go in until the crowd had sorted itself out. I thought that the game was just so much better than those I had seen in Europe. The latter games are all about scoring first and then defending furiously for the rest of the game. In Brazil its all about scoring goals… period.

Chapada

The Chapada is a national park area sort of north west of Salvador. We bussed there from Salvador via a place called Cachoiera and Feria de Santana. For stories on those two towns see Salvador de Bahia.

We arrived mid afternoon in Lencois a small village at the south eastern end of the park. Lencois was a great little place. It was originally a centre of the diamond mining but has reverted to an adventure tourist place. Lots of hostels, hotels and backpacker type places. Leah did her usual investigation cum bargaining exercise and we ended up in a very nice place near the bus station. We had our own room overlooking the river valley with en suite bathroom and toilet. Perfect!!

And the breakfasts. Well joy unlimited. All the hostels in Lencois had some sort of competition going to see who could do the best breakfast. And our place was recognized as being one of the best. Leah and I were first down every morning and last to leave. They were continental and buffet so we could eat as much as we liked. So now the menu ……..
We had fruit, breads, cakes, eggs, cereals, sliced hams and salamis and unlimited coffee and tea. The cakes were infinite in their variety and really yummy. What a way to start the day. Breakfast, lunch and the better part of dinner!!

As I said Lencois was small town but doubled as a local centre. Outlying villagers came into town once a week for a market day. Naturally Leah went along and bought/bargained for our fruit and vegetables. So dinner was sorted most days we were there. Markets were quite small but colourful and probably a more representative affair than those in bigger cities.

Lencois was also positioned right alongside a small river. We followed a trail upstream and came to these fantastic cascades. A big rocky area over which the river tumbled. The rocks were in a staircase fashion with plenty of deep holes into which the water disappeared and then reappeared further on down. The locals all did their laundry here and it was quite a sight. Further upstream we came to a waterfall with a bit of a swimming hole. Again very picturesque. The water was a browny colour a bit like those on the Abel Tasman. But quite swimmable.

We took a one day tour around the local highlights. A long drive and then a climb to the top of a local mountain (butte style). Great views in all directions and a few interesting creatures on top. Then a walk in a large cave after a steep descent into a narrow ravine. Quite good. Then the blue cave and swimming hole (a bit ho hum) but I had a short swim. Actually the water was surprisingly cold but it had just come out of an underground lake so no wonder. Finally we walked into a waterfall with a good swimming area. A bit tricky as you had to swim against the current to the bottom of the falls. If you lost it you could have been swept downstream and over another set of falls. I am not a strong swimmer so I stuck close to the side of the river for sure. But once at the base of the falls it was great. You could hang onto a small ledge and let the falls splash all over you. Amazing feeling. Eco Tours organized that one dayer so we used them to arrange a 4day/3night trek to the Vale de Paty (pr. Patchy)

So it was off the next day with our two guides Roger and Vanessa and their dog Brisa. Met a Swedish girl on the way who was staying in Capau (pr Kapong) – she loved it there and did not want to go back to Sweden. More on Capau later.

After a long drive through a small town called Palmeria and then a rough road to Guine, we had a 12km walk into the Vale de Paty. Quite a steep climb to start and then an easy trek across open countryside. We had lunch at the rio Negro, and it was black. Our guides lugged all our food in. The next section of our walk took us to the wall, the edge of the Vale de Paty. Vale means valley in Portuguese. This place was more like a ravine!! We could see some houses away at the bottom of this steep cliff down which we had to descend. Just a few houses though. In the old diamond days the valley had over 1,000 people living there. I think that the diamonds were alluvial so that they had to have small dams and water pumping operations all over the place. It was a pretty costly process apparently. The discovery of the Kimberley mine in South Africa killed these operations really quickly and the people left soon after. I think Roger said that there were only 6 families remaining in the valley now. And all related to each other. No power, no mod cons whatsoever.

Well we climbed down into the foot of the valley and then a hard trek to our base. We got there just after dark which made for an interesting last kilometer. Muddy tracks and the dark don’t go together too well.

Mr and Mrs Wilson were our hosts. Actually I think he was something like Wilson de Silva and she was Dona Maria but they were known as Mr and Mrs Wilson to all the travelers who stayed there. They had two buildings, one a sleepout and the other their kitchen, dining room and a couple of bedrooms (all rooms very small). We had one of them – it was tiny. The ceiling was low and all lighting was with candles.

I loved her kitchen though. It had a large old wood burner, some cupboards and the roof was covered in all these pots. I have never seen so many. There would have been at least a hundred. And all in such a sparkling state of cleanliness. They had a vege garden, banana palms, chooks, pigs and I think also a cow or two. So necessarily self contained. If they wanted anything from civilization they took mules into the local village (or Dona Maria walked – at least 30 km there and back). Their nearest neighbour was two kms away.

Mr and Mrs W. were in their 60’s I would guess. Both as brown and Indian looking as you could imagine. She had no teeth and most of the time she looked pretty grim. As if she carried all the worlds troubles. But when she smiled her whole face lit up. That was a sight to see. And she could cook. We had great meals with much variety – and healthy. Mr W. always seemed to be in a cheerful mode.

Day two involved a trek of around 22km to one of the many very high cachoieras (waterfalls) in the park. We had a slow but definite climb to the top of the valley walls, a long walk to the edge of another valley and thence to the waterfall. It was a sight – I think over 300m high. A straight drop to the bottom. I could not get myself to look over the edge but Leah and Roger did it as if there was nothing to it. They said, “come and look at all these wonderful butterflies”, but I took their word for it. Plenty of water in the falls which made it even more spectacular.

We had lunch by the feeder river, then a swim, then trekked back to Mr and Mrs W for dinner. Long day as we sidetracked to the old chapel and lodge. Well, lodge may be a bit complimentary. It is just a large room where trekkers can sleep. Minimal facilities. The chapel is very small but still in good condition.

Day 3 was a climb to the top of a steep butte which was very close to our accommodation. We looked at the climb and thought it was impossible. It was straight up!! But off we went, Brisa as well. I thought that if a dog can do it so can I. It was steep and a real rock scramble in parts. Roger and Vanessa were very good. They were always telling Leah where to put her feet and helping her on the super steep bits. We got to the top to be confronted by this large cave which went right through from one side to the other. So we had superb views over the north east on one side and to the south west on the other. After we traversed the cave R and V then pointed to this small rocky outcrop and said, “that’s the true summit, why don’t we go there”. Now they were trained rock climbers so it was easy for them. For us …… well a real challenge, but we did it and sat on top of the high point. What a great feeling of achievement. The only downside; I scraped my bum on some sharp rock and ripped my travel pants in a somewhat embarrassing place. Going down was just as hard as going up. We no sooner got back than it was off up the river past a series of waterfalls. There were about three that we past and we stopped at the fourth and largest. There was this big pool at the foot of the falls and we all had a swim. The water was super cold so I didn’t stay in long but it was refreshing. Back home for Mrs Wilsons amazing cooking.

And then full moon. Now that was a sight. The sky was entirely clear and the moon rose over a promontory on one side of the rock that we had just climbed. What a sight. The suns reflection gave it a quite ethereal effect and at 9.30pm it was almost as light as day. As the moon poked up above the rock the sky around it turned blood red. The moon itself was a bright cream colour. Wow, I was gobsmacked. We do not see sights like that in our light ridden environments in Australasia or Europe. Maybe in the outback of Oz but certainly nowhere else. It was worth putting up with the mossies to see. Leah missed it as she was having a shower at the time.

Day 4 was walk out day. We were aiming to get to Capau which was 36km away. And with a climb back up the side of the valley on the way. We said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Wilson. She smiled profusedly – probably happy to see the gringos go – we got some great photos of her and Mr Wilson but they were subsequently lost!! (see Guatemala). The walk out was actually pretty straightforward. We made very good time, so much so that R said we were very fit for our age. Good training for the French camino, I thought. 36km was one of the longest daily walks we had ever done.

Capau was a sleepy little village. It had only about 200 inhabitants but had a growing reputation as an alternative lifestyle type place so a number of gringo’s lived there. We only saw one – the Swedish lass we met on the way in. But the beers were most appreciated I can tell you. R and V left us here. They were going to walk back to Lencois at night time. 16km of tricky and rocky tracks. I thought that they were crazy but we couldn’t change their minds. Leah quite liked the look of Capau and would have stayed a few days. However the bulk of our gear was back in Lencois and we had to get to Brasillia to pick up my Credit Card and passport so we had to move on. A late bus to the next village up the line and then another even later bus to Lencois saw us tumbling into bed at midnight.

Manaus

Manaus is a large city (2.5 million) located on the junction of the Amazon and Rio Negro. People think that it is on the Amazon but it is actually on the north bank of the Rio Negro a little upstream from the confluence.

Manaus has been one of many must do places for me from way back. I remember reading about is as a kid. A rubber town surrounded by impenetrable jungle with all those exotic animals – jaguars, monkeys, snakes, birds, piranhas and the like. And also ferocious Indians with poison tipped darts and healthy appetites. That was the perception at age 8, the reality 50 years later was somewhat different.

The rubber has gone, the place is huge (2.5 million people), the jungle is miles away and there ain’t no animals or Indians. But it looked exotic especially down by the wharves where they had lots of river boats lined up for all points north (Rio Negro), east and west (Amazon) and south (Madiera and many others).

We arrived in Manaus after a Varig flight from Brasilia. The airport is a bit out of town so we bussed in and found a sort of hotel in the centre of town close to the docks. By sort of hotel I mean that it served a number of functions and we seemed to be the only gringos. I would guess that it quadrupled as a bar, a brothel and a nightclub. I can attest to the bar and nightclub but am relying on the weight of circumstantial evidence for the brothel. Anyway it was OK if a bit noisy.

Manaus has seen better days. We spent some time at the docks looking at all these river boats. They were all sorts of shapes & sizes. It would have been easy to climb on board for a trip either up or down river, or along many of the huge tributaries of the Amazon. But accommodation was going to be a really small cabin (probably very hot & stuffy) or a hammock on deck. Most travellers take a cabin, store & lock their gear in it & then sleep in a hammock. But you have to be quick to get one apparently. People claim them ages b4 the boat is due to depart. The hammocks are all close together so you can't have any element of modesty about you!! Not for us (this time anyway). All the docks are floating; necessarily so as the Amazon/Rio Negro can rise by 50 feet during the rainy season.

Manaus has a great Opera House built at the height of the rubber boom. It is in the centre of town on a bit of a hill. We did a tour & it is a most impressive building. Italian marble in the foyer, english oak for some of the wooden fittings, beautiful red carpet in the main theatre & a fantastic intermission area with spectacular chandeliers, & some nice paintings. It is cheap for the locals to attend performances but they do not put on too many these days.

We stayed close by the Opera House to watch a local dance company perform the "Stabet Mater". They were all very athletic & very good, made more so because it was all for free. All in all a great afternoon.

Spent some time wandering around the streets, particularly the areas where the markets were. It seem that markets are the same the world over. Lots of stalls selling all manner of stuff, but not a lot of produce.

Next day we traversed the Amazon. A bus to the boat wharf & then a fast boat across the Rio Negro & the Amazon. Now the boat was FAST (say 30mph) but it took 45 minutes to get from one side to the other. It is really hard to appreciate just how wide the rivers are. And the Rio Negro lives up to its name. It IS black esp when compared with the Amazon. Its flow is so strong you have this definitive black/ brown border where the two systems come together but do not merge. Just amazing. We stopped for while at this small village on the other side & had lunch at a restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet. The old proprietor was so pleased to see his name in lights that he gave us extra & a free dessert. The food wasn't bad either. We went back across on a ferry - very slow; it took us over two hours to get there. But we could see the Amazon/rio Negro "border" very clearly. And all the huge weed banks around the point where they both come together. I was also amazed to see good sized warships tied up at a wharf juts down stream from our landing. Warships on a river? But we also saw large freighters steaming up river so all things are possible I guess.

Venezuela

Roraima.

Probably my highlight and one of the first among equals of places I had wanted to visit around the world. Arthur Conan Doyles “The Lost World” finally come true.

First things first. We arrived in Santa Elena de Urien (SEdU) by bus and taxi from Manaus via Boa Vista. SEdU was the place where you organize tour. They do not allow independent travel onto Roraima any more after some Israelis snuck up there, got lost and one of them died. We hosteled at ………. And then went to see if we could book a tour. Lots of agents but not a lot of tourists as it was coming up to the wet season. We could have gone as a couple at a vast cost but we wanted to be part of a group. Safety in numbers I guess

We finally got onto this german guy who had the only tour going with a group. Cost us a fortune and I had the dubious pleasure of taking out over one million bolivars from the local bank. Wow, I felt that everyone in town was watching me on the way back and just waiting for me to get off the beaten track so they could accost me. I was glad to get back to his office I can tell you. We had a great group – nine in total including 2 x kiwis (guess who), 2 x poms (Jim and Kath), 2 x swiss (Thomas and Susanna), an Aussie (Wayne) a Dutch lass (Nina) and a Venezuelan. Our guide was Alex and we picked up porters in a small village (Paratipui) at the end of the road (or series of connected potholes!!). We left early next day so for us two nights in SEdU.

Four wheel drive to Paratipui where we picked up our porters. They carried all the food, tents and some of the sleeping gear. The day was fine so the tepuis (Roraima and Kokenan) were perfectly visible. What a sight – these huge sheer rock cliffs rising out of the countryside and perfectly flat on top. They looked as if you could reach out and touch them but in reality they were a hard two days hike away.

First day was 14km where we tented close to a fast running river. There was a small kitchen there where Alex cooked up whilst we all pitched our tents. Nothing too eventful apart from a church built in the middle of nowhere. I haven’t a clue where the people come from to worship; it would have been at least 10km away from the village. The countryside was rolling, no jungles or anything but no great evidence of cultivation. It seemed a little bit like slash and burn. A few cattle around but not much else. And the damned tepui seemed no closer!!

Off early next day. Now we learned a great trick to cross rivers on this trip. No need to get your boots wet. Just take along a spare useless pair of socks and wear those. It worked a treat. The river was pretty quick and wide but we crossed no trouble. Then it was on to base camp. The second river crossing was more of a challenge. It was fed from tepui Kokenan and a high high waterfall. They had painted lines on one rock in the river. Sort of like Plimsoll lines on a boat. If the water level was higher than the top mark you were not supposed to cross. More on that later. But on the way up to Roraima the level was OK and we crossed without too much trouble.

Leah and I went on ahead and arrived at base camp first, by at least half an hour. Time for us to have a swim in the local small swimming hole and also clean up. The only wash I had for the whole trip. Well, until the final day anyway. Being first we had the choice of tent sites and got the best. Usually the best is the site closest to the nearest friendly bushes for those moments when one had to be alone. The toilet facilities were pretty ordinary. If you can call a walk in the bushes a toilet facility.

Still we walked 16km and we were now close to the base of Roraima. Now it loomed over us and when you looked up you really wondered how you were going to get up. It was a sheer cliff.

Day three and the day of the climb to the top. A 4 ½ hour slog. Again an early start and after the aforementioned water hole it WAS straight up. Actually it was a great climb. We trekked through low jungle in the first stage and then got onto the mountain proper. We then traversed across the face of the cliff for quite a while following a rocky path until we got to a sort of waterfall area. Lots of water gushing down from the top. The rocks were very slippery and shingly at this point; it was a bit dangerous, you had to watch your feet and the damned waterfall at the same time. And don’t look too far down as the cliff just disappeared downwards into mist and cloud. Once through the waterfall area the climb wasn’t too bad. You followed a crevice up at an angle. The crevice was a bit like a narrow gully and you couldn’t see the edge of the cliff. It took us about 5 hours to scramble up and all the others were waiting at the top.

What a sight at the top though. We walked to the edge and looked over. You could not see the bottom. There was a huge layer of mist and clouds that we had come through. It was quite surreal. The jungle and farmlands had disappeared. The top of Roraima was like an island in a sea of clouds. The top itself was rocky with lots of little gullies, ravines, banks, flat areas, strange shapes and stranger plants. Our mate Wayne was in heaven. He is a botanist and he and Alex proceeded to tell us about all the plants (mainly small orchids) as we tramped through to our “hotel”. I could not get over being here. It was as I imagined it would be. From a long way away the top looks flat. However once there it is very different. The top is very rough and broken. You have many gullies, quite high points, watercourses and some small sandy beach like areas. The whole scene is rocky, some with really weird shapes, and plants which only survive in crevices and the like. There is a small black frog up there. It has the unusual habit of wrapping itself up in a ball and rolling down hill when escaping from enemies. Could never quite work out who its enemies would be though as we did not see anything else.

The hotel was merely a sandy ledge with an overhanging rock which gave some protection from the rain. The ledge was barely wide enough to take our tents and we slept on a slope which didn’t help. But I think ours was the best position. We had to sort of skirt around all the others to get to the cooking area. Very tricky. And the toilet?? was through a crevice between two large rocks and out onto a flat area. You then had to find a private spot to do your business. Definitely NOT the sort of thing you would want to be doing in the middle of the night. AND Alex forgot the toilet paper so Leah and I had our tissues and a small roll which I was smart enough to bring. I tell you we had to be very sparing in what we used.

Our water was in a small water hole about 50 m away across a lot of large loose rocks. The bath was a pool through the crevice I referred to before and across a flat rocky area. I never used it and I don’t think that Leah did either. Some of our group went exploring whereas we stayed behind and scouted around the immediate vicinity. Now that fact that we all took off to a greater (or lesser extent) gave Alex his opportunity. He found this tarantula skin close by (they shed their skins periodically) and stuck it inside Nina’s tent. I mean the thing looked like a real tarantula. It was huge and hairy, and he never told us that there were spiders on the top. So back we all come for dinner. We all gravitate back to our tents first and then ….. there was this unholy scream. Nina emerged at the speed of light and nearly fell off the side into a bushy swampy area. Her Venezuelan mate wasn’t too far behind I can tell you. We all cried out, “what in gods sake has happened? Is a snake inside the tent? Is there a huge moth or something?” Well when Alex emerged with this spiders skin I nearly went the same way as Nina. It was huge, ugly, hairy, grotesque, life like – everything that a Hitchkock movie would be all about. It looked so alive!! Needless to say there was a considerable reluctance on both Leah’s and my part to be first back into our tent that night.

Anyway we made it through the night and woke up to a reasonable looking day. But that changed when we started on our walk. We aimed to do the Eye on the World, some waterfalls, the desert, the ravine and a climb to the highest point. A full days tramping. It started raining after about half an hour and didn’t stop for most of the day. I loved it but I must have been the only one that did. The Eye was a narrow slot right on the edge of Roam that you looked through to get a view of the neighboring Tepui Kokenan. A fantastic sight but spoilt a little as there was a lot of mist around. (We saw photos later which showed the view down the side and across – awe inspiring. Sheer drops for 1000m). There were a group of waterfalls all together which we had to descend. A bit dangerous as the track was so wet. The falls were getting larger by the minute as the rain came down. The ravine is normally dry and barren. We got there with it in full flood. A really amazing sight. You had this very large waterfall (a bit like the Huka falls) with water then rushing down these series of cascades into the ravine. The rain was feeding the whole system; you could see it running off the rocks straight into this short large river which then went over the falls, down the rapids and into the ravine, then over the edge. The system would disappear as soon as it stopped raining. The desert wasn’t. Normally a flat sandy area but today covered in water. Our climb to the top was fairly easy and a great photo opportunity at the top. Lots of photo’s which woe woe, we no longer have. That is another story. As I said I loved it. The rain made the top just so different and a very exciting place. The rain stopped when we were climbing to the top. So we could see how quickly everything dried out. It is solid rock after all so the water has only a few places to settle.

We started back down the next day. An early start as we had to get back to camp number 1. Nina and her mate must have been fated as they had a live tarantula cross the down hill path just in front of them. We were just ahead so how we missed it I will never know. Probably just as well. However we saw an ant eater like thing (coatamundi) in the base camp which everyone else missed. Our adventures happened when we got to the two rivers. It had started raining on Kokenan and the first river rose by about 2 - 3 feet whilst we were getting from shoes to socks. You could almost see it happening. Remember the white lines. Well the river level went from Mark 2 to 6 in about 5 – 10 minutes. Mark 7 was the no go point. Leah was not keen on crossing with her pack so I did it twice. It was an exercise and much more difficult than when we did it a couple of days ago. Tepui Kokenan had this really high waterfall which was the feeder to this river. Normally only a moderate amount of water but when it rains – well it has to be seen to be believed.

So we were anticipating problems with river 2, right next to our campsite. We were correct. It started pouring down just as we got to the crossing. Alex took Leahs pack (just as well) and we both crossed with minimal wet weather gear on. The rain was just so hard we would have gotten soaking wet while we changed. I think Leah had her green jacket on but I was drenched through and through. We were not out for too long either but it made no difference. I was the proverbial drowned rat. The kitchen never looked so good. Got changed in front of everybody – you can’t stand on privacy in these situations and dry clothes and socks were bliss. Some local had also walked all the way from the village with beers for sale. At reasonable prices as well. So life went from rather ordinary to something a whole heap better in very short order. I can’t remember how we got our tent up. I think that it must have stopped raining later and we erected it then. The tent was huge and unwieldy and hard to erect.

Next day a fast walk out to Paraetepui, a few beers, some photo shots and it was back to Santa Elena. On the way we came across an anteater. Poor thing – Alex went racing after it and drove it back to us in the Van. It was so stressed that it just lay down at one stage. We finally took photos and sent it on its way but not a great thing to do. Also saw villagers in the fields at termite nests. They were collecting the termites as food. The termites had these large swollen abdomens filled with a sort of honey like substance. Good eating apparently after they had been fried. They showed us some – I will take their word for the eating qualities!! Also lots of large butterflies would fly up in front of the van. They were all sorts of shapes and colours. Some quite spectacular.

So that was Roraima. For me a true highlight. Not too many tourists take the trip so it is as yet unspoilt. But numbers are increasing and I can see a day when it becomes corrupted ie hostels, maybe helicopter flights to the top, proper toilets (possibly a good thing), lots of less sympathetic trekkers and more commercialization in general. It will be a sad day when those sorts of things happen. It must not become another Macchu Picchu.