Choices in the making: Angels and Calypso

New section with stats that will be there from now on:

Days covered in this post: 8

Money spent aproximativelly in US Dollars:

240$ Flight Montreal to Trinidad
40$ Food in Trinidad and outings for 2 days
125$ Ferry from Trinidad to Guiria
300$ Exchanged money to avoid being cheated by the legal system(Euros, US Dollars and Canadian Dollars) used to pay food, transport, trip to Angel Falls(200$) and stay

Sleep:

CouchSurfing 2 nights with a great host in a cool place over Trinidad
1 stranger's house for 3$ in Carupano after Posada la Nena was Closed(reserve first in this country
Fancy Hotel la cumbre for 10$ with full unstopable freezing AC in Ciudad Bolivar. I don't recomend, besides meeting the misses Venezuela, the room is very cold, small and sink didn't work
Angels Falls deal, 1 night bed and one night hamac(lovely way to rest),
Posada Senora in Ciudad Bolilvar(hostel) for 8$ with souper and breakfast for another 4$
Tonight in a 2 floor bus for 4$ and 9 hours towards Brazil

Food:
Extremelly cheap and tasty...and rounding...most locals have a beer with it

Timeline(wrote yesterday while waiting in the airport for my ride):
Tonight I'll be celebrating a week and just yesterday I was bathing with angels in a higher lost wild and beautiful place. Didn't get wifi in over 3 days, so no soul in my old place knows where I am. And I am in a lonely place waiting for ... a sign.
Let's go backwards, I arrived to this place on another angels wings, a cesna, what a great experience it was, if I only think that back in Montreal, the idea of paying for such a flight crossed my mind, but to go over wild exotic places in a antiquity plane, only one can wish for such dreams.
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Why isn't this thing in a museum just like the one under

The origin of this flight was in the heart of the oldest Venezuelian jungle with a lovely not so indigenous comunity hiding the key to the Angels Falls. A package of 3 adventurous days opened the doors to a new friendship and magnificent memories. All of this because of Jesus, an old collegue and friend of mine that destiny put on my path.

Canaima from the Cesna

Back to the jungle where I woke up this morning in a hamack with water from angels wispering in my ears. Yesterday, I was bathing with them in a place where water falls one km over a lovely view. I was swimming there with Max, a cool russian new friend that works in the same field and has the same taste for adventure and travels. Thanks to him, I had great company for these 3 days.

The basic Kavak team, Japan, Russia and Romania

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One day ago, the way to the angelic pool included a 5 hours boat upstream, where my camera swallowed some water and a good 60 minutes of climbing through the jungle. Enough to tire even the best of athletes.

Behind the scene

Angeling around

My best friends, kept mosquitoes away

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Especially that 2 days ago, I was going through behind smaller but more powerfull waterfalls, swimming in the river for hours and letting the sun colour my skin.

A little enhibriated on a demo motorcycle

Lovely view over Ciudad Bolivar

Pease come and reroute the plane, door kept open all the time

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I needed that break after meeting random helping hands on a day that hurt my liver and opened so many doors to paradise. That was 3 days ago, with a executive ride, a local new car filled with 4 people besides the driver, riding at 160km/hour devouring the curvy asphalt filled with deeps traps. Ciudad Guyana was shown by destiny going to see a stranger's sister that could change my money, because money is a problem in Venezuela. It's also a benediction if you happen to have dollars with you, because you SHOULD sell them on the black market for at least 10 times their worth in the bank. I got introduced to a secure person that could make my change safe and that had contacts to get to the angels. The night went in many different pleasant ways and finished in a fancy Hotel with a hangover, where I got picked up the next day.

Mix of local and foreign values

Miammmmm

Two angels in an Irish pub...

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4 days ago was a scary day. It's my first contact with Venezuela and she was fiesty. Started on a boat in Trinidad and finished in a lovely wavy and surfable north town, called Carupano. Very soon, I'll decide if I go back because local money is running out (update: didn't go back north, but chose to head to Brazil instead). Got out from the boat in a organized slow chaos and money changers were harrasing us to sell them our dollars. Eventually, together with an older canadian traveller who've been there before, we had enough to grab a ride. An old rusted falling appart american type of car barelly holding together was flying through the holly(full of holes) road driven by "El chino", a big strong tanned guy that seemed to have had a hard life. He made 20$ with both of us when it usually costed 3$ and was very happy with his luck, without showing it. After a couple of hours, where I learned that 20 litres of fuel costes 20 cents, which makes it virtually free, but that flour, milk was hard to find and hospitals are falling appart. It all reminded me of stories from comunist Romania.

The 2 white guys got to go in the back followed by armed guardias looking for bribes just minutes after this shot. "El Chino", the driver was patiently waiting for us.

Anybody said flamingos

Delicious meal prepared by a local german lady

Cool surfable beach in Carupano

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At some point we get to a "guardias" post, where army looking guys with machine guns stop our car and go through our stuff. My guess is that one of the guys who changed our money called them and now they were asking how much we had. After trying to force their hands on our money by bringing us in the back of a building with their weapons in their hand, I decide to offer one of the guys a gift of 20$, machine guns got lowered and they even carried our bags back to the car. I don't think they would have shot us, because one guy looked 16 but it sure worked to scare us. Are 2 lifes worth 20$, is it okay to encourage them by bribing....so many questions come to mind, but I'll let you guys make your choices when you'll be in that situation. Eventually my canadian new friend decided to make a long run for his destination the same night and our paths divided. My hostel was temporarilly closed(same like the city airport)... Walking around in this cool place, a lady offered help and ended up sleeping in a stranger's house for about 3$. I was happy, he felt honest and sincere. This stranger helped me find my way to the angels the next day.
Sometimes just trust destiny.

Boat to Chavismo

So many cool things in one place

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5 days ago, started in Trinindad, a lovely place to wake up in, especially with Carnaval approaching and with an amazing CS host that I couldn't thank enough for everything he'd done. Thanks to him, I had a pretty complete overview of "Trini" in just 2 days and this with him working. He also happen to have a very cute and friendly dog and them together helped me over my initial step of breaking comfort. The Caraibes are just beautiful places, but the strong accent in english makes me ask for repeats every single time. In these 2 days, I tasted doubles, rotis, baken shark(sorry for all the divemasters that try to save sharks, but wanted to try it at least once), a big KFC and of course beer. Another great event was a Calypso concert outside for free by the local police department which I enjoyed fully.