24-26/12/2011 - Christmas with the animals

In the morning I met the other people taking the tour, a german family (husband, wife and teenage sun who told me they were taking the tour since they don't like celebrating Christmas) and we hit the road, spending most of the 24^th travelling to Los Llanos (a good 7 hours from Merida). We arrived at our camp in the early evening and found the locals getting a party started. After dinner, despite much cajoling to dance I opted for an early bath and headed to bed surprisingly exhausted from the day's travelling. I couldn't help but smile at the german family who spoke virtually no spanish and kept asking me things like “You have mosquitoes in your room too!? What are we waiting for now? Can we sleep in all 3 beds? We only paid for 2...” sigh.

The next morning I awoke with little thought of Christmas. There were no decorations around the encampment and the blistering heat and sunshine made it difficult to muster any festive sentiment in this place - just what I wanted. Nevertheless I hoped this would be a memorable day. The locals had partied long into the night but as usual I'd slept like a log. The german guys hadn't and over our breakfast of arepas we greeted each other with a half-hearted “Feliz Navidad”.

Our first trip was a morning boat ride along a nearby river. Straight away I was struck by how much more wildlife there was compared to my trip on the Orinoco. Birds of various varieties continuously swooped in front of our path as we sped along the river and saw many capybaras (giant rodents which do look far too cute to be called rodents) hanging out in the mud and long grass. On every turn we came across crocodiles, sunning themselves on the banks or cooling themselves off in the water with only the top of their heads visible and finally we managed to catch glimpses of some fresh water dolphins as they arched gracefully above the surface.

Returning pretty chuffed we had a filling lunch of typical venezuelan fare (chicken, black beans, rice, coleslaw, fried plantain) and headed off for a siesta. I fancied a quiet read and a post-lunch beer but found that all the beers had been drunk the previous night. However the lady in charge of the key to the beer fridge lead me in the direction of a truck parked in our encampment near which some Venezuelans were relaxing and which I learned belonged to visiting relatives of the locals who lived and worked on the encampment. I was promptly treated to a beer and spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and chatting with this incredibly friendly group. Beer turned to whisky (it was Christmas after all) and talk turned to setting me up with one (or several) of the single ladies in the group (both of whom had 5 kids each) and taking them back to the UK with me. When someone points to a lady in a group, who is clearly listening, and asks you “So what do you think of her? She's nice isn't she?” your choice of what to say is somewhat limited. I bumbled my way through with typical British charm and steely Ukrainian nerves and came out the other side a little tipsy but having very much enjoyed my impromptu post-lunch drinks with the locals.

Before I'd had time to recuperate we were off on another tour, this time in a 4x4, along a rugged road which took us into the heart of the plains. Dozens more crocodiles and capybaras greeted us on our trip but I was particularly on the look out for anacondas which are supposed to be quite common in the region. Suddenly the guide sitting on top of the 4x4 signalled to stop. Quick as a flash, he was off into the nearby marshy field, closely followed by another guide. Unsure of what they'd spotted we gingerly stepped out of the car and walked in the direction of where they seemed to be frantically directing something to run in our direction. “Go on, go on” said our driver “we're very lucky; they've spotted an anteater!”. That was all the encouragement I needed so I ran into the field and started making my way through the sharp shrubbery. I'd spent 2 months near and done numerous trips into the Gran Sabana, the land of the anteater, and hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of one so to suddenly and unexpectedly come across one here was a real treat. A few tense seconds passed as we squinted into the distance but then right out of the bushes in front of us, bounding somewhat clumsily right in our direction, came the anteater! It hid in a bush really close to me and I held my breath as I tried to avoid more spiky shrubbery and creep closer. Suddenly it bolted but the guides managed to keep it in our general vicinity long enough for me to get a couple of unsatisfying photos and videos and then it was off again, running into the plains in search of another ant colony to devour. With its bear-like gait, brilliantly bushy tail and distinctive long conical head it really has to be one of the coolest animals on the planet and I felt really lucky to have come so close to one in the wild.

We spent the rest of the afternoon searching for an anaconda but just as it looked like we'd used up all our luck and were driving back to the encampment, the guides spotted one curled up by the side of the road. It was only a baby one (so only a couple of metres long) but I hadn't come into contact with many snakes before so was pretty impressed. Naturally I got the obligatory photo of the anaconda around my neck and was rewarded with clothes and hands covered in anaconda poo. Going to bed that night I reflected on what had been as untraditional a Christmas as I could have imagined but one which I was sure I would remember fondly.

The next morning we went for a slightly uninspiring horse-ride near the encampment (you could tell the horses had trodden the same route a hundred times and weren't exactly thrilled about it). After an actual siesta we spent the afternoon piranha fishing which was great fun. Again beginners luck struck and I caught one on my first attempt. However, unlike on the Orinoco, the piranhas here were in abundant supply and our guides were absolutely raking in the fish. Everyone from the german family managed to catch a couple as well and I have to be honest and say I let the side down, my only other catch being a tiny fish which was actually smaller than the bait I was using and had probably been snagged by accident. Luckily the guides were on form and so we wouldn't be going hungry tonight.

Our dinner of fresh piranhas was delicious and as I shared a couple of swigs of rum and brandy with the local guys I reckoned that coming here was pretty good choice.