We arrived at the bus station in Ciudad Bolivar sooner than expected with a nice and early start of 5am. After a brief wait and a call to remind the driver to pick us up, our transfer arrived. We went on a journey down a road which would have been smoother to drive over the alps. Finally our roller coaster of a ride finished and we arrived at a delightful compound reminding us of a little oasis. They had huts with thatched roofs and a swimming pool allowing us to put our feet up and relax for the first time in Venezuela.
Having one of their breakfasts was another first, being the first main meal we had eaten since being there and both finished most of it off, with exception of the passion fruit which was a little too sweet. The eggs, cheese, ham, bread and watermelon hit the spot perfectly and set us up for a good day.
We had a quick look at flights for future reference before deciding just to enjoy the sunshine instead. We ventured round the compound to discover a little zoo. It consisted of deer, tortoise, parrots and a monkey. We did however feel more than a little tempted to open the cage and let him escape as it seemed cruel to keep him from his natural environment.
We ended up having a dip in the pool and spent the best part of an hour throwing a ball to and fro. It was really nice just to put our feet up and enjoy being in South America. The owner was having a family BBQ and some of the children then became obsessed with our ball. Although not being able to verbally communicate, we started up a game of catch which was fun and by the seems of it they enjoyed playing to. There was also a pool table at the hostel which allowed us to play a a couple of games but we stopped before the competitive element within both of us kicked in.
The owner of the hostel also ran a tour company to the Angel Falls so we booked a tour for tomorrow although it is not completely confirmed. This is because Peter (hostel owner) drank too much and was unable to actually tell us it was all sorted because he passed out mid-afternoon. By the sounds of it, this was a regular occurrence and his nephews did let us know a little information. Having said that he had helped allowing us to transfer money from home to pay for the tour which really helped our money issues. He also sat down with us (before he became too intoxicated) to help plan our route to Brazil.
In the evening we were able to have a hot dinner and could not express how excited we were and anything hot was going to be appreciated. We had chicken also sharing our potatoes and rice, accompanied with vegetables, coleslaw and bread which seemed a meal fit for a king. We ate with two German lads who had just got back from the tour and said it was amazing, so cannot wait for tomorrow! We also shared stories of Venezuela so far, theirs of which was horrific. They had said that they were held up at gun point in Caracas on the same trip that we had potentially planned on going on. It emphasises our relief that it was not us but also that we had escaped Caracas ourselves. We now understand why all the Venezuelans refer to Caracas as the most dangerous city in South America but it makes us proud of our adventure so far.