09/08

Hi Everyone,

I apologise for not being in contact but you will understand when I tell you that I am now at the end of a three and a half week journey through Venezuela where access to the Internet is very limited and there are not too many terminals in the jungle! I write from Manuas, Brazil where it is currently 106 degrees!

I can not post my photos today as I am preparing to fly to Sao Paulo and onto Santiago tonight. I should get some time whilst in Chile to update you properly re all the adventures. May I thank you for your messages, it is wonderful to hear from people. I have not struggled with the language and understand more Spanish than I thought. Of course Brazillians speak Potuguese which is a problem! But I´m getting there.

Just to wet your apetite, I have had a simply wonderful time travelling with a small group around Venezuela, staying on a deserted Caribean beach just off the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, travelled by boat up the Orinoco Delta for hours before staying in the jungle, being woken by Howler Monkeys, swam in parrana infested rivers, handled boa constrictors, slept in hammocks under thatched open shelters with mega spiders, trecked to Angel Falls, been soaked to the skin by tropical storms so heavy that you can not hear the person infront of you speaking, flown in light aircrafts, shot rapids in motor boats, trekked to the top of Mouint Roraima (over a mile up! - nearly killed me but never mind) and seen the most amazing landscapes you can ever imagine.

My only hope is that the photos I have managed to take do some justice to the sheer beauty of the places and the Country.

I have remained fairly well intact apart from sand fly bites, even they have not affected me as with some people who find that they itch terribly. Mosi bites have been at a minimum apart from when you use a ´bush loo´but we wont take that one any further! My malaria tablets have a slight amount of anti-biotic so it may be that this has helped. Sand Flys manage to bite you without any sensation of being bitten or stung but leave you with blood running down your leg and a hole that takes ages to clear up, they are the most persistant little b*****s.

I have kept my log going for most of the journey, however, it is a bit soggy and my pen decided that it didn´t like the humid and moist conditions in the jungle but I have continued with it and will attempt to copy most of what I have written onto this Blog in order that you can share at least some of the experiences.

I have found the whole period very enlightening, I have discovered more about myself and others which I simply had not taken into consideration. Being permanently damp and unclean changes your perspective somewhat. It is not for everyone, but I have loved this whole time and would happily spend much more time in the jungle, it is truely a magic place and I found the discomforts easy to cope with. Washing and swimming in the rivers was just so much fun and the people cope with life with non of the trapping you and I are used to or take for granted. A solid floor is simply a luxury as you will see from some photos.

Would I recommend óveralnding´ in Venezuela? Yes I would BUT, with a reputable company such as I did and with assistance from someone who knows the current political and domestic problems. More on that perhaps later.

I´m now going to prepare for my journey to Chile and next week it is on to New Zealand where I will be the greatest distance away from the UK.

Bye for now, keep well.

Chris