So I'm back in Mérida after a weekend in Los Llanos, the tropical flatlands of Venezuela, and I wasn't eaten by an anaconda, caiman, or a piranha. I did however, eat a piranha. It was a little disappointing, though, as it wasn't very meaty and tasted like an average whitefish. I have to say that it was gratifying, though, to eat something that would eat my toes off.
A group of about 12 of us made a 9 hour journey east of Mérida through the mountains to arrive at our destination, which hadn't really been clarified prior to the trip. I guess I have come to accept the lack of information around here. The ride, although alittle nauseating, was actually enjoyable. We passed through several beautiful mountain towns and drove up and down mountain passes with unbelievable views of the Andes.
The thought that we might drive over a cliff did pass through my mind more than once as we passed cars around upward curves. Once we got over the mountains we drove through the the plains of Venezuela. The change in climate from the mountains was drastic. As we drove through the lowlands I experienced heat and humidity that I had never felt before. We seemed to drive through the middle of nowhere for hours. Even though there wasn't much too see, there was something really beautiful about it. Eventually we ended up up at a small ranch called "Los Mangos," which was really quite charming with small pink huts that housed the hammocks we would sleep in.
I was a little wary about sleeping in the hammocks, imagining myself flipping over in the middle of the night onto the cement floor. I slept surprisingly well, though despite the heat, buzzing generator and crowing roosters that wander aimlessly around Los Mangos.
The next day was spent horseback riding, napping for three hours in my hammock, and hunting for anacondas, piranhas, and caiman.
After walking down a dirt road for a couple hours while the guys from Los Mangos waded through the swamps in rubber boots prodding for Anacondas with wooden sticks, we thought the hunt would be fruitless, so we moved on to Piranha fishing.The fishing poles were primitive tools: a wooden stick with fishing line attached to the rod at one end, and a hook at the other. One of the guys pulled out a slab of meat, started cutting it into small pieces, and attached it to the hook. I threw my line into the water, and within 3 seconds I felt a tug. Sure enough, I had caught my first Piranha. When we were done fishing and about to head back, two of our Venezuelan friends emerged from the distance carrying a male anaconda between them. It was quite a surprise. I took the standard photos with the reptilian beast, discovering soon after that the snake had pooped, or peed, or excreted something smelly onto my hand that took more than Purell and two handy wipes to remove.
The next morning we woke up to a downpour, the kind that lasts all day. I thought we might head back early, but Ysaac, our tour guide had another plan. We boarded the bus and drove (or slid) down the dirt road headed toward a river where we would ride in a small metal canoe shaped boat that was rusted and probably about 50 years old. When we got there the boat was half filled with water. We all looked at each other wondering how Manú our guide was going to deal with this. As we stood a few inches deep in mud, Manú instructed us to take off our shoes.
He then pulled out a bucket and started scooping the water out of the boat, placed wooden planks widthwise as seats and attached the motor. We were all skeptical, but got in the boat anyways. We didn't sink, but I'm pretty sure the boat had a leak, since we had to occasionally scoop out water. We survived, though, and ended up seeing all kinds of cool wildlife, mostly birds and river dolphins.
Although I've never been so sweaty, smelly, and muddy in my life, this trip was exactly what I was looking for this last weekend. It was so great to explore the country and see a landscape completely different than what I have been living in for the past 3 weeks. I also decided that capybaras would make the perfect pet. I just have to figure out how to catch one and get it through customs.
A group of about 12 of us made a 9 hour journey east of Mérida through the mountains to arrive at our destination, which hadn't really been clarified prior to the trip. I guess I have come to accept the lack of information around here. The ride, although alittle nauseating, was actually enjoyable. We passed through several beautiful mountain towns and drove up and down mountain passes with unbelievable views of the Andes. 
The thought that we might drive over a cliff did pass through my mind more than once as we passed cars around upward curves. Once we got over the mountains we drove through the the plains of Venezuela. The change in climate from the mountains was drastic. As we drove through the lowlands I experienced heat and humidity that I had never felt before. We seemed to drive through the middle of nowhere for hours. Even though there wasn't much too see, there was something really beautiful about it. Eventually we ended up up at a small ranch called "Los Mangos," which was really quite charming with small pink huts that housed the hammocks we would sleep in. 
After walking down a dirt road for a couple hours while the guys from Los Mangos waded through the swamps in rubber boots prodding for Anacondas with wooden sticks, we thought the hunt would be fruitless, so we moved on to Piranha fishing.The fishing poles were primitive tools: a wooden stick with fishing line attached to the rod at one end, and a hook at the other. One of the guys pulled out a slab of meat, started cutting it into small pieces, and attached it to the hook. I threw my line into the water, and within 3 seconds I felt a tug. Sure enough, I had caught my first Piranha. When we were done fishing and about to head back, two of our Venezuelan friends emerged from the distance carrying a male anaconda between them. It was quite a surprise. I took the standard photos with the reptilian beast, discovering soon after that the snake had pooped, or peed, or excreted something smelly onto my hand that took more than Purell and two handy wipes to remove. 
When we finally arrived at the gardens, I realized how satisfying it is to learn to navigate an unfamiliar area. It's a really empowering and reassuring feeling, especially when I was feeling like I was so dependent on other people before. 
We explored the garden for a while and discovered a "canopy trail," or a high ropes course. When we saw people in the trees, Kamela and I decided that we definitely wanted to do whatever they were doing up there. We didn't really realize what we were getting ourselves into though. It was a pretty intense climbing trail, and I was only wearing sandals. I ended up climbing trees, rope ladders, and netting in my bare feet. A little painful, but definitely worth it! There were several points where I didn't think I would be able to continue, but despite my sweaty shaking hands, I pulled through! Climbing around the canopy barefoot with my camera was probably not the safest, though.
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