Heidi & Richard Bendel's travels

19 February, 2007

We had amazing fried yuka for breakfast with grated cheese, some freshly squeezed juice and nutella for the guys. There is an amazing bird that Hardy pointed out to us. It is called a Calibra, and it is really tiny but can fly backwards. It flaps its wings at an incredible speed and can hover in the air and move around in all directions. There are a few dogs that lurk around the property and they obviously come for food whilst Hardy and Odalis are there. When they return to Austria, these poor dogs starve because everybody in the area is too poor to feed them and are not interested in them- really SAD.
Hardy then asked if we would like to go for a little walk, perhaps 2 hours or so. We were very keen and the rest of the gang was too. A local friend whom we named Fred joined us for the hike- a lovely young chap. This little walk turned out to be a dangerous hike and lasted a good 6 1/2 hours. The jungle was slightly dense at the beginning and nothing too serious even though there was no path or anything that resembled a path. We reached a rock that still has Indian inscriptions from many years ago- very interesting. It was then time for a lunch break and we started down the river. The first waterfall was fairly easy and so we walked along hopping over the boulders and trying to avoid the pools of water since we had our boots on. Hardy on the other hand was hiking in clogs (yes, good old Austrian clogs) and he was walking through the water. The second waterfall arrived and it was not very small. Perhaps 15-20 meters high and none of us were very keen to climb down. Hardy and Fred went down and Fred came around the mountain to fetch us. At that stage the girls and Rich all started to hike up to avoid the waterfall which was probably the wrong decision in hindsight. This was not very pleasant to say the least. It was a very steep incline and there was no grip, it was all thick bush and thorny trees. Fred finally joined us and tied a rope to Rich. Thank goodness because he went flying flat on his stomach and he was on his way to another world. He was hanging onto the rope and as Fred pulled he went sliding up grazing all parts of his body and collecting a few thorns along the way. This was not funny at all and Hardy arrived with his machete and started to make a path for us step by step. This took a long time, but everyone was safe and we all followed suite. At this stage I also had a few grazes and thorns and then we had to descend quite a lot. It was really steep and we got to a point where Hardy suddenly went passed a nest of termites (I think). They started to crawl all over and into his hair and he was going crazy (yes Hardy he go crazy). He had to run down to get to the waterfall and into the water to kill these animals. I was too scared to move and waited in my tracks. Fred helped me and I went very quickly down the last bit of mountain. Rich managed fine too but the two sisters both got the termites (or whatever) in their hair and were also going crazy. This whole hike was becoming crazy! We were now over the difficult part and we had to walk along the river hopping over the rocks all the way back. This lasted about 2 hrs and it was tiring. I think it is quite clear that it was a long day but believe it or not we really enjoyed it. In fact, I am not sure if Rich really enjoyed it. But it was a good hike in the jungle with some crazy Austrian named Hardy. We thought we would arrive home earlier and have time to relax before leaving for Puerta La Cruz. We had to rush and it was a bit hectic but Hardy dropped us at the bus terminal and we got to good-old Maracay (hopefully this ntime would be our last time there) in time for some dinner and even a McFlurry from McDonalds. We got on the overnight bus to Puerta La Cruz and it was the smartest bus we have ever been on. The only problem was that it was freezing and that is the way it is on all luxury buses in Venezuela- crazy people (hey Hardy)? Also, they started the overnight trip with this aweful movie on the TV’s on the bus blaring as loud as possible. Not quite what we wanted since we were exhausted and ready to sleep.
We were sad to leave the most beautiful house and tranquil environment but we have to continue with our journey. Thank you both for having us!
I think we are taking a break from the mountains and heading for the sea for a few days- or more?!