Venezuela #6: Los Llanos

After breakfast at 8am the next day, we set off for the Llanos. We didn't realize that we won't get lunch till 3pm. Minor detail that Alex neglected to tell us. This part of the holiday wasn't supposed to be a hardship journey...

Los Llanos ("The Plains") is a vast tropical grassland/savanna. It floods every year (rainy season from May-Oct), and is host to a vast array of wildlife. Cattle breeding is the most important economic activity in the Llanos, and the cowboys of Venezuela have a fiercely independent spirit, and unique culture and traditions (acc to LP).

Didn't get to talk to cowboys, we were at a tourist farm. But perhaps Senor Ramon, who led our horseback 'safari', was one. He is a stocky, stoic guy. Didn't say much. Looked like a cross between Super Mario and Mr Potato Head. But the laggard horse I was riding swiftly responded to his shouting, with short bursts of speed which bruised my ribs and tailbone, and rearranged all my internal organs. Clar had taken riding lessons, and was having fun with her horse. The rest of us had problems sitting down the next day. But it was fun to be outside, on a horse. On riding tours in the US, the horses are trained to walk only-- pesky safety concerns... In Venezuela, Senor Ramon's mere presence was a signal for my horse to break into a canter. But she totally slacked off the moment his back was turned.

Our horse safari ended at a pond. Since it was dry season, the pond was more like a puddle. And it was stuffed to the gills with pirahna and caiman (~alligator). We enjoyed sunset at the pond, watching a king vulture, lots of little colorful birds, and flocks of ibis (ibises?) flying home to roost. I made sure to keep one eye on those caiman, though Senor Ramon said the only time people got hurt/eaten is when they get drunk and fall into the pond.

Night safari: underwhelming. Caiman eyes that glow eerily. 4 capybara. 1 rapidly disappearing anteater (disappointed. had specifically wanted to see an anteater). The next day was more rewarding: Senor Ramon spotted and captured an anaconda! It was fairly small, maybe about 3ft long. But it had a bump in its belly-- the consensus was that it had eaten a turtle. A turtle! Shell and all.

River safari: sea eagle. kingfisher. heron. comorants. quetzal (rare!). turtles fighting for places on logs. caiman. dolphins! Pirahna fishing. I caught a whole bunch of small ones. Adrian caught a catfish! The only catfish of the expedition. The ones we caught are red-bellied pirahna. They taste good fried. Not firm and oily like the deep ocean fish, but not too flaky either. Adrian's comment on his catfish: "It tastes.... fresh."

I'm trying to find a nice website with wildlife pictures to link to. Couldn't find a good comprehensive one, but I like the pics on this website-- it's from the Pantanal in Brazil/Argentina, but the ecology is very similar.

Conclusions from our Llanos trip: we saw a wider range of wildlife compared to the Amazon tour I took in Bolivia. But that might be because we covered more acreage: van/horse/boat vs boat/walk. The food at the camp was quite good. Interesting mix of tourist food (spaghetti bolognese is the fav thing to cook for tourists) and local touches (eg. side dish of fried banana and yucca). Senor Ramon and the camp crew were obviously quite experienced. Alex I'm sure will get better with time. He can start by making sure people don't go hungry during the long van rides...

Petrol is SUPER CHEAP in Venezuela. 55Litres = less than $1USD. Imagine. full tank of gas for less than a buck. Heavily subsidized by the government. Dunno how long Chavez can sustain this. But there's lots more where it came from, so maybe until it doesn't matter to him anymore.