03/13/2011 Carnival Ride Falls Mono Carnival Ride Falls 04/03/2011 The Mono
Carnival 2011, which will be the challenge this time?? For the Salto El Mono in the jungle of the Delta Amacuro in the Sierra del Imataca!
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| Salto El Mono. |
Since last year was brewing this super route! and from November ... 4 hardened Monterists MonteroYV belonging to the group was plotting to make the path to Salto El Mono and had decided to make it in the Carnival of 2011, so the preparation and the wait was long, so much so that even I do a route grade 4 in the meantime visit the Salto K!
Missing just a couple of weeks and four drivers were almost ready for the journey, for my part, just make adjustments and revisions to Oliva intonations to have it in their best performance.
On the recommendation of friends was a need for chain saws and chains since it is an area where many trees fall on Pile, for my part I got a friend who was going to pay me, but ultimately became pure noise and loan terms not nothing: (, in the end decided to go without chainsaw imagining that at the point of hatchet, machete, pick, winch and we want to solve any obstacles on the road.
With only hours to travel from the donkeys were ready and the crew also daring to say it was a caravan of 4 best hunters of the country ...
Friday 03/04/2011. Caracas to Puerto Ordaz.
I got up early Friday to leave the concrete jungle before the world began their daily tasks and long lines to get rid of meaningless Caracas, leaving at home even at night to through the city. The course was uninterrupted until Puerto Piritu where the people decided to go to breakfast in peace and prosperity of the sea and sand.
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| Puerto Piritu breakfast. |
also had time without going to Puerto Piritu, the last time step is always long. The visit to the sea was short, so I lasted late breakfast and then continue with the remaining miles to Puerto Ordaz, indeed a path traveled by Oliva was a few weeks ago and no longer a tourist attraction for me.
stops were only for gasoline to get to Puerto Ordaz around noon: D so the decision was lunch meat on a stick in the city. As earlier had full time to visit the area, so after lunch the track was assigned to the Guri Dam which is about 100 km from Puerto Ordaz.
The road became a little short as it is the same route to Elephant Stone had visited in December. Upon reaching the checkpoint Dam official told me it was too late for the tour visitors, because the hours were until 3:00 pm and it was 2:35 pm but further on Friday afternoon no visits made (believe me try to find this information via the web and other media from Caracas and not be able to find it-this country and tourism do not go much of the hand that say unfortunately. At the end tell the officer after coming from Caracas to visit the Dam, etc.. asked me to request a pass to get to the marina club. Once in this place because it is better than nothing, so do the paperwork right away to give me the pass.
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The Flagship | Guri Dam. |
Once filming within the City of Guri-really full, large and widespread throughout the Guri complex, gave me a map and well-prepared explanation to get to my destination, I preferred to help with the GPS track points were within the dam. As GPS and follow the signs to reach the gates of the dam! I never met anyone in the way: D, so we could enjoy the view of the dam in all its vastness, with the exception that the gates were closed, then told us for months that do not open them because there was no need to lower the level of the dam. That area was not where it should be, but he was really not so much because luckily I followed the GPS, in fact, the area where it does the famous tour: D, so although there was no tourist route I got an own without guides lol.
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| The Wind of the Guri Dam. |
To avoid abuse, like we were not doing any harm to anyone or anything-it was time to leave there to return at some point and ask how to reach the famous club of the navy. In one of the checkpoints in the area an official gently explained to me and also sent me a vehicle behind the complex that would serve as my guide.
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| Boo I Yop in Guri. |
Once at the site could be seen in all its splendor the lagoon of the dam. They boo and I Unmarried a while enjoying the scenery, and seeing when Little more than an hour before sunset, so we decided to return to the Stone Elephant that was on the road to spend another evening, hoping it will be so amazing as of December.
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| Lagoon Guri Dam. |
In no time I was in the Stone Elephant, this time I climbed to the summit Oliva ... arrives just at the right time for sunset, but this time they had thousands of colors or a impressive sky, the sunset was more commonplace, such that of last December. After sunset they return to Puerto Ordaz to buy some dinner and straight to the inn to rest.
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agritourism | New Camp at the Stone Elephant, that craziness ... |
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| Oliva at the Top of the Stone Elephant. |
On the way I stopped at the same petrol pump where I go in December and found the same kind firefighter who works at the ranger station is at few kilometers from the Stone Elephant. And how amazing the story is that he remembered me and Olive when we went in December! but although they had spent more than two months, for the character in his memories had spent a week or two at most, it's amazing how time seems to stand for people of daily tasks inside the country ...
Certainly the rest of the tour group could not leave early on Friday, as planned starting in afternoon / evening. For my part to get to the inn to alert the owner that the rest of the group would arrive late at night and calling my friends to alert them that I was going to bed I sleep and when he comes, regardless of time.
Overnight cell slope was to monitor the route of the motorcade, the end came very late, but could not do anything else about it and ended up arriving late at dawn on Saturday. Saturday 05/03/2011
. Puerto Ordaz for El Salto El Mono??
Even as the rest of the group arrived in the morning, everyone was ready at about 7:30 am from the inn. First to the famous breakfast empanadas in Puerto Ordaz, meeting a friend in the area that would escort us to the way black that initiates the threshing and then start the fun!
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| Mega Expedition Team: Carnival Salto El Mono 2011, Uniformed and all ... |
GPS from the time that the guide showed us the dark road to follow to find the threshing and was lost: S but had to rely on the instructions of local, so to reach a land entry currency in a country house Mount an old lady who kindly told me that the entry of the threshing had left behind a few meters. At the back a bit in the middle of the mountain looked just a little input ... there was no other there had to be, and to penetrate a few meters away is the famous sign for the beginning of the road, had started the fun, now on pure-wheel drive ...
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Home | signboard of the Sierra del Imataca. |
The weather was cloudy with intermittent drizzle, not spent even a few miles when I found the first step complicated threshing, I came to end in the caravan. Seeing the first hurdle, because it was very large trench about five feet deep where the only way to go it was as if the car was on a bridge. Then after analyzing the first trench from inside the car proceeded to try to circumvent the intent being failed because the driver's rear blade fell into the ditch prevented from continuing, there simply was time to work, so everyone to get out of their cars and help.
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| Entering the First Trench ... |
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| Leaving the First Trench ... |
By identifying the situation had to place stones give traction rubber in question and be mounted again in the "bridge rails" leaving the trench in the middle of the car, but the maneuvers had to be very delicate, precise and smooth as the track gauge was accurate the axis of the hunter and did not lead to mistakes. Actually it was extremely necessary to address a single person team co-pilot indicating to overcome the obstacles, in fact these activities were repeated over 50% or more of the threshing in each of the various obstacles along the way .
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| raised in one of the many-legged ... |
That first uphill stretch of trenches we had forever, every time we moved a little, I'm talking about 10 or 15 meters only by advance-we were in trenches deeper and more complex, ones that had no other way but cross them and fall in them by the narrowness of the threshing. Somewhere along this journey began to rain a little harder and this complicated the situation ...
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| Work After Trench ... |
If I remember the whole first section of trench in climb took us about 3 or 4 hours to finish it through, had to be great technique and patience. Once completed the ascent of the mountain threshing ran into the jungle of Delta Amacuro, a very dense forest, closed humid where it is clear that no one had visited in a long time.
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| The Rise of Trenches ... |
was not many yards when I met the first fallen tree lying across the threshing, luckily it was nothing heavy or complicated it away, but the jungle was telling us some of their conditions, the GPS at this point grabbed road and indicated about 34 km to go, for me it was clear that we would not to be able to complete that day and they were like 3 and some of the afternoon and we were just starting the jungle ...
What I can say threshing jungle of Salto El Mono? because, technically speaking, threshing as such is extremely complex in their footsteps, of course has quite a complicated plot and various features such as ditches, hills, slopes, mud pumps, small wading, among other things but with good tools recovery vehicle capable of a good team and patience are drawn quietly.
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| Removing the First Trunk Threshing. |
Now where is the bottom line you ask? because it really complicated is that the track had not been one in over a year and climatic conditions in recent months and heavy rains were too many, and when I say too is in every sense of the word, without exaggeration us found more than 30 fallen trees in the middle of the threshing-obstacles on the road traversed, so the rain did not allow us roll or 100 meters without having to get off the car to remove any branch, vine, bush or fallen tree were very few obstacles that could jump and run over: S
spoken thus boring to do the story because basically after the first rise in the road ditches in the threshing was in the middle of the jungle with lots of obstacles to work with machetes, axes, harness with human effort and winch when warranted in order to remove the logs.
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| Pulling Logs ... |
At one point one of the partners estimated that we were moving 500 meters every two hours, you can imagine how slow the situation because of the cleanliness of the threshing. There were cases where the logs were height control so that the step was below them having to remove the luggage we had in the overhead racks, luckily I have no advice following tent roof because we could not pass.
The "checkpoints" that we met along the threshing was always varied some very simple just a couple of minutes to move forward and others were more elaborate having to cut thick trunk and then pushing aside and to cross, now and then suddenly appeared an obstacle to extraordinary dimensions as an extremely thick trunk accompanied by several small trees and branches that make a great fuss of things to clean, but to the same time had already built alternative ways to cross these areas, certain expeditions passed in view of the complex and difficult to clean that stretch skirting achieved, however, these alternate steps in the middle of the forest were too tight in having to go wide on both sides by trees testing the skills of the pilots. Moreover, in some cases these alternative routes were not at all easy to find and vegetation every minute wasted no time to recover what was theirs.
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| Oooootro Trunk on the road to get down to work! |
I felt the whole day we were in a few minutes, see the GPS was tempted to mourn as the countdown progressed kilometers virtually nothing missing no less evil than the team's spirit had not diminished one bit. Suddenly appeared one of the "checkpoints" biggest so far, a fallen tree very respectable in size with many branches around the 3rd stop of the caravan can identify an alternative route to the right, but it was extremely complex because the need to jump several tree roots and the width was very tight indeed for the first cars was necessary to use a winch to not make vehicles collide against tree, for my part I could check without recovery items, of course not before he worked the track by the team at least 45 minutes. Easily linger here and a half in 20 or 30 meters long.
happy to have achieved the feat and hopeful that the worst thing we had left behind continue the journey, in fact the rain gave us a few minutes of peace and continuous progress ... and began to fall at night and in the middle of nowhere, according to the GPS we were a few miles from the delta itself in the middle of the jungle in the Sierra's Amacuro Imataca appeared many branches on the road. All my headlights were not enough to truly appreciate the obstacle, so to get off of Olive in the head and hand lanterns made me want to mourn to see the road ... had fallen off the jungle! the worst obstacles.
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| Salto Monito. |
Without much thought, away from the team we split the 4 trunks crossed to work in parallel. The first was away a lot of branches, vines and small trees fallen, and then focus on the big trees. After several minutes, hours or who knows (such as keeping track? In these situations?) Several colleagues and I managed to clear the whole area missing only one of the large trees that was more complex, there shift work among them and after cutting the trunk was time to apply logic and engineering knowledge with the winch to pull it enough to make room for vehicles. After work hunger attacked without mercy, had not eaten anything serious from breakfast empanadas, so we decided to do lunch / dinner before continuing the journey, the menu was pasta sauce and tuna Napoleon.
The rest was just minutes and back to the threshing, the feeling of satisfaction in passing the stretch that gave us hours of work is indescribable and takes only a few seconds lol. It was already late at night and we were exhausted so the idea was to move to find somewhere "decent" which set up the campsite for the night and continue the next day. Maybe took 15 or 20 minutes when I came across a narrow straight that was as close to a site "decent" for camping. There was no river near a river, never saw the threshing since we passed the Monkey Jump, the road was so narrow that there was no free feet on each side of the car and the floor was a bit muddy from the constant drizzle , but fatigue was not going to take more time so that was the perfect place. It was difficult to place perpendicular to the threshing donkeys to tie hammocks, obviously faster and easier to camp were hammocks, only one of the partners assembled tent ... I just put the hammock and went to bed I did not hear me ... until the next morning to the beautiful sounds of the jungle, I remembered where I was stuck!
Sunday 06/03/2011. Somewhere in the Track of Mono for El Salto El Mono?? Well early and could hear the voices of colleagues, it was time to get up, it was a long long way to go, and daylight was essential to move quickly, and was the last day we were on schedule to reach Jump destiny The Mono.
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| the first camp. Only the Hamaca jejeje. |
With the energy recovered and breakfast in the stomach began the task about threshing ... the first branch we stopped a few meters to remind us that we were still in the presence of the forest and domain and we do not control us. However, the way to around mid day was fun and promising, we could move several miles, when in the horizon you can see a drop and the end of it a huge fallen tree whose girth was more than half a meter in diameter completely crossed threshing, noooooo!!
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| Obstacles Trilla. There |
concern the team was not normal was the more difficult obstacle seen in the issue, not only by the thickness of the trunk, she was a very long and was lying at an angle of descent. Actually had a date written on top of insurance by the last expedition that visited the area and could not continue the journey. Between different opinions on how to get around that trunk boo and I found the task of doing a walking tour later in threshing, question to identify whether it was worth continuing or not working the way because if by chance we met an obstacle it clean or something not worth the enormous effort.
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| Mega Fallen Tree. |
The walk was refreshing and full of good vibes to find nothing complicated at first were pure branches crossed that once I gave myself the task of removing them, after several hundred meters appeared an abandoned camp was a camp of hunters and right there was a lot of fallen branches. I decided to keep walking to get to know more of the threshing, and began a hill a few meters very slippery trenches presented again as the beginning of the path ending with a semi U-curve on the left that gave way to the rest of the rise of huge trenches, the biggest of all, culminating at 40 or 50 feet in ground plane. They decided to take the rest and jogging a few yards without encountering any obstacle, in my walk wanted to meet with the famous descent of the police and I assumed that after the rise would come a slippery slope, but had gone a little over a mile according to my calculations and had to return to help the team and discuss my findings. The
trotted back again, to meet boo-had left behind because they hasten the pace to cover the maximum possible number of meters, and then rushed pace walk our well known way. Upon arriving to where the rest of the team our surprise was that the trunk was already cut! us great momentum and enormous desire to complete the route: D. Now only left out of the way, an issue that seemed impossible given the size and weight. We were afraid we could not move and we had to make a second cut on the tree that would take hours of work that we did not have ... so we put all our work ... neuromas
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| Using Two Winches for maneuver. |
The strategy was to use two winches at the same time pulling with a double pulley system with 4 straps and 2 hugs to move a few meters tree trunk and make us a space for trucks, praying that the trunk is not scroll down the mountain slope where he was and locked us step back. After configuring the system of straps and pulleys and be all in our positions to start the process we began the proposed strategy, managing to move the huge, heavy trunk about two feet, there we realized that it was possible, but there were still some three or four feet ... so a second effort was needed to finish moving the trunk missing meters. Incredible as it passed the first car was just space!
One of the companions as they were the work of cutting the trunk take the opportunity to build the kitchen and prepare a grill stop drawing. So in all those hours we could have lunch there as they should, besides when I returned from the walk I gave encouragement to the team and that he found no obstacles to worry about except the ditches on the rise slippery.
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Met | away the trunk just to get through ... |
For my next meter Oliva spent in seconds, of course I already knew the road. When you reach the abandoned camp of hunters had to work a few minutes to remove the branches and give way to the legendary climb to ditch ... seemed more difficult than it really was, I think that helped us a lot of great experience and co-pilot had been prescribed from outside the driver of the day, the last ditch after the curve was more complicated, but nothing that no winches be resolved. It was already past noon hours and each meter run was all agony hoping not to find more checkpoints in the jungle ...
So it was that the road began to narrow in a new promotion and offer us a new surprise, as if! an enormous amount of rain falling completely through the threshing: (, could not believe it, so we had come, many complex obstacles and still had weathered the jungle we wanted to continue testing. They were a little before 4, afternoon and we analyze the situation made it impossible to clean such a large number of trunks, branches and other elements in a short time, and assuming that the rest of the way had no more obstacles, did not give us time to finish the approximately 14 km walk Pile remaining.
Now if I wanted to mourn, many mixed feelings seized of my being, disappointment, tears, nostalgia, tiredness, anger, and at the same time a huge encouragement and energy to continue the journey on foot! I had to get to jump out and really like Mono carry Oliva was not 100% necessary, the idea of \u200b\u200bmy rides eco-tourism adventure ever know the sites visited by me regardless of how you access.
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| Putting Limit Oliva ... |
immediately
So I proposed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe trek in the team. Some did not want to know anything of the threshing and returned just wanted to build a camp site and others if they wanted to continue with me walking to the waterfall.
The preparation was a few minutes, just grab flashlights, bathing suits and water-in fact none of the trouble I have nothing to eat ...- and we began the trek to the waterfall Mono. Fall through the jungle walk before our eyes was not an easy task, they were like 30 meters hurdles. We were 5 for seasoned hikers assume the challenge of the hike. Again my being was filled with joy when in contact with the beautiful forest, the same as minute after minute we became more and more difficult to reach our destination as planned.
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| Putting a limit to Oliva ... |
suddenly appeared before my eyes the famous pipes, yes! in several videos I had seen a stretch where I had to go through huge tubes over a river as they were before my eyes with a sign saying: Piedras Negras, Km 24. The land that joined the threshing pipes and tubes made that covered the above did not exist, ie, to get there with the cars was very risky step, I think the only way was to use aluminum plates and bridges to see if I could step ... even if we swept the checkpoint we left behind because the work did not end there.
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| The tubes Celebrities ... |
The walk continued giving way to log about three feet thick at the threshing crossed, our comments were "wow, no kidding this if we can cut!", "Lol if we came with the car until we brought the river "," even with the chainsaw thing is complicated. "
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| Piedras Negras, Km 24 of Trilla. |
The forest floor told us that for a long, long time no one disturbed him, and when any of the partners I said I'm tired rushed over and gave them encouragement that with each step at a time requires less, for me the fact that we would fall and the night soon became conscious in my mind. After a while of walking in the rectum and the occasional small hill appeared the greatest obstacles of all complete threshing! -Pc. tell you how many times have you said that!, but is increasingly the more progressed since the checkpoints were larger, complicated and difficult than past-in fact it was literally a hole in the jungle, which let you see the sky. During most of the way the forest is so thick that threshing plant is a tunnel where you can hardly see the sky.
Between laughter and sarcasm of the situation and think again, having arrived with the car so far as to mourn for the valley jejeje, baptized in that place like a UFO landing site! because he had no explanation like that a lot of rain was just on the floor ... is obvious to imagine that walking was just having super complicated.
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| What I can say ... completely drop the jungle. |
After several feet, according to the GPS we had walked more than four kilometers, we have a mega down, full hyper slippery green moss, the only way without falling off the edges was caught in the bushes. Eventually the left hand curve was steep and did step down at the entrance of a pipe to pass the river, which saw the truck almost impossible by the enormity of the cracks in the ground ", the river itself was very low water level. We are glad to see water and immediately proceeded to take it and to see the time, almost 6 pm and season a few minutes to run out of daylight as the trek had unfortunately come to an end: ( or jungle walk allowed me to reach the Salto El Mono ... if we went walking at night we would get the jump, no food or items for overnight camping, so it was impossible to continue the journey ... we had to return and night.
For being there to throw us the river we take a bath, drawing accounts since he left the inn in Puerto Ordaz, we had not bathed more than ever!, Part of the job. The forest had not given us the opportunity to bathe in the river and not have any force us to make camp in areas totally inhospitable and rough. So the wipes were my best friend until now.
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| Final Descent of Police. |
Bathing in cold water lasted through the same as the last rays of evening light. Clean clothes we played the long return. Before starting the lanterns were already prepared for the journey that began with the huge slippery slope, because if after all that seek it and to remember that was the famous: Descent of the Police! that was far from our cars, nearly 5 kilometers in the middle of all that we needed to travel to Salto El Mono ... certainly looking at this fall for trucks, had been a great danger to the first of the caravan face it, since the eye does not have any complications, but the road is clearly that would not rubber traction some, making sure the vehicle starts had slipped down to the final slide which can cause a huge accident that stretch, I think the only way to lower the car is seized by the winch of a truck from above to control last car down and download it back-no easy task. As is customary
that returns be made shorter than the ups, but this opportunity was the exception. The road was as if we never passed the night in the middle of the jungle was so dark you only see the light of the lantern, and my head torch lit with two leds just to know where to place the next stride. The remaining boo-less group was a little frightened by the arrival of the night and walk in those conditions, of course the sounds of the jungle are intensified at these times, and really had no idea of \u200b\u200bwhat things we could find. To make matters worse the whole thing sky began to give us rain that it was becoming stronger ...
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| Here we took a bath ... |
Upon reaching the checkpoint where we left the car, I breathe deeply to know she had arrived. It was time to turn our 4x4 and back, the rest of the team when he decided to stay and plan to return to the right place to meet to set up the campsite and waited. Boo and I agree that hopefully have reached the hunters camp and there was a small river and camp near water provide a little more comfort, but by 11 meters radear we got no response.
Two hunters we had left behind, therefore the other two had already returned, though this was a crewman who had nowhere to be mounted, so that was icing on my temper of the way, as the other party had to walking on the difficulty of threshing. I worried the party was back down and ditches, but thank God, despite the night and the rain crossed without complication. And after an hour shoot-amazing how time flies and how slow a wheel at night, I found the camp of hunters and therefore to our colleagues who wisely chose that place for the night.
had already exhausted just like eating and sleeping lol. So prepare meals quickly, thank goodness I always have food made for campsites, as pastiche and the menu was simply a matter of heat. However, arming the icing on the tent or hammock? they won the hammock! lol. I confess that cost me some sleep for the million things I had in mind: the obstacles achieved, checkpoints encountered on the trek, the famous and complicated descent of the police, the great Salto El Mono yet unseen by my eyes, among other things.
Carnival Monday 03/07/2011. Somewhere in the Trilla to Puerto Ordaz?? Very early in the morning and smelled of coffee, it was implied by all that the return had to start early, we had taken two days to get to where we were, and we were bringing back in one day. Course was supposed to be much faster since all the threshing back was "free" of obstacles.
After breakfast and pick up camp, hammock and chairs jejeje, we began the task of return. As expected we did not get off the car we almost never, I go through all the sections and the sections clean skirting the complex obstacles without even getting out of the car, it really made me very easy to back and I was angry to think that if I have found to clean the forest and if I could get to my destination, but everything happens for a reason ...
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| Salto El Monito |
When we come to Salto El Monito, we decided to stop and know, we had to do at least that lol. In addition we were near the exit and it was early, were still morning. Threshing there became more and faster till it's over the forest, the heavens opened and we met again with the huge ditches the start of the threshing-good in this case the end of the threshing. The crossed slowly, with patience and a lot of directions, but at the end of everything without much complexity, as logs, rocks and other aid items were already in place.
After few minutes we reached the black road (the fun was over and I was very sad for not having seen the waterfall called Salto El Mono despite all our efforts almost subhuman, but the experience in the jungle was unforgettable one of the routes of more human effort by the undersigned at the time and companionship and encouragement of the participants was excellent.
already rolling back to Puerto Ordaz suspension feels feather light to be black road after so many hours in the threshing Oliva looks like a conqueror jejeje. Arriving into the chaos of the city to do? because we all wanted to give a bath and that the unanimous decision was to go to the inn to rent rooms for asearnos.
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| Back Down the ditches. |
The process took a while, but now all clean and odorous was time to go to lunch, it was still early afternoon, shortly after noon. I had dinner ready and the champagne I decided to warm up in the inn and have lunch at once.
In view of daylight and that the partners wanted to return to their loved ones to our distant lands, it was decided to leave after lunch for the capital ... I particularly but had no haste to leave, not having anything else to do in Puerto Ordaz and decided to start back with colleagues with some encouragement to stop at the cross port or port Spirit and do a beach day.
The night gave us early, before reaching the Widow and our headlights were necessary, I captained the caravan of 4 hunters came at a good pace by the indications of rigor to the rest of the cars. Upon arrival at the Tigre was the conclusion of all the people carvanales chock the main roads, so we stopped for refueling, rest a few minutes and continue your journey.
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| The 4 Hunters of the Expedition. |
Piritu Once in port, and late at night, I told Boo that were still better for the capital, at that time was not going to get inn and then return to complete the Mardi Gras feel we could grab tail and chaos of the holidays, so the course was in convoy to reach the on going wide miranda dealer where we said goodbye to the great trip end.
Salto El Mono: not let me know on this issue, even walking, you'll know because I wished it. But the mood does not decay or a bit to get to you, unlike now with more energy and desire to want to get, now more than ever when clean (along with the rest of the companions) 3 / 4 of the threshing in the jungle Delta Amacuro, so be prepared for my arrival in the coming months!
Paseo 
