It´s 16.00pm. Im sitting in Ciudad Bolivar´s central bus station in one of the many internet cafes that border the arrivals/departures area. Im having to do things in reverse so I start now on Saturday 26th June.
I got here about one hour ago after flying back from Canaima Village inhabited by the Pemon tribe who now make their living from tourism and visiting Salto Angel and staying overnight in a hammock camp on the border of the Rio Churuni. I`ll add the accounts of my adventures over the last few days later as Ive left my journals in the tour guides office (it`s more of a shack on the side of the street) but it`s secure than walking around the station.
The flight back took an hour and ten minutes in a small 5 seater aircraft. The view of the landscapees defies believe. It`s mazing to see how the rivers meander and cut and line the ground. The shadow of the clouds cast ominous reptilain shapes as if the ground below was an unsuspecting prey at any moment about to unleash a torrential downpour as its the beginning of the rainy season.
Ive not mentioned the mankini once yet. Somehow this article of clothing has taken up far more interest than it deserved and at this point my vanity is such that there is little chance of it ever seeing daylight. A huge disappointment I hear you cry! Yes yes but I shall leave it it my friend Borat to sport his mankini far and wide. Besides the food here is not going to help with the waistline and i can`t think of anything more attractive than a slightly paunchy Anglo Indian clad in a fluorescent garment. Im attracting enough attention as it is for the time being. Rather than wanting to bin this particular traje de bano I`ll see how many uses there other than the obvious one of attracting attention to the nether regions. So far there have been none but surely at some stage I will be able to post multi-various uses surely worth a boo deal in itself. Im getting ahead of myself..
The bus leaves at 7.30pm so another three hours to kill. I`ve had some food the diet here is atrocious - fried to dry tastelessness so lots of sauce chucked on, high sugar and meat by the bucket load. It`s gonna be hard sticking to vegetarianism and i have to admit that the smell of chicken had me salivating. I resisted (i think I did) okay I lie I had to have some (the first time in 3 years!!) I feel like a fake and gobbled it up quickly before anyone i`d met on my tour saw me. I was just in time as the last morsels were swallowed down before Simon ( an English guy on the same tour veered round the corner of the bus station eatery)..
Signing off now...
