After 9 hours I get to Ciudad Bolivar. Staying at the Hotel Union which offers the best rates although not the best rooms in town. It's 4.30am I shower,arrange my things and lie down to watch an episode of ER and Friends on TV. Not been able to read the last two days..
At 7.00am there's a knock at my door. A tall, rakish brown man greets me with a smile. Yo soy Edgar.. He's from Connexion Tours who have an office at the bus station. On arrival I was accosted by his colleague - a Shakira look-a-like with peroxide blonde hightlights and slightly larger hips who triedto sell me a tour to Canaima. Had no money at the time so politely refused.. Anyway it seems that this outfit really homes in on potential customers and they were going to make sure that I wasn't gone get the chance to shop around.. Poor Edgar did his best to try and sell the tour to Canaima and Angel Falls but with both of us struggling with each other's languages his sales pitch was failing to persuade me to part with my cash. He even tried to use football to win me over. England were playing Slovenia but little did he know about my total lack of interest in the game. I managed to deflect his attempts of signing me up there and then. I mentioned that it was too expensive and he said he could offer a discount . I said Id head down to the office later that afternoon. He took me on my word if with a look of crushed defeat.. Phew! I closed the door.. Close shave!
Or so I thoughT, when I get downstairs im met my Carlos. A fast talking,extremely slick manager of Connexion Tours who has me eating out of his hands. He quoted me 2,500 bolivares and i told him I couldn't afford this. It turns out he needed a fifth person to make up the numbers for the flight across to Canaima National Park. He offered me 2000 bolivares with an additional night at the Hotel. Still at lot of money as I had to get money from the bank at the official rate - 400 quid!! The price includes flights, meals, boat trip to Salto Angel, accomodation but not the airport tax..I have to head down to the bank to withdraw the money as he refused to take a card payment saying he'd be saddled with huge commission fees.. Spend the day looking aroung Ciudad Bolivar - there really isn't much to see here - you could do it in half a day . Had brekkie in the commercial centre : arepas (deep fried) scrambled eggs andblack coffee..
Then I headed down to the Botanical Gardens at around 10.00am. Then i felt my stomach tighten and contort. It was about to happen sooner or later and here it was: Montezuma's revenge!! Having failed to go to the loo I was now aching to go and quickly. I tried to compose myself despite the apparent desperation. A few bemused park officials looked at me bemused as i ask Donde estan los servicios, por favor? I was directed towards a building site in the middle of the park with partial walls and pipes sticking out of the ground. This can't be it surely, I enter.. turn the corner and there is my salvation. A grimy toilet bowel - no matter unbutton, sit down quickly... Where is the toilet roll (donde esta le maldito papel) Quien lo utilizo!! I look around. There's a bin full of used paper - Could I posibly fish out a clean piece of paper or underused piece ? I bend forward to the bin and hear a movement .Oh my god has the paper mutated into an as yet unidentified life form formed of human waste.. The paper twitches and I see a tail swish and hit the side of the bin.. Phew just a tine lizard stuck in piles of shit stained toilet roll... Suddenly the idea of fishing out a piece of paper loses any appeal it might have initially had. I fumble around in my jeans - yes yes serviettes from the cafe where I had breakfast. Wipe drop try to flush but to no avail. I make a swift exit hoping no one has seen me.. Im now carrying loo roll with me everywhere..
I take a stroll around the park and walk upto Plaza Bolivar and take a photo of the Cathedral, statue of Simon Bolivar . To the west of the Plaza is rhe Casa del Congreso de Angostura. Unfortunately it's closed but this is where the Angostura Congress founded Gran Colombia (made of the territories of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador)
A little back history:
1500 Creoles are Spanish descendants born in the New World accumulate slaves, agricultural wealth and larger degree of autonomy
1749 - The Creoles prosperity is threatened by the Spanish corwn's granting of a trading monopoly to a Basque companyin 1728. The Creoles revolt under the the leadership of Juan Francisco de Leon. The revolt is suppressed but the rift between the Spanish and the Creoles widens
1810 - The Creole Francisco de Miranda, having attempted an invasion of Venezuela in 1806, tries again and succeeds in ousting the Spanish governors of Caracas. He declares independence, but less than a year later his efforts are thwarted by a counter-insurgency of Spanish and mixed blood pardos.
1813 - Simon Bolival (El Libretador - The liberator) a wealthy Creole landwoner from Caracas takes over the revolution and wins the support of the pardos. With British aid and the new found republic of Haiti, he wins several naval battles against the Spanish and liberates territory of Colombia..
