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The Long Road Home! We were all up early this morning for the promised hot chocolate and amazingly at 5:30am there it was ready for us. For breakfast Jose gave us each 5 Arepas and an omelette type thing (trying to feed us well on last day to hope we don't complain), after breakfast we were rushed into getting ready and Jose and the porter took off without even telling us. We organized ourselfs and took some last minute shots seen as the weather was so beautiful and said goodbye to the other groups. The walk today was up and down valleys and only about 4-5 hours in total. I couldn't help but be in a bad mood from Jose's behavior over last week and think how much better the experience could have been if I had gone with backpacker tours. The sun was shining and the lizards and snakes were out which made for some scary moments and adrenaline rushing. This morning whilst using the toilet I was bitten by 100s of Puri Puri and unfortunately I felt my body reacting to all the bites. At around 11:30am we arrived back to San Francisco - the small town we had started at 6 days earlier. Amazingly our company was quite organized and the van arrived within 30 minutes to collect us and take us back to Santa Elena. A few quick goodbyes, some exchange of emails and contacts and we were off. The ride back to town was even more bumpy and reckless then I remember complete with out Tobaco chewing and spitting driver Captain Lapper. We stopped at a small roadside resteraunt for lunch and to tell the truth I wasn't expecting much after the last week of substandard food but amazingly they came through with the last lunch: a big piece of fried chicken, salad, beans, potatoes, rice and a bottle of coke. The lunch brought all our spirits back up and we shared a few last laughs and a nice photo before jumping in the van once more and heading back to town. On arrival we were welcomed by the smoothe talking Roberto and asked about our trip; I gave him our opinions and he didn't like. Roberto asked for our feedback so I told him there was no English speaking guide, only one porter not 3, there was not enough food, the chicken was eaten by the guide and porter and all the promises he made of food, hot chocolate etched never came through. The worst thing was he kept saying to Jose the guide all my complaints and putting me in a very awkward position: to go with that he had brought me a bus ticket to ciudad Bolivar leaving at 5pm and it was now 3pm (he had brought a cheap ticket on a crappy bus and much earlier then I had asked). Refusing to argue with Roberto and Jose I raced into town and found someone to change the last of my Brazilian money as I wouldn't be able to in the next city, I then had to grab all my things and catch a taxi out to the bus terminal in the hope I could change my bus ticket. Luckily I could change my ticket for tommorow night and spend the night in Santa Elena resting and organizing my things. When I got back to the city I brought a few things for dinner and then made my way back to Posada Michelle where I was told there were no single rooms left; luckily though Yuki's friend had just moved out of his single room to share with Yuki so I asked for his room. I was told the room was dirty and I couldn't have - so I insisted it was fine and luckily the guy let me take it. At this point I was so exhausted but realized I needed to make the most of my time and atleast get all my dirty clothes handwashed. I ran around all night cleaning and sorting my stuff and then jumping on the Internet and checking emails, Facebook etc for the first time in over a week. The Japanese group from my tour were celebrating our return from Roraima with beers and a celebration so i joined them for a while (taking part in this crazy blindfolded smashing-a-watermelon game) before heading to bed just after midnight.
OBSERVATIONS;
- Huge huge breakfast - crappy made arepas, ham vegetables and finally hot chocolate
- Beautiful weather for walk back - hot
- Seen two snakes
- Exhausted but had strength for walk
- Indigenous Resteraunt lunch - Amazing after crappy food for a week - ate myself sick
- Roberto feedback - didn't except feedback made up lies so I will write on tripadvisor
- bus ticket to ciudad Bolivar - luckily was able to change at Terminal and stay the night in Santa Elena.
- New Japanese friends drinks and crazy Japanese games
- comments