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May 2000 I had wanted to go back to Guatopo for nearly a year, since I first went there with Rob and Tom. Finally I had the chance when on a sunny Saturday morning I left Caracas with Jennifer and Jo. We went the long way into the park (300 kms. versus 100 kms.) but it is an enjoyable drive. This is the route that I had used to return from Guatopo went I went on my previous visit. The road passes through several distinct ecosystems, from grassy hills to lush forests to barren lowlands. In addition to the nature, this route takes you through a number of small towns. I really find these towns fascinating, I feel that they reflect the true character of the Venezuela better than Caracas does. I also find it very humbling to witness the life that many of these people live, it makes me realize how blessed I truly am. Other than taking in our surrounds the drive was rather uneventful. At one point when we were travelling around the corner of the narrow road a Blazer came barreling towards us in the middle of the road but Jennifer handled the situation without a hint of panic. Unfortunately her maneuvers seemed to have kinked her neck, which was sore for the entire week following our trip. The three of us made a few stops along the road to photograph the exceptional views and unique geology of the area. I think that Jennifer doubted my judgement on a few occasions because the road becomes rough and broken in several spots, but her Corolla made the trip just fine. |
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Once entering the park we stopped for lunch at Quebrada de Guatopo, the southern-most station in the park. There was a stream running through the area and covered picnic tables. It was a very pleasant place to stop and relax for a while. After eating we continued on to Agua Blanca, where we would be staying for the night. It was clear that we had chosen the right time of the year to come; the flowers were in full bloom and they were beautiful. Unfortunately the only flower I was able to positively identify was "birds of paradise" but there were some beautiful varieties of daisies and posies as well. It added some color to the lush green rainforest that I had not seen in my previous trip to Guatopo. When we got to Agua Blanca we parked the car and rented a hut from the ranger for the whopping sum of 2000 Bolivars (US $3). Despite inflation the price had not gone up since I was in Guatopo nine months earlier. As it was still relatively early in the afternoon and the weather was nice we decided to take a hike. The three of us took the same trail that I had been on before with Rob and Tom. We did not see any crabs this time, but we did spot a few frogs and plenty of beautiful flowers. Jennifer also managed to photograph the biggest butterfly that I had ever seen in my life. |
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Upon returning to Agua Blanca we unpacked the car and set up our equipment. It was dusk by this point so we started a fire. Each hut stands on stilts and has a wooden floor and tin roof. The dimensions are about two meters by three meters and the cabin is about two meters off the ground. Underneath there is a small picnic table and a fire pit off to one side. One of the biggest regrets the last time I came was that we did not bring anything to barbecue. I made sure not to repeat this mistake and brought along potatoes to bake in the fire and chicken with the special Spiedie's marinade from Endicot, New York. We were low on light but still managed to play a few hands of cards before dinner. Jo was terrorizing us with his Crazy Eight strategies but once we started eating all was forgiven. I had brought three huge chicken breasts and I must say that they were delicious. The salad and potatoes ended up going to waste because the chicken was so good. After dinner we sat around and talked before heading to bed. It was not the most comfortable night's sleep, as we were lying on a wooden floor. At least I had remembered to bring a sleeping pad this time to cushion the floor. Another complaint was the hut's proximity to the road, which supported a modest amount of traffic at all hours. I was somewhat prepared for this though as I had brought along a pair of earplugs to lessen the noise. I got a decent amount of sleep, but I still had to wake up every couple of hours to roll over and relieve my sore hipbones. (Beware: After the trip Jo and I realized that there must have been fleas in the cabin because our ankles were covered with bites.) |
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In the morning I awoke around seven and went for a short walk. I was looking for signs of animal life but was unsuccessful. I returned to the location where we had spotted monkeys on my previous trip but none were to be found on this occasion. After giving up on the monkeys I sat in the woods for a while and observed the birds. There was on particular type of bird making a strange noise, similar to a dog whining. Jo, Jennifer, and I had heard it on our hike the day before as well. I never was able to determine which bird was making the noise however. Upon returning to the cabin I sat in the hammock until Jennifer and Jo got up. At that time we ate some breakfast and enjoyed our surroundings. Later in the morning we packed up our things and headed out of the park through the north. We stopped to take some pictures of more flowers and investigated the ranger station at La Macanilla. The ranger station displayed pamphlets with various animal that alledgedly live in the park, but given what I had seen during the weekend I was skeptical. From there we wound our way back towards Caracas. It was a short trip back; our only delay was when we stopped at a truck stop for some lunch. The establishment looked cleaner than most we had seen but the food was lackluster. Fortunately we were close to Caracas by this point and could fill our bellies once returning home. I was back to my apartment by early afternoon, leaving me with enough time to fulfill responsibilities in town before returning to work for another week. |
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