The big plan is to head from Cumana over to Cucuta in Colombia. About 2000 kilometres. But today I was only going to go 80kms to the next town of Puerto la Cruz. Mainly because there was a local guy there who’s in the WhatsApp group and is always keen to show people around. The bike also needs an oil change and I thought he could help me with that.

I stayed at the hotel until checkout so I could try and catch up a bit with my blog writing. Semi successful. The first half of the ride was inland with some nice winding roads and a couple of dodgy bits and then some lovely coastal views. The iPhone doesn’t really capture the scenery shots that well, but they were nice.

I arrived at Farmatodo (a big pharmacy chain) in the centre of town which is where I was to meet the local guy. He works there as a delivery driver which gives him some flexibility to look after visitors (the guy on the left). He was on a delivery when I arrived but he’d obviously told the people around about me as they were expecting me. He arrived soon after. He’s English is probably as bad as my Spanish but we communicated okay. I followed him to a nearby hotel but they didn’t take credit card so we went to another which did. Hotel Sorento. Nothing flash but it had parking and aircon. And internet, if you left the door open or hung out in the passageway. And also the few sheets of toilet paper and the soap that you get when you stay in these hotels was in a seal packet. How flash is that.

He waited around for me to go and grab some food but his idea was to go on the bikes so I had to unpack a bit more and grab my helmet and we were off. We had a quick city tour and took bike pics.

Then went across town to a place that sold the best cachapas. They were huge and cheap. Sort of like a huge pancake with two big slabs of cheese and a side order of BBQ pork. I could only eat half of it. But as usual over here you just ask them to pack the leftovers to take away.

We then went for a ride up on a big hill which had great views over the city and also of the neighbouring city of Barcelona. The whole time it looked like it was going to rain. And I wasn’t dressed for rain.

We headed down the hill and went to some sort of emergency services building on a beach. He knew the guys there and he wanted me to meet an Argentinian family that were there in a bus. Apparently you can camp there for free if you are a foreigner. Right on the beach and access to the building with a kitchen and bathrooms. Great deal. I meet the bus family and sat around and chatted as it rained. I also met the paramedics and sat on one of their bikes. As we were about to leave another family turned up with a caravan. I think they were Argentinean as well. I don’t know how they all fitted in the small caravan.

We went from there back into the centre where my hotel was. We stopped off at a local bottle shop opposite the beach and grabbed a beer. I love how over here you can but a takeaway beer and just sit out the front and drink it. They often have music and a great atmosphere. We then wandered across the street to look at the Xmas decorations. Polar bears are popular for some reason?

Next morning I was up early and went for a walk along the waterfront. Nothing overly exciting although the monument made of weapons was okay. I met the local guy for breakfast and he took me to an empanada placed that I had noticed on my walk earlier. Huge empanadas. And they were really fresh and nice. Also some local juice. While I can do all this stuff by myself it is nice to have someone help you order and tell you about what you are eating. I then packed up and he took me to buy some motor oil for my bike which took a couple of different shops and then to a mechanic. He was a lovely old guy. Younger than me . Ha. He wanted to travel the world but it’s very difficult with a Venezuelan passport and budget. He did a great job changing the oil and adjusting, cleaning, and oiling the chain. He also gave the bike a checkover. $20USD.

After that I was off. I got an escort to the outskirts of town and I was back on my own again. It had been nice to get looked after. Passed the welcome to Barcelona sign and couldn’t help not stopping for a photo. There was also this place?

He had given me a recommendation of a Posada Boca Beach near Boca de Uchire. It was about 130kms and only a couple of hours away. Thought I’d give it a go. And it was really good. Right on the beach. Really clean modern room and only $15USD a night. My cheapest room yet I think since I have been in Venezuela. I think it was a combination of a foreign owner and a local but they put a lot of effort into everything.

I ate in town the first night because of a google review of a restaurant I saw on my way in. And that was great. I ate in on my second night and that was pretty good as well. The breakfast empanada at a street stall in town was pretty average but the juice was good.

I did a few long walks along the beach. Sadly there was a bit of rubbish. In particular, were these robust little packets with a foam piece inside. I have no idea what they are. Neither did the locals or Google. I also found a Unicorn. The hotel had a couple of nice birds and some rabbits. I think the latter was on the menu.

I think this place and several others like it are popular for people to visit for a weekend away from Caracas. They seemed to put in a lot of effort for the two young couples who were staying there.

As I left next morning I spotted a few nice birds on the lagoon across the way. My camera wasn’t up to the same level as my eyes but the pink ibis looking things were pretty. The ride to Caracas was pretty uneventful. A couple of tolls which are free for bikes and I stopped off at a menagerie of roadside restaurants for a feed. The lady took a real liking to me and slipped me her phone number when I was leaving.

I was going to book into the same hotel I stayed at on my way through Caracas when I was going home to get my shoulder fixed but in the end I picked a different place. But it was similar and in the same area. The Hotel El Arroyo.

Caracas is the capital of Venezuela and dates back from the mid 1500’s. It’s a similar size to Melbourne. I wandered around a bit and found a few of the places I saw the first time but at least this time I wasn’t in pain and keen to get back to my hotel. I also found a couple of new fancy places and some interesting graffiti and another church. The churches always amaze me. The scale and opulence of them amidst such poverty and hardship of generations of families.  And the devout faith. The churches over here as still doing a roaring trade as people pray for a better life. Not that the lavishness of some of the modern political buildings offers much more to the same group of people.

And this tree. It was determined to survive. It knows about hardship. I’m sure it’s seen a few interesting things in its lifetime. But unlike the tree, I was ready to move on. I had to travel a bit more west before I turned south to head towards the border crossing into Colombia.

KMS 47106