Day 291 Santa Elena to Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela
June 18, 2011 4 Comments
Day 291 Santa Elena to Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela 06/08/11 Mileage: 442
John was up and out the door shortly after 5am this morning as he wanted to get to Ciudad Bolivar to get some local info on visiting Angel Falls before the business day ended. Ian and I had already pretty much written of going to the falls so we left at a more leisurely 8am. Our first stop was to get gas on the way out of town. Now, I had heard of the cheap gas here in Venezuela, but even I was taken aback by just how cheap….we’re talking 4.5 CENTS per gallon! Yep, you read that right…we filled up our motorcycles for under 25 cents….and that was for premium! Regular unleaded was only 3.5 cents per gallon!
After filling up the pump read 1.45 Bolivars……there are 8 Bolivars to 1 US dollar!
That was a refreshing change after Brazil where gas is at least double of what it costs in the US. With our tanks filled for mere pennies we headed north into the Gran Sabana which is a beautiful place and a joy to ride through.
The Gran Sabana is particularly famous for its many waterfalls, so we took some time to visit a few.
After leaving the Gran Sabana there was nothing really of note…just laying down miles down long, hot, sweaty roads.
Some roadside art…
“I want to look in your bags.” Dude, you got the AK-47, you can look wherever you like! 😉
We arrived in Ciudad Bolivar right at dusk and found a hotel. We got in touch with John who had found a hotel nearby so we met for dinner. He found a flight the next morning out to the camp near Angel Falls, but was still not sure if he would get to see them. Ian and I were going to continue on to Caracas, so after we dinner I bid farewell to John. It has been almost 3 weeks we’ve been traveling together and it has been great fun. I hope we get to ride together again in some other far flung corner of the globe…
From Deadhorse Down 
THE WATERFALLS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL. THEY MUST OF BEEN CALMING AFTER THE BS YOU HAD ABOUT THE INSURANCE AND CROSSING THE BORDER. I KEEP REPEATING THAT IT IS SO GOOD THAT THE THREE OF YOU WERE TOGETHER AND THREE WEEKS MUST OF GIVEN YOU A REAL BOND. BUT MEETING UP AGAIN IN A FAR OFF LAND?????( NOT YOUR EXACT WORDING).
I WILL BE VERY THRILLED WHEN YOU ARE BACK IN THE USA AND HAVE YOUR BIKE FROM CUSTOMS. SEE YOU SOON. LOVE YA, MOM
Did you think this would really be my last trip? 😉
I was laughing as I looked at your slightly red jacket in this photo….so, I went back to your first blog entry to see if I could see a comparison jacket photo … that jacket has seen a LOT!!! Gonna try to post that on your FB wall! I imagine you are getting ready to return this weekend… I see you are in Bogota….enjoy your return … your mama will be overjoyed to see you!!! I hope we’ll see you again soon too!! take care… deb
By slightly red…do you mean pink? Lol
Yeah, it has seen some miles and is due for retirement after this trip for sure…
I’m flying to Miami from Bogota…then riding home from there. My folks are flying down to Miami to meet me…and yes, I think my mother will be relieved when I get back to the US finally!