We decided to take a drive inland, Maturin was our destination. With all the foreign press reports of the dangers of Venezuela and Columbia, drug barons, kidnapping, hostage taking etc we decided not to take any risks. We packed the 9mm behind the sun visor or our Jeep, and a sawn off in the elongated door pocket for easy access, just in case of a road block. I strapped my 12 inch sheath knife to my thigh, I didn't think it was really necessary but Yvonne is happier when I have 12 inches inside my trousers. We journeyed the mountain roads, almost a tropical rain forest, it was raining and the heat of the day made it very humid. We past many dubious looking buildings on distant plantations, obviously cocaine or whack backy. Then when we pulled over to the roadside we were acosted.

 

This of course is all fiction, but it doesn't surprise me that many people would take this to be necessary action when travelling through Venezuela. The country has such bad press from the USA in particular, all political bantering but it does creat a paranoia that people tend to believe. Like all countries there is the good, the bad and the ugly, but the power of the media prevents so many people coming to visit South America in general. I read recently in a news article that he British Foreign Office has issued an advisory warning people not to travel to Trinidad or Tobago because of the recent attack on an English couple in Tobago. Has the Foreign office ever issued such advice regarding travel to the USA, where hundreds of UK citizens have been killed, of course not probably because the political fallout or financial implications would be to great.

 

Anyway, back to our drive into the mountains, well we did stop and we were accosted by a young lady fruit seller, we bought some plantains and avocados, a dollar for the lot. It was a rainy day though, a tropical wave was passing through and the mountains attract more weather, but as the day moved on the wave past and the rain stopped. We arrived in Maturin, and visited the stores where we new we could buy the items we were after. It was a combined shopping trip and scenic tour, but other than that not exciting, we weren't really that far inland, maybe 150 miles or so, but we had a good day, we then drove back to Cachicatos where we had left Chaser 2 on anchor.

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