How much do you think it would cost to put 200 litres of petrol into a bus to get me from Margarita Island to Puerto Ordaz? As I'm sure many of you are aware petrol is super cheap in Venezuela, but I think it’s worth pointing out just how cheap it is. The answer to my question is BsF10… which is $2 on the black market, or using the less favourable fixed official rate of exchange, still only around $5. Obviously this goes a long way to explaining the problems here with traffic!

After a 20 hour bus/ferry combo I arrived in the bus station and was picked up by Jorge Jnr… the son of Alejandro’s dad’s friend. We went over to their house and then got into his 11 seater minivan and headed off for a 10-strong family day out in La Llovizna National Park. The plan had been to go out on his Jorge Snr’s catamaran to visit Salto Llovizna and to see the point where Río Orinoco meets Río Caroní, however the road to the port had been closed by the police as Chavéz was in town to watch the football and most of the city’s roads had been closed for security. We had a picnic in the park and saw Salto Llovizna which was beautiful.

The Yanez family were all really friendly and very hospitable and I had a great day out, although I was absolutely knackered at the end of it! In the evening I had to head to nearby Ciudad Bolívar to find a place to stay for the night, as the football match had meant there was nowhere to stay in Puerto Ordaz. I found a nice little posada near Plaza Bolívar and booked myself a trip to Canaima National Park and Salto Ángel (Angel Falls) before retiring to my hammock for some much needed sleep!