Aug. 2010. San Casimiro de Guiripa to San Sebastián de los Reyes weekend outing. I

[Tucan viajero]

San Casimiro de Guiripa to San Sebastián de los Reyes weekend outing. August 21 &22, 2010.

I’d like to start by apologizing because most of these pictures have already been posted in the Land Cruiser area.

But when I saw this last night, I decided that the best I could do was to post last weekend’s outing, even though it wasn´t a heroic expedition or even a great trip.


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- With the grim outlook of a boring weekend ahead of us, a few phone calls among friends started to happen during Friday afternoon...

¿Can we meet at FUN RACE STORE’s parking lot Saturday at 2:00pm?

Just like that, without much in the way of preparation, we decided to go to one of our favorite playgrounds near Guatopo National Park. Very nice photos of a previous trip to that place can be found here.

With all the rain we have been getting these last few days, this promised to be a fun trip.

Here we are, at the gathering spot, loading the last minute small stuff while we wait for the rest of the guys.

After driving a few hours, we leave the paved road and start getting ready for the first river crossing

This big Araguato (red howler monkey) watched us with curiosity, maybe questioning our sanity, while we were there.

Until he seemed to realize that we weren’t that interesting after all and turned his back at us.

To get where we wanted to go, it is necessary to face a few river crossings. This river is usually only knee deep, but it has been raining daily for over a week now…

Two short wheelbase Mitsubishi Monteros. We were quite concerned at this point because the gray one lacked a snorkel.

 

[Tucan viajero]

Aug. 2010. San Casimiro de Guiripa to San Sebastián de los Reyes weekend outing. II

At this point, the dark gray Montero had turned back after deciding that the engine was at great risk as the water was too deep.

This was the last fording we could successfully overcome.

As the river got too deep and with very strong current we had to turn back. Unfortunately, this happened after our FJ70 sank and stalled. We decided on a new route after pulling it out with a winch while many liters of water that had gotten inside it poured out its doors.

And so, after getting the guys in the grey Montero back, we had our little weekend outing turn into a fun night wrestling with lots of mud.

Unfortunately, all the work we had, working with picks, winches and the dark of the rainy night conspired against taking pictures.

Mud and rain at night. Too bad we didn´t try to get more pictures while the sun was down.

 

[Tucan viajero]

Aug. 2010. San Casimiro de Guiripa to San Sebastián de los Reyes weekend outing. III

We found this nice clear spot to camp and have some sleep around 1:00am. Luckily by then, rain had stopped which allowed us to relax, set camp, fix some dinner and have a nice chat.

First thing in the morning, we had to take care of the FJ70 that had sunk the day before. First, it was necessary to air all the stuff, tools, clothing that got wet when the water entered the car…

… Next, it was time to make sure no water had gotten inside the transmission, transfer or differentials.

We moved to this spot by the river, taking advantage of the shadow provided by the trees, for breakfast.

A pause after breakfast.

Red wheels, red spoiler & red mirrors.

 

[Tucan viajero]

Aug. 2010. San Casimiro de Guiripa to San Sebastián de los Reyes weekend outing. IV

It is always a pleasure to watch how green nature gets during our rainy season.

Using the winch to help some locals in distress.

It is always nice to stop along the way for a chat. Comments about the trip’s events and impressions abound.

Stopping for a snack and more conversation. What is it with red 80 series?

Back on the black top, it is only a matter of driving for a few hours to get back home.


Trip over!


And, Where did this take place? - In case you are wondering:

- San Casimiro de Guiripa: N10° 02’ 41.8’’ - W67° 00’ 57.4’’
- We slept at: N10° 03’ 49.5’’ - W67° 08’ 02.4’’
- San Sebastián de los Reyes: N09° 56’ 53.2’’ - 67° 10’ 45.6’’



Note: As usual, I’d like to apologize for my poor English. If it were better, I could provide a more entertaining trip report.

 

[soonenough]

WOW. You guys have snorkels for a reason :Wow1: Do you have any more details about your LC? :drool:

Very cool trip report, thanks for posting!

 

[KSJeep]

You may not have thought it was sgreat trip, but it sure looks one heck of an adventure! Thanks.

 

[1leglance]

wow that is over the top cool...
I am very impressed with your outing, how you guys worked together and it sounds like your positive attitudes made the difference between an ordeal & an adventure

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Very cool! that was one (or more) serious water crossings(s) :victory:

 

[Christian P.]

Brilliant. Thanks for taking the time to post.