expeditionerd
Observer
What a great read. Thank you for posting!
Caracas to Cusco in 7 days
- Thread starter Tucan viajero
- Start date
Sergio Castro F
New member
Agradecido!!!
Aunque nos describiste y contaste el viaje en persona, el plasmarlo por escrito te deja la oportunidad de ver las fotos y releer la historia cuando quieras, por eso quiero agradecer que lo plasmaras y compartieras con todos aqui..
Saludos..........
Aunque nos describiste y contaste el viaje en persona, el plasmarlo por escrito te deja la oportunidad de ver las fotos y releer la historia cuando quieras, por eso quiero agradecer que lo plasmaras y compartieras con todos aqui..
Saludos..........
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
That certainly would have been nice. We actually tried, and succeeded, to avoid the heavy city traffic by not entering Bogota, but called some friends there so that we could meet at Andres Carne de Res in Chia. When we found out it was closed, we had to abort this plan, and ended up on our own in Sopó.
Nevertheless, I'll keep you in mind next time, if you are still in Colombia. Please make sure to let me know if you happen to be anywhere near Caracas. BTW, for the May 1st long weekend we had to change our plans to go to the southern llanos, because of the heavy rains that have hit the area, but will be going in a trip to my favorite state in Venezuela, Bolivar State. Let's see how it turns out. If you happen to be in Maturin by then....
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Thanks for your kind comment. I still feel quite limited by my language limitations, particularly when I try to assemble my phrases, but will try hard to improve as soon as possible.
Hope that the "practice makes perfect" thing is really true.
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Hola!
Thanks for the comment, but we have to go out on one of your trips real soon. We need to strike the right balance here, and to achieve that, we need to travel more and write less.
Saludos y gracias.
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Caracas to Cusco in 7 days. Day 19
Wednesday December 21, 2,011
From Sopó to Tame
Distance: 343 miles
Total Time: 14 hours and 39 minutes
Time Moving: 10 hours and 13 minutes
Average Speed: 23.4 mph (37,7 Km/h)
Top Speed: 90.4 mph (145,4 Km/h)
La Mansión Hotel in Sopó, Colombia.
In Sopó, they stayed at the Hotel La Mansión. This was just a house modified to serve as hotel. In som places inside, to get to the guest rooms, you had to go through the owners’ living areas. The vehicles slept safely in a parking lot located next to it.
The streets of Sopó.
They left Guateque divided into two groups. A few miles away, they were stopped at a police checkpoint, in which they left go Gabriel with just a warning for not having the SOAT. However, just a few minutes later, they decided to retain the two other vehicles, and make them turn back to an impound lot, where they would have to remain until they got the insurance. Furthermore, they would also would have to wait until the next day, when it would come into effect.
The police “command post” and vehicle detention lot, also served for storage and truck loading of vegetables grown in this region. In the middle of these goods and a lot of assorted stuff, we can se the boss’s office.
Having returned under police escort provided by two motorcycles, and after spending half an hour in the parking lot, where all their documentation was reviewed in detail, the situation started to become somewhat confusing. First, someone who claimed to be a town councilor showed up, and stated to be interested in safeguarding the rights of our travelers, considering they were foreign tourists visiting his homeland. This man remained vigilant at the parking lot entrance until this episode was over.
Later, the commander made a mysterious phone call, which resulted in the conclusion that the vehicles’ customs documents were valid as SOAT. Therefore, he freed the prisoners, who were able to resume their trip, albeit a few hours late.
When driving by the road close to Represa de Chivor (Chivor Dam), a series of 15 very peculiar tunnels is crossed. While not easy to describe, some of these tunnels are interesting because of their length, others because of their grades or because they were carved in curves, and mostly due to the waterfalls that bathe the entrance and exits of many of them.
An unexpected roadside stop while waiting for another group member who decided to buy the SOAT no matter what, after the Guateque experience.
Again, heavy traffic, poor road conditions and continuous delays caused by repair works, make their advance very slow.
Waiting to cross the Casanare River.
Despite having crossed rivers on barges, big and small, and even on canoes with planks to support the vehicles on many occasions, this time, the crossing of Casanare River was disturbing. They felt that the young guys in charge of the small vessel lacked the necessary experience to safely manage the crossing.
Worried?
More photos of this day can be found here, here and here.
Wednesday December 21, 2,011
From Sopó to Tame
Distance: 343 miles
Total Time: 14 hours and 39 minutes
Time Moving: 10 hours and 13 minutes
Average Speed: 23.4 mph (37,7 Km/h)
Top Speed: 90.4 mph (145,4 Km/h)
La Mansión Hotel in Sopó, Colombia.
In Sopó, they stayed at the Hotel La Mansión. This was just a house modified to serve as hotel. In som places inside, to get to the guest rooms, you had to go through the owners’ living areas. The vehicles slept safely in a parking lot located next to it.
The streets of Sopó.
They left Guateque divided into two groups. A few miles away, they were stopped at a police checkpoint, in which they left go Gabriel with just a warning for not having the SOAT. However, just a few minutes later, they decided to retain the two other vehicles, and make them turn back to an impound lot, where they would have to remain until they got the insurance. Furthermore, they would also would have to wait until the next day, when it would come into effect.
The police “command post” and vehicle detention lot, also served for storage and truck loading of vegetables grown in this region. In the middle of these goods and a lot of assorted stuff, we can se the boss’s office.
Having returned under police escort provided by two motorcycles, and after spending half an hour in the parking lot, where all their documentation was reviewed in detail, the situation started to become somewhat confusing. First, someone who claimed to be a town councilor showed up, and stated to be interested in safeguarding the rights of our travelers, considering they were foreign tourists visiting his homeland. This man remained vigilant at the parking lot entrance until this episode was over.
Later, the commander made a mysterious phone call, which resulted in the conclusion that the vehicles’ customs documents were valid as SOAT. Therefore, he freed the prisoners, who were able to resume their trip, albeit a few hours late.
When driving by the road close to Represa de Chivor (Chivor Dam), a series of 15 very peculiar tunnels is crossed. While not easy to describe, some of these tunnels are interesting because of their length, others because of their grades or because they were carved in curves, and mostly due to the waterfalls that bathe the entrance and exits of many of them.
An unexpected roadside stop while waiting for another group member who decided to buy the SOAT no matter what, after the Guateque experience.
Again, heavy traffic, poor road conditions and continuous delays caused by repair works, make their advance very slow.
Waiting to cross the Casanare River.
Despite having crossed rivers on barges, big and small, and even on canoes with planks to support the vehicles on many occasions, this time, the crossing of Casanare River was disturbing. They felt that the young guys in charge of the small vessel lacked the necessary experience to safely manage the crossing.
Worried?
More photos of this day can be found here, here and here.
suntinez
Explorer
I think you're doing great!
I really enjoy this thread not just for the pics and adventure, but because I learn something with every entry. Thanks!
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Thanks for your kind comment.
By posting here, I've been able to notice many things I ignored about documenting a trip. Next time, I'll be more careful with my subjects whenever I take a photo, and most certainly, I will start taking notes...
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Thursday December 22, 2,011
From Tame to San Fernando de Apure
Distance: 409 miles (658 Km.)
Total Time: 10 hours and 49 minutes
Time moving: 08 hours and 4 minutes
Average Speed: 37.8 mph (60,8 Km/h)
Top Speed: 85.8 mph (138,1 Km/h)
The Tame Real Hotel.
Streets of Tame.
A well equipped International Red Cross ambulance. Details of the front bumper and winch, a subject of much controversy now in Venezuela, can be seen in these photos.
The ambulance had 235/85R16 tires on it.
Tame proved to be a friendly, clean town with attractive shops and a large well cared for main square. The group was pleasantly impressed by this place with good lodging, nice people and decent food.
Refueling in Colombia, very close to the border with Venezuela. Surely they got Venezuelan gas, which had to be payed at international prices. Needles to say, this gasoline most certainly was “exported” with the consent of the National Guard, as we shall see later on.
Immigration proceedings on the Colombian side of the border.
The paperwork to get the cars out of Colombia was delayed because the person in charge of signing the documents wasn’t in his office. When traveling in the third world, its best to make up one’s mind to the idea that this sort of things happen all the time, and just take it easy, as a normal part of these trips.
Finally, the clerk went back to work, and it was possible to move to Venezuela, in order to start with the paperwork there.
The Bolivarian Corruption Complex at the border. The immigration office, where passports are stamped for entering Venezuela, is located behind the red gift paper wrapped door.
Once on the Venezuelan side, things got interesting. The immigration office door was closed, while the employee was attending a group of Colombians who could barely fit inside.
Our trip members had to wait outside, as they were instructed to do. There they had to wait for quite a long time, which allowed them to watch closely to a significant number of trucks that, while crossing the border from Venezuela to Colombia, opened their drivers’ doors not too discreetly, to hand out bribe money to the National Guard soldier at the checkpoint. This went on several times while they were there. They guessed that the trucks were transporting either gasoline or Venezuelan government subsidized food to the neighboring country.
Finally, a few seconds too soon, the immigration office door opened, allowing some of our friends to see the thick wad of bills on the employee’s desk, before he hastily threw them into one of its drawers. Together with the group of Colombians that then left the office, there was a young woman carrying about 15 or 20 Venezuelan passports in her hands, which were easily recognizable by their familiar burgundy color.
For the record, this happened on Thursday, December 22, 2,011 at around 11:30am, at the Venezuelan border checkpoint in El Amparo, Apure State.
Fooling around a little, he is supposed to be trying to refuel at this state of the art gas station. Could this be a glimpse of our future? Sadly, it may very well be.
In their search for fuel, the GPS took them to this very socialist and revolutionary pump, as clearly seen by its condition.
Already in Venezuela, and after having driven the BR-319 in the Amazon and through the jungle region of Madre de Dios in Peru, throughout Ecuador, from south to north, and the Colombian llanos (plains), they found a surprising feature that sharply distinguishes Venezuela from all those places. This country is bursting with wildlife. Since they left El Amparo, along the road, they were able to watch animals in a variety and quantities like in no other segment of this trip. Birds of many kinds, in much larger quantities than those seen in two days in the Brazilian Amazon. Foxes, chiguires (capibara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), babas (caiman, caiman crocodilus) and many others, were easily seen along the way as they headed north.
Based on what they saw in this trip, there seems to be nothing like Venezuela’s varied and abundant “native” fauna.
Because of the disastrous situation with the gasoline supply anywhere near the Venezuelan borders, our travelers went as far as Mantecal 140 miles (225 Km.) away to fill up their vehicles, but not without having to endure a long and disorderly queue, particularly because of the god given right of bikers to fill up before anyone else. They behave like certain old ladies at supermarkets, who always seem to have the right to go first.
Talking about motorcycles. Driving in these five countries allowed our travelers to witness how motorcycles, especially cheap Chinese models, have a huge economic and social impact on the small poor communities of our continent, by becoming a work tool and means of transport attainable by most. Bikes are used as taxis, family cars, cargo transports for almost every kind of goods, and some of these are not precisely light. Small bikes are used to herd animals in grazing chores, with trailers to increase their cargo capacity, with roofs for passenger transport. The small bike seems to have become an important source of income and to have contributed to improve the quality of life and services in these communities, bringing them a little bit closer to progress.
You may find more photos of this day by clicking here.
From Tame to San Fernando de Apure
Distance: 409 miles (658 Km.)
Total Time: 10 hours and 49 minutes
Time moving: 08 hours and 4 minutes
Average Speed: 37.8 mph (60,8 Km/h)
Top Speed: 85.8 mph (138,1 Km/h)
The Tame Real Hotel.
Streets of Tame.
A well equipped International Red Cross ambulance. Details of the front bumper and winch, a subject of much controversy now in Venezuela, can be seen in these photos.
The ambulance had 235/85R16 tires on it.
Tame proved to be a friendly, clean town with attractive shops and a large well cared for main square. The group was pleasantly impressed by this place with good lodging, nice people and decent food.
Refueling in Colombia, very close to the border with Venezuela. Surely they got Venezuelan gas, which had to be payed at international prices. Needles to say, this gasoline most certainly was “exported” with the consent of the National Guard, as we shall see later on.
Immigration proceedings on the Colombian side of the border.
The paperwork to get the cars out of Colombia was delayed because the person in charge of signing the documents wasn’t in his office. When traveling in the third world, its best to make up one’s mind to the idea that this sort of things happen all the time, and just take it easy, as a normal part of these trips.
Finally, the clerk went back to work, and it was possible to move to Venezuela, in order to start with the paperwork there.
The Bolivarian Corruption Complex at the border. The immigration office, where passports are stamped for entering Venezuela, is located behind the red gift paper wrapped door.
Once on the Venezuelan side, things got interesting. The immigration office door was closed, while the employee was attending a group of Colombians who could barely fit inside.
Our trip members had to wait outside, as they were instructed to do. There they had to wait for quite a long time, which allowed them to watch closely to a significant number of trucks that, while crossing the border from Venezuela to Colombia, opened their drivers’ doors not too discreetly, to hand out bribe money to the National Guard soldier at the checkpoint. This went on several times while they were there. They guessed that the trucks were transporting either gasoline or Venezuelan government subsidized food to the neighboring country.
Finally, a few seconds too soon, the immigration office door opened, allowing some of our friends to see the thick wad of bills on the employee’s desk, before he hastily threw them into one of its drawers. Together with the group of Colombians that then left the office, there was a young woman carrying about 15 or 20 Venezuelan passports in her hands, which were easily recognizable by their familiar burgundy color.
For the record, this happened on Thursday, December 22, 2,011 at around 11:30am, at the Venezuelan border checkpoint in El Amparo, Apure State.
Fooling around a little, he is supposed to be trying to refuel at this state of the art gas station. Could this be a glimpse of our future? Sadly, it may very well be.
In their search for fuel, the GPS took them to this very socialist and revolutionary pump, as clearly seen by its condition.
Already in Venezuela, and after having driven the BR-319 in the Amazon and through the jungle region of Madre de Dios in Peru, throughout Ecuador, from south to north, and the Colombian llanos (plains), they found a surprising feature that sharply distinguishes Venezuela from all those places. This country is bursting with wildlife. Since they left El Amparo, along the road, they were able to watch animals in a variety and quantities like in no other segment of this trip. Birds of many kinds, in much larger quantities than those seen in two days in the Brazilian Amazon. Foxes, chiguires (capibara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), babas (caiman, caiman crocodilus) and many others, were easily seen along the way as they headed north.
Based on what they saw in this trip, there seems to be nothing like Venezuela’s varied and abundant “native” fauna.
Because of the disastrous situation with the gasoline supply anywhere near the Venezuelan borders, our travelers went as far as Mantecal 140 miles (225 Km.) away to fill up their vehicles, but not without having to endure a long and disorderly queue, particularly because of the god given right of bikers to fill up before anyone else. They behave like certain old ladies at supermarkets, who always seem to have the right to go first.
Talking about motorcycles. Driving in these five countries allowed our travelers to witness how motorcycles, especially cheap Chinese models, have a huge economic and social impact on the small poor communities of our continent, by becoming a work tool and means of transport attainable by most. Bikes are used as taxis, family cars, cargo transports for almost every kind of goods, and some of these are not precisely light. Small bikes are used to herd animals in grazing chores, with trailers to increase their cargo capacity, with roofs for passenger transport. The small bike seems to have become an important source of income and to have contributed to improve the quality of life and services in these communities, bringing them a little bit closer to progress.
You may find more photos of this day by clicking here.
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Hi!
I get what you mean. But no one needs to keep up with me or anyone else in our group, as we usually travel together at moderate speeds. It's pointless to take any risks while being so far from home, and we enjoy “through the windshield” sightseeing too much to move at unreasonably high speeds.
However, the top speed info I provide for each day of travel may be misleading. I gather each day's data by resetting the GPS device (Garmin 276c) trip computer every morning when we start driving and writing down everything at the end of the day, when it's time to put the Land Cruiser in bed. I say it may be misleading because the recorded top speed is usually reached briefly while overtaking other vehicles or other similar situations.
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Caracas a Cusco en 7 días. Day 21.
Friday, December 23, 2,012
San Fernando de Apure to Caracas
Distance: 354 miles (409 Km.)
Total Time: 5 hours and 58 minutes
Time Moving: 5 hours and 42 minutes
Average Speed: 42.6 mph (68,6 Km/h)
Top Speed: 88.3 mph (142,1 Km/h)
They spent the night at the Soleos Hotel in San Fernando. Curiously, despite this being a hotel of certain category, it was, together with the modest accommodations in Iñapari, the only place where they didn’t have wireless internet access during this trip.
The return to Caracas past Calabozo, El Sombrero, Camatagua was very fast and uneventful, with just one stop for fuel. Supply problems were evident in several places along the way.
By the way, seeing all the military personnel controlling fuel stations, revealed what is surely Chávez’s secret strategy: Infiltrate and subdue the enemy by emptying their grocery stores, selling them rotten chickens and leaving them without fuel supplies. So far, Venezuela has just been their training camp.
They arrived to El Alazán Restaurant in Caracas, where a group of friends was waiting to close, with this welcome party, the activities dedicated to the 70th birthday celebration of our very special friend.
After this, it’ll be ready for its next trip.
After the trip, it was time to take care of the trusty 200 series, which rolled by the 40,000 km. mark on its odometer during the trip (40,000 km. is the first major maintenance indicated by the manufacturer for General Spec. models). Satisfactorily for those who traveled in it, it didn’t have a single failure or problem of any kind, throughout the entire journey.
And this is it. This trip report is now over. I’ll just leave a trip statistics summary table that may serve as a reference for anyone making plans to travel to South America.
Friday, December 23, 2,012
San Fernando de Apure to Caracas
Distance: 354 miles (409 Km.)
Total Time: 5 hours and 58 minutes
Time Moving: 5 hours and 42 minutes
Average Speed: 42.6 mph (68,6 Km/h)
Top Speed: 88.3 mph (142,1 Km/h)
They spent the night at the Soleos Hotel in San Fernando. Curiously, despite this being a hotel of certain category, it was, together with the modest accommodations in Iñapari, the only place where they didn’t have wireless internet access during this trip.
The return to Caracas past Calabozo, El Sombrero, Camatagua was very fast and uneventful, with just one stop for fuel. Supply problems were evident in several places along the way.
By the way, seeing all the military personnel controlling fuel stations, revealed what is surely Chávez’s secret strategy: Infiltrate and subdue the enemy by emptying their grocery stores, selling them rotten chickens and leaving them without fuel supplies. So far, Venezuela has just been their training camp.
They arrived to El Alazán Restaurant in Caracas, where a group of friends was waiting to close, with this welcome party, the activities dedicated to the 70th birthday celebration of our very special friend.
After this, it’ll be ready for its next trip.
After the trip, it was time to take care of the trusty 200 series, which rolled by the 40,000 km. mark on its odometer during the trip (40,000 km. is the first major maintenance indicated by the manufacturer for General Spec. models). Satisfactorily for those who traveled in it, it didn’t have a single failure or problem of any kind, throughout the entire journey.
And this is it. This trip report is now over. I’ll just leave a trip statistics summary table that may serve as a reference for anyone making plans to travel to South America.
HumphreyBear
Adventurer
:clapsmile
Thanks so much for sharing your journey in such detail. One figure is missing from the trip statistics: Your fuel consumption. I realize that gas is so inexpensive in Venezuela that no one cares about l/100 km (or miles per gallon in USA ). However, the cost of gas is high in other countries on your route, and it becomes a major trip expense. Any comments would be helpful.
Tucan viajero
Adventurer
Hi ,
Thanks for the comments.
Here is the fuel consumption and fuel cost information for Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. It was gathered by the friend that made the trip with me using an iPhone app. Please allow for some error and for rounding. I didn't include Venezuela as for all practical purposes gas is free.
I'm truly surprised to see the great mileage we got during this trip, as I never approach these figures when I travel inside Venezuela, where what I usually get is below 9 mpg. I guess this was due to the fact that we took it calmly while we enjoyed all the sights and places, in contrast to the high speeds we normally use at home (there are speed limits but no enforcement here) where we usually drive as fast as we want or can, depending on traffic conditions. And of course, as you can see in our pictures, no RTT and traveling light also helps.
One big advantage I had is that my 200 series has the stock dual fuel tanks (36.5 gallon total capacity). I don't understand why Toyota chose to market the single tank (25 gallon) version in the U.S., particularly considering that you get the largest engine.
Hope the information above is useful for someone planning to travel to this region.