Jump to Other Countries:  Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Caribbean, U.S.A.

Day 565: Friday, April 1, 2016

So much for wanting to see as much of French Guiana as possible by renting a car. As it turns out I arrived on Thursday evening. I had learned through research just a few days earlier that I needed to have a “tourist card” to get into Suriname. The only way to get that is at the Suriname Consulate in Cayenne or Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The consulate is only open Monday through Friday and each day until 2pm. So Thursday was not possible. That means I had to go there first thing Friday morning to get it. If I didn’t get it on Friday then I would be stuck in French Guiana until Monday and that was not an option for me.

So at 9am I was at the consulate to get my card. From there I thought I would go straight on to Kourou about 40 minutes away and try to find a trip to Devil’s Island made famous by the movie Papillion.  It is the main tourist attraction in French Guiana. I had heard that there was a boat at 8:45am but I was hoping to find other options once I got there.

Well sure enough there is a boat every day at 8:45am but the place was deserted. There were absolutely no more options. I was not surprised and had prepared myself for this eventuality although I was disappointed. Waiting a day for Saturday was also not an option because I had the rental car and it could only be dropped off on Saturday no later than 12:00pm. After that they were closed until Monday.

So the next most popular attraction in French Guiana is the Space Center where French rockets are launched into space. I had checked in advance and found they had tours Monday through Thursdays in mornings and afternoons but on Friday only in the morning at 9am. So by now it was too late for that as well. So basically the whole day was a bust as far as seeing the sights of French Guiana.

So the lesson here is to not arrive in French Guiana on a Thursday evening and probably not on a Friday or Saturday either. So I through my hands up in the air and headed for Mana which is only 30 km from Saint-Laurent where I need to be tomorrow. I heard that there was a hotel there that was a lot cheaper than a hotel in Saint-Laurent.

When I arrived in Mana I easily found the Le Samana Hotel. I had discovered this place by reading blog posts of a few other travelers. It is not found on any online booking site. I didn’t have a reservation but thought I’d take my chances. As it turns out I was the only one staying in the hotel. However if you are interested in a reservation you can request one by email at hotellesamana@orange.fr. Unlike the reports I had read about this hotel, they now have Internet. I used it in my room and the connection was really good. Even Skype calls worked. This place was clean, relatively new, and quite acceptable for the price.

Since I arrived early and there was nothing to do in this small town I made use of my time to work on my travel blog and plan the road ahead. I hadn’t eaten all day so I was starving but the only restaurant in town, La Buffalo opened at 7pm so I went promptly at that time and had a $30 dinner. Nothing in French Guiana is reasonably priced.

Welcome to Kourou

 The Atlantic Ocean from Kourou with Devil’s Island in the distance.

 The Le Samana Hotel in Mana, French Guiana and my red rental car.

Jump to Other Countries:  French Guiana, Guyana, Venezuela, Caribbean, U.S.A.

Day 566: Saturday, April 2, 2016

Well if yesterday was a day where just about everything went wrong, today was a day where just about everything went right. I expected a rather challenging day when I started out. The goal was to get from Mana, French Guiana to Paramaribo, Suriname. I had a rental car so getting to the border city on the French Guiana side called Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni was easy. From there things were more of an unknown.

The rental car guy was nice enough to drive me the short distance to the immigrations office where I could get stamped out of French Guiana. I was there at 12:30pm and the car ferry that crosses the river didn’t leave until 3:00pm. I had heard that there were also small outboard boats that ferried people back and forth constantly so I was not interested in waiting.

When I got there no one else was around so I got stamped out in a matter of a minute. A guy there was offering me a boat ride and said it would be 4 Euro but I’d have to wait until 5 more people came. Or I could pay 15 Euro and go now. I didn’t want to wait and I didn’t want to pay 15 Euro so I decided to walk about 500 meters up the river where it looked like more boats were departing. However, just at that moment a car pulled up and 5 people got out.   What a stroke of luck and good timing.

They stamped out and a few minutes later we were on the boat for the 10 minute ride across the river and into Suriname. While on the boat I asked the father of the family if he knew how to get from there to Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname. As it turns out he and his family lived in Paramaribo and their family minivan was parked on the Suriname side and they were heading back to Paramaribo. They were very kind and invited me to ride with them. I couldn’t have been happier and all my anxiety of how to get to Paramaribo vanished in an instant.

I had read beforehand on another blogger’s blog post that they had taken the car ferry across and when they arrived there were long waits and once outside there were a bunch of taxi drivers trying to get their business. So when I exited, already feeling relieved that I had a ride much to my surprise there was pretty much no one around. There were no taxis, no collectivos (shared-ride vans), pretty much no nothing. That made me even happier that I randomly ran into this very generous family that was willing to give me a ride.

Well nothing can go that well and sure enough there was a minor hiccup. We all got into the car to go and the car would not start. The battery was dead. That is not a major problem and within a half hour they found someone with jumper cables to give us a boost and off we went.

When we arrived in Paramaribo I would have been happy to have been dropped anywhere but again they were so kind and dropped me right at the front door to my hotel. I arrived several hours before I expect to arrive and was more than thankful for the generosity of strangers that are willing to share acts of kindness. The man’s name is Danny and it turns out that he oversees KLM Airlines’ operations in Suriname (a past territory of Holland). So thank you very much Danny and family and I promise to use KLM in the future when the opportunity arises.

I got checked into my hotel which is called Guesthouse De Kleine Historia. It is as nice as the one I was at last night but with a shared bathroom but at a fraction of the cost. It is so nice to be out of French Guiana. By 5pm I still had not had anything to eat all day so was starving. I found a restaurant and had a goulash which was the best food I had eaten since leaving Buenos Aires.

Back at my hotel I was sitting out on the second floor balcony looking out over the street and a parade started. I guess I arrived just in time for a festival that is going on this weekend. The parade is really nothing to write home about but it does get mention here in my blog post. While working on this post and watching the parade the guesthouse owner came and introduced himself. A few minutes later is wife came and handed me a plate of food. Food is not included in the board but they had some extra food and wanted to share it with me. It was sautéed vegetables with peanut sauce and a spring roll. It was absolutely delicious. So for the second time today I have had the best food in a long time! Thank you guesthouse owners Abdel & Maitrie Herrenberg!

The only problem for today was that despite my good fortune I arrived after the travel agencies closed and they are not open tomorrow. So tomorrow I will not be able to take any tours. I guess I will sightsee around the city center and hopefully find a day tour on Monday.

Crossing the river from French Guiana to Suriname.

 My new friends Danny & Family – So kind and generous.

Oops.  Dead battery.

 A parade right in front of my hotel.  It lasted over 2 hours.

 Nightcap.  Sampling Suriname rum with guesthouse owner Abdel!

Day 567: Sunday, April 3, 2016

Today the streets were quiet. Only a few blocks from my hotel is the city’s only tourist attraction which is an old fort along the river. It is called Fort Zeelandia and must be the smallest fort I have come across in all my travels. Inside the fort is a museum of sorts and if I had known that I may have stayed away altogether. I really do not like museums.

After my obligatory sightseeing I returned to the hotel and worked the rest of the day. Sometimes I enjoy a day like this when I have a comfortable place to stay and work.

Being A Tourist – Suriname (Country #80)

 Palmentuin Park – Park of 1,000 Palm Trees

Fort Zeelandia, Paramaribo, Suriname

Day 568: Monday, April 4, 2016

I did not fare any better today finding anything to do. The challenge with Suriname is that in Paramaribo, the capital city there is nothing to do and the tours into the jungle are mostly multiple day trips. The problem is amplified by the fact that there just aren’t many tourists and the tours require a minimum number of people to take place. Thus, for a sole traveler with limited time such as myself it is not possible to see the best parts of Suriname.

Abdel did arrange for my transport from Paramaribo to Georgetown tomorrow.  It is about 6 hours of driving time plus a 30 minute ferry ride between the 2 countries. Today I talked with another traveler who had just come from Georgetown and he said the time at the border was 5 hours. It reminds me of the borders in Central America I had to go through. So tomorrow is going to start at 3:30am and it sounds exhausting. The price is about $50 US compared to about $180 US for flying so by land I go.

The friendly staff at the guesthouse.

De Kleine Historia Guesthouse – A really nice place to chill

Day 569: Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Today I got up at 3am and made the long and arduous journey from Paramaribo to Georgetown. Logistically it was pretty straight forward. The minivan picked me up at the hotel and drove to the border picking up other passengers along the way so it was anything but a direct route. I paid the 120 SRD (the guy at the hotel had told me it would be 200 SRD so it was a pleasant surprise) when we arrived at the terminal. The driver gave me a plastic ticket that I was to give to a driver on the other side that would take me onto Georgetown and I wouldn’t have to pay again.

The ferry is supposed to depart at 9am. We arrived at 7:30am at the ferry terminal. There you buy a ticket for the ferry (76 SRD). When doing so they take your money and your passport and you are told to go into the waiting area where you will get your passport back and your ferry ticket. Strange but true. I was the 10^th person to pay and the 100^th person to get my passport returned. Not knowing the process this worried me as I thought I was missing ferries. But not the case. At the time I didn’t even know there was just the one ferry at 9am. So if you are doing this just chill and you will get your passport and ticket in time.

Then you wait. The ferry didn’t start boarding until 9:20am and it did not take off until 9:45. After a 40 minute ride you arrive in Guyana. There everyone started running up the gangway towards the immigration office so they wouldn’t be at the end of the line. Immigration was extremely slow. If you hold a foreign passport they take your passport and you are asked to wait in a nearby area (because they only have one scanner in a back office). A few minutes later I had my passport and was in line for customs. This was slow as well. They made everyone open their bags. I guess they knew I wasn’t bringing anything to leave in Guyana as I am a backpacker and the just waived me through.

Once through I exited the building and there was no shortage of guys there trying to get me to change my money. Their rate is about 20% worse than the official rate but it is easy to change and puts a little local currency in my pocket in case I need it. So I traded in my leftover SRD for Guyanese Dollars. I then found my driver for the ride to Georgetown.   Of course we did not leave right away. They have to wait until their van is full or everyone has cleared customs and they know they aren’t going to have any more customers. Forty-five minutes later the van began to move for the 3 hour ride to Georgetown.

I was very, very sleepy so could not keep my eyes open the whole time. However, all too frequently the driver slammed on the brakes and that made me open my eyes. Each time I did I was staring at something ominous only a few feet away. I have been in a lot of places but I must say this was one of my scarier rides I’ve had in my life. We almost hit cows, goats, a dog, several cars, a few trucks, and more.

I arrived at my hotel in Georgetown about 2pm and the owner was not there and I had to wait 15 minutes for him to show up. Really?! But he is a really nice and helpful guy. I was exhausted but I had no time to rest. I had to get to an ATM to get money to then take to a travel agency that I have arranged tomorrow’s flight to Lethem, Guyana through. I thought I would have to do this by taxi but the owner kindly offered to drive me. So that made what would have been a big ordeal into a very easy task. It all went smoothly and I was back to the hotel in less than an hour.   A huge thank you to Julian of Julian Guesthouse for the kindness and help!

I took an hour nap then went in search of food. I had not eaten anything all day. A few blocks away I found a Chinese Restaurant.   First of all there are no sidewalks in Georgetown. This is the capital city of a country and there are no sidewalks. Just walking is dangerous. Then the staff working in the 3 different stores I entered were all incredibly rude. They do not know what customer service is. Guyana will never attract tourists with customer service like this. After much consternation because I just didn’t want to patronize a place with such terrible service I gave into the reality that I was starving and ordered something.

I got back to the hotel safely with the intent of staying there the rest of the night. I heard it is dangerous to walk around at night so I took it to heart. The hotel has a restaurant so I thought I could have dinner there and be safe. Well as luck would have it the restaurant staff did not show up tonight so guess what. No food. That is right. I was still starving from earlier today and now I go to bed having had one beer for dinner. Julian felt bad for me that the restaurant wasn’t open so he offered me the beer otherwise I wouldn’t have even had that.

My minivan driver in Suriname.

Suriname to Guyana Ferry

Day 570: Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Today was a travel day. When I woke up all I knew was that I was catching a 10am flight from Georgetown, Guyana to Lethem, Guyana. Lethem is a frontier town bordering with Brazil.   From there I did not know what was going to happen. I expected I would have time to at least get to Boa Vista, Brazil but thought I might make it to Santa Elena, Venezuela.

The flight was on time and smooth. Upon arrival I found nothing much. I asked a guy standing around with a fist full of money if there was a taxi that could take me to the border. After changing the little amount of Guyanese money I had to Brazilian Real with him he said he would find me a taxi. Ten minutes later he came back and said “Let’s go.” So he was now my taxi driver.

We headed off and after picking up his 4 year old son at daycare we continued on. Ten minutes later and I had stamped out of Guyana and he drove me across the bridge and dropped me at Brazilian immigration. The area had nothing but the immigration building. My first thought was “How am I ever going to get transportation from here?” Just then a long-haul bus pulled up 50 meters away and people got off and some got on. I was hoping that I could get on that bus but it promptly left before I could get stamped into Brazil.

The Brazilian official was really nice and chatted with me. He told me that just an hour prior a couple from the U.K. passed through and were heading to Venezuela as well. He then told me that the bus that I saw had just gone to the town which was a 5 minute drive away and wouldn’t leave the town for Boa Vista until 2:30pm or 2 hours from then.

Once stamped in I went outside and again nothing but 1 car across the way. I walked over to the car just as it started to head towards the town. They stopped, I asked for a ride to the bus stop in town. One guy said no and the other guy said yes so I jumped in. The guy that said yes then told the driver that he was being mean and the least he could do was take me since they were going there anyway. They stopped in front of the bus stop and sure enough the bus was there parked and some people were hanging around. I gave the driver 10 Real (about $3) and he was content and I got out.

Walking over to the bus stop I immediately saw the couple from the “U.K.” and introduced myself to them. It turns out they are actually from Australia. We had a couple hours to get acquainted. It turns out that we are all going the exact same direction. We all came from Guyana and heading to Trinidad-Tobago. There is no way to go directly between Guyana and Venezuela so it is necessary to go through Boa Vista, Brazil.

The bus left at 2:30pm and we arrived in Boa Vista about 5pm. Upon arrival the first chore was to checking on how to get to Venezuela. We found out there was a bus going directly from Boa Vista all the way to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela which is the city we need to get to in order to get to Tucupita, Venezuela to catch the boat to Trinidad. The next bus doesn’t leave until Friday morning so that simplified the decision making process. We got a hotel for 2 nights. It was a cheap hotel at $25 a night with no hot water and cockroaches scurrying around my room.

It was great running into Pete and Mel and made me feel much less apprehensive about traveling into Venezuela knowing I’d have company along the way.

After millions of miles of flying this is the first time to see a boarding pass like this!

Georgetown, Guyana from the air. 

Trans Guyana Airways plane at Lethem Airport. 

My new friend’s from Australia Pete & Mel. 

Day 571: Thursday, April 7, 2016

Today was a day of waiting and relaxing. There is nothing to see in Boa Vista. It is a hot and humid place. A supermarket was just a block away so I went there to get food for lunch and a Coke Zero. I also went to the bank to get some cash that I want to use at the border to get some Venezuelan Bolivar tomorrow. At night Pete, Mel and I walked a short distance from the hotel to a pizza joint and got dinner. The pizza was actually pretty good.

Day 572: Friday, April 8, 2016

I got up at 6am today, packed, had a light breakfast at the hotel at 6:30am and by 6:45am was in a taxi with my 2 new friends from Australia to the bus terminal. Our bus to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela was scheduled to leave at 7:30am and we wouldn’t arrive until 12:00am so that meant a 17 hour trip.

We left on time and 4 hours later made it to the border. There was a long line of people in line on the Brazilian side. They only had one line for those entering and exiting the country which really sucks since those entering take a lot longer to process than those exiting. The line moved extremely slow in addition to being hot and humid. When we were about 30 minutes from the front of the line things came to a grinding halt. The computer system was down. About an hour later things got moving again. The process took 3 hours and we were assured this was not normal. Great. Onto the Venezuelan border and that took about 10 minutes for everyone on the bus to be processed.

Once inside Venezuela the scenery turned fascinating. We got great views of the Gran Savana where the infamous Angel Falls are situated. Unfortunately on this trip I was not going to have enough time to visit the area.

At one point about 1am and about an hour out of Puerto Ordaz we had to stop at a police checkpoint. Everyone had to get off the bus with all of the luggage. The police separated the women and men into 2 different lines. They then called one person in at a time starting with the women (of course) and went through all the luggage and checking travel documents. An hour later we were back on the bus.

At 3am we finally arrived in Puerto Ordaz. Of course that was not what we’d consider an ideal time to arrive at a bus terminal in a country and city that we have been told is very dangerous. Fortunately there were “taxis” (they are not marked as such – just cars with a driver saying he’ll take you somewhere) so we grabbed one immediately and were out of there in a matter of 3 minutes. A few minutes later we checked into our hotel and were feeling safe again.

Leaving Boa Vista on the omnibus to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.

Venezuela’s largest bill is 100 Bolivar; the equivalent of 10 cents US. Need a knapsack to carry the equivalent of $50 USD.

Relaxing during the 20 hour bus trip.

A view of La Gran Sabana region of Venezuela from the bus window.

Day 573: Saturday, April 9, 2016

My first task today was to see if I had to go to Tucupita today or if I could go tomorrow. A trip to the city’s other bus terminal provided the answer. I would have no problem getting a shared “taxi” ride to Tucupita tomorrow so I decided to spend the day and one more night in Puerto Ordaz. The hotel was only $5 and it was plenty decent.

In the afternoon I took a taxi to the city center where there are 3 huge shopping malls right next to each other. The malls were packed with people. Even though I look very different from everyone and there were no other white people at all no one even looked at me. It was like being invisible. I found that strange but comforting at the same time. Especially since I had been told how dangerous Venezuela was.

I spent nearly 4 hours walking around including watching a festival that just happened to be going on. Never at any time did I feel in danger. For sure Venezuela is not considered dangerous because there might be a terrorist bombing a crowded shopping mall or even that tourists are a target. I think it is just that many people are desperate just to get food that armed robbery is probably very common. One thing that I saw time and again was long lines just to get into a supermarket. And once inside the supermarket the shelves are pretty bare. There are also long lines at pharmacies and banks.

As someone that held foreign currency I was able to convert it on the black market. The official exchange rate is something like 8 Bolivar to $1 USD. But on the black market it is 1,000 Bolivar to $1 USD. The largest paper money is 100 Bolivar or about 10 cents. In other words you need a backpack to carry enough money with you. If you use your credit card here it is converted at the official rate so that would be crazy to do.

Here is the cost in USD of some of the things I bought based on the black market rate at which I changed my money:

• 1 hour local taxi service                               $2.00
• Lunch – spaghetti & bread                         $1.20
• 30 oz. Nestea Iced tea at a food court      $0.40
• Hotel – clean, comfortable, safe               $5.00
• 2 hour (150 km) taxi ride                           $2.90
• 2 large Cinnabon type cinnamon rolls    $1.00

Day 574: Sunday, April 10, 2016

The only objective today was to make my way to Tucupita and find my hotel. I left at 6am by taxi and got to the bus terminal about 6:15am. From there I was not going to be taking a bus. To Tucupita I needed to get a shared ride called “carrito”. These are just regular (small cars like a Toyota Corolla) cars that are pretty old.

When I got there 1 lady with her 1 year old son was already waiting for a ride to Tucupita. A little after me another guy came. I thought that would make the car full and we would go but not the case. The driver was not going to go without a 3^rd adult to cram into the back seat. I thought that if I was going to get stuck in the back it would be very miserable with 3 adults and a one year old. After pondering the situation for 10 minutes I decided to first put my bag in the front passenger seat and second to offer to pay for another person and have him go with just the 3 adults and one kid. The driver agreed and off we went.

This was a bit of a moral dilemma for me. I didn’t want to take advantage of the fact that this amount of money was so insignificant to me when I knew for others there that it was a lot of money that I would use it to gain an advantage. But in the end I decided that it was in everyone’s best interest as it would be much more comfortable for the others in the back without a 3^rd adult.

Once we arrived in Tucupita the driver took me directly to my hotel which was on the outskirts of town and looked nothing like a hotel. I was scared to get out and just be dropped there since no one was around. But the driver was really nice and helped me find someone before he left.

The hotel is run by the company that operates the boat to Trinidad. There is nothing around the hotel so the owner of the company (and captain of the boat tomorrow) took me and another lady guest into town at noon in his car so we could eat at a restaurant there. Remember that the hotel only costs $3/night and that even includes hot water, cable TV, a refrigerator, and AC. And on top of that he drove me into town to get lunch. I really don’t know how they can make enough money at these prices and this level of service. They are just really kind, helpful, and thoughtful people.

My hotel in Tucupina for $3/night and a few fellow travelers going to Trinidad.

Jump to Other Countries: French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, U.S.A.

Day 575: Monday, April 11, 2016

Today was the boat ride from Tucupita, Venezuela to Trinidad. I was so apprehensive about this leg of the journey. There was very little information on the Internet on taking this route and it seemed sketchy at best. But since I have flights already scheduled to island hop through the Caribbean it was imperative I arrive in Trinidad today.

The day started at 6am when the owner got those of us staying at his hotel and took us to the river pier. We got to see them launch the boat since they take it out of the river at the end of each trip. I had heard the boat left at 11am but I figured I must have got something wrong and we’d leave much earlier. Well that did not turn out to be the case. To get on the boat took 5 hours, most of that time just standing around.

The first few hours were just hanging out. More and more people arrived and by 8am there were a lot of people. The boat holds 34 people but about 45 people showed up. I had a confirmation of my passage but my name was not on the list. The owner assured me I would be on the boat so not to worry but that was still hard to do since I could see there were way more people there than there were seats on the boat. From 8am to 9am they were selling the tickets and it was quite chaotic what with those without a place tried desperately to get a seat. I was the last one to get my ticket.

There was another white guy there and he did not have a reservation so I went up and talked to him. I first asked him where he is from and he said “Canada.” I said “Oh, where in Canada?” and he said “Alberta.” So I asked him “Where in Alberta?” and he said “Edmonton” to which I replied “Where in Edmonton?” I could see from the expression on his face that he is surprised. I mean, you don’t meet many people that know where Edmonton is let alone a specific area in Edmonton. It turns out that he is from St. Albert. I lived in Edmonton for 6 years and love the city. In the end, he did not make the boat.

Immigration took another hour as they made hand written entries in a log for each passenger and they were in no hurry. Then there was the luggage screening. They were extremely thorough. Literally everything was taken out of the bags. Even every piece of clothing was unfolded to see if anything was wedged inside. This took nearly 2 hours to complete. The luggage was then all lined up on the pier and the drug dog was brought in. The dog did his thing for 10 minutes and fortunately did not find anything so at 11am the boat left the pier.

The boat trip was uneventful but took 4 hours instead of the 3 hours they suggested it would take. I thought things would be better disembarking in Trinidad but immigration and customs took 2 hours. By now it was getting late but I still had some daylight left. There was nothing at the pier; no money exchangers, taxis, or anything. I walked about 500 meters down the road and came into town. The next bus was going to be in 1 ½ hours, maybe, so I put my thumb out. Within 10 minutes I got a ride and it took me to Point Finton. From there I was able to get a shared taxi to San Fernando where I was staying the night. It was a challenging and long day but it felt good to have the Georgetown, Guyana to Trinidad segment of my journey behind me. Having said that, as it turns out, nothing ever happened in Venezuela that made me feel scared or unsafe. The people I met were kind and nice. And the prices of things are just so cheap. My regret is that I bought into everything I heard that Venezuela was a very dangerous place and did not plan for enough time there. There are some really beautiful places to experience and for me it will require another trip there sometime in the future.

Day 576: Tuesday, April 12, 2016

After a good night chatting with my Airbnb host in San Fernando, Trinidad and learning a bit about the country this morning was all about getting to the airport to catch my flight to Grenada. The flight left on time and I landed in Grenada at 12:30pm. My flight to St. Vincent was at 10pm which gave me all of 9 1/1 hours to experience Grenada.

Last night I discovered a hike in Grenada that goes to a waterfall and pools in the tropical forest. From what I read and calculated it would be possible to get there and back before dark but I had to hurry. After about 45 minutes of begging I convinced the airline to check my large backpack even though my flight was not for 9 hours. So now I really felt pressed for time.

I got lucky and caught a shared cab into St. George’s right away. Then in St. George’s I found the #6 bus and it filled up in about 10 minutes and off we went. Grenada is very mountainous so the ride was very scenic and also a bit scary. Twenty five minutes later I was dropped right at the trailhead. The trailhead is on private property so a fee of about $5 USD is charged to get in. Then because it was my first time there they said I needed a guide. The guide charged me $15 USD. That is a bit of a rip off but, oh well. At least he explained some of the things we were seeing along the way and there was one place where I may have been confused where to turn if I was on my own.

The walk to the falls only took 20 minutes. The jungle was really nice but nothing as impressive of what I got to experience in Columbia over a year ago. Upon arrival at the waterfall and natural pool it was time for a swim. The water was really refreshing as you can imagine. I spent about 1 hour at the falls and then it was time to head back before I’d run out of daylight and more importantly the likelihood of catching a shared taxi to get back to St. George’s.

When I got back to the main road I thought that as long as I am standing there hoping for a shared taxi to come by I might as well thumb it. The second vehicle that came by stopped and gave me a ride. The road only goes to one place so it was no surprise that I got dropped within a short walk to the main bus terminal. I grabbed some food, explored the town a bit by town and then back to the airport in plenty of time for my flight to St. Vincent.

The flight to St. Vincent was perfectly on time and I arrived at 10:30pm, grabbed a cap and got to my Airbnb guesthouse before 11pm.

 Seven Sisters Falls, Grenanda

My guide putting on a diving show.

Day 577: Wednesday, April 13, 2016

My host took me into Kingston on her way to work at 8am and dropped me at the dock where the ferry goes over to the Grenadines. She assured me that the Grenadines had more to offer in the way of nice beaches than St. Vincent does. I got there at 8:30 and discovered that the 9am ferry was broken and the next ferry would be at 10:30 or 11:30. No one could be too sure.

Given I had a few hours to kill and I was hungry I walked into town and found a restaurant. There menu really suited me and for the first time in nearly 4 months I had an American style breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. They even had butter and syrup to go with the pancakes. Wow! I was very satisfied after that meal. After walking around the streets for a while I headed back to the ferry terminal. As it turns out the 10:30 ferry did not exist so I sat around for another hour and got the 11:30 ferry that actually left almost on schedule.

One hour later I arrived in Bequia, Grenadines. What a beautiful place. There is a boardwalk of sorts (only about 3 feet wide) that goes all along the waterfront and lined with restaurants. After only 10 minutes of walking you come to the first beach. In the bay are numerous sailboats anchored and one can imagine living a life like that.

I stopped at Jack’s Bar on the beach and had a smoothie. I then walked to nearly the end of the beach which was about 500 meters away. The beach was deserted so I had the place entirely to myself. I found a nice place in the shade, went for a swim in the ocean, and then relaxed for an hour or so.

The return ferry was at 4:30 so I left my ideal spot with enough time to have a light lunch at one of the restaurants. The ferry left right on schedule and I got back to my guesthouse before dark.

 Sitting on the dock of the bay, contemplating…if the guy I gave my camera to would still be there when I turn around.

The bay at Port Elizabeth, Grenedines

Day 578: Thursday, April 14, 2016

Today was a travel day to Dominica. My flight was scheduled for about 10am so I got up and went straight to the airport. My flight was delayed but I was not worried as I had to connect through Barbados and my layover was 3 ½ hours. Surely my flight could not be delayed that long. But indeed it was and I got to Barbados 15 minutes after my flight to Dominica was to depart. As it turns out that flight was also delayed which was good in that I would still get to Dominica today. This flight was also delayed by over 3 hours so instead of getting to Dominica at 5pm I ended up arriving at 8pm.

By this time there was not public transportation available so I had to take a cab which cost me $60 USD! So much for trying to save money and book a place that was cheap but further from the airport. That goes to show that the best laid plans do not always work out.

When I got to my place near Portsmouth the taxi driver called my host (Airbnb booking) and they came to get me. I was only 10 minutes from their place but it would not have been possible to find their place without them coming to get me. The car was an old beater from the 1960’s. The lady was French and the guy was a quintessential islander. The first thing he said as he took a toke of his joint was “Do you want some?” I passed and wondered what I had gotten myself into. On the drive to their place we go off road the last 100 meters. I get more worried. We get out of the car and start walking through the jungle in the dark for another 200 meters until we come to 2 shacks. One stack is theirs and one will be mine for the next 2 nights. I found myself in the middle of the jungle with no electricity. The only light I had was from 2 candles my host lit for me. I was also shown where the outhouse was and where the makeshift shower was. Needless to say there was no hot water.

My shack was just a tin roof on stilts with a wooden floor raised about 8 feet off the ground. The room itself however was surprisingly nice and comfortable. I was really one with nature. Surprisingly there were very few mosquitos but I made use of the mosquito net over the bed for good measure. I went to sleep fairly quickly hoping that morning and daylight to arrive soon.

Day 579: Friday, April 15, 2016

While I felt like I was in the middle of the jungle in reality I was only a 15 minute walk from town, restaurants, electricity, and Internet. After getting up slowly in the morning the host made me some hot chocolate. While I reluctantly sipped on that wondering where the milk came from and how it stayed cold with no electricity my host told me a few places I could go and explained how I could get to the natural warm water spring pool that exists only about a 5 minute walk through the jungle.

After the slow start to the day I walked into town to find Internet and food. What ended up happening is that I was too late to join any tours that day since they all started at 8am or 9am. I expected that might be the case but since I arrived much later than expected yesterday I did not have time to do the research I had planned to do. Thus I was stuck with nothing to do. I ended up taking a long walk north of town where there is a beach but when I got there it was one of the least interesting beaches I have ever made an effort to walk to.

By mid-afternoon I decided to head back to my shack in the jungle and just enjoy that. I had a hammock to relax in so it was nice. I then hiked further into the jungle to find the warm water spring pool. When I got there I jumped in and saw there was soap that someone (most likely my host) had left. Since it was warm water it was the perfect place to take a bath.   This way I was able to avoid taking a cold shower back by my shack. It was really nice sitting there in the pool in the middle of the jungle with no interruptions.

Me in front of my Dominican Jungle Shack.

Day 580: Saturday, April 16, 2016

My flight to Antigua wasn’t until 4pm so I had plenty of time to be able to sleep in and take it slow and not enough time to do anything special. I took another short hike to the warm water spring pool, bathed, and then went back to my shack and prepared to leave. At least I was leaving for the airport during the day so once down in the town I was able to catch a public minivan to the next town up. At that town I was able to catch yet another minivan to the airport on the other side of the island.

My host had told me of a nice place along the way to stop and get some lunch so when the minivan got there I asked to get out. The restaurant was closed but since it was 11:30am I thought they might open at noon and I stuck around. About 11:50 a boy comes down the road. He stopped to talk to me as it turns out his parents own the restaurant. He told me they weren’t going to open today. I was on the outskirts of a town so I started walking towards town right along the beach. The view was really nice but what I really wanted was food. It was a very small town and there were only a few other places that looked like they could be restaurants but they were closed as well.

I went to the bus stop and waited for the next minivan to come by. The minivans only leave the starting point when it is full so there is no way to know when they are going to come. As luck had it I only had to wait about 20 minutes. It got to the airport about 45 minutes later. Fortunately there was a small café at the airport so I was able to get some chicken with rice that was pretty good.

My flight was on time and I got to Antigua about 6pm. My Airbnb host had offered to pick me up at the airport which was really nice. I had to pay a small amount for the ride but it was a good deal and very convenient. The place is a room in an apartment but it was very comfortable. The Sandals resort was right across the street and my host is the head chef there.   There were a few restaurants outside of the resort within walking distance so I was able to get some dinner and then call it a night.

Day 581: Sunday, April 17, 2016

My flight to Saint Kitts was not until evening so I had a lot of time. I was thinking of venturing off to other spots on the island but it is Sunday and my host told me that it would be impossible to get any public transportation and even if I did go into the city that everything would be closed. Given the prospects of very expensive taxi rides and getting someplace that I could not get back from in time to go to the airport I opted to wonder along the beach in front of the Sandals hotel. I found a different restaurant than last night to have lunch at. After sunbathing on the beach I made my way back to my room, took a shower, and then my host also took me back to the airport.

It was a short flight to Saint Kitts and I got in on time but it was already evening and dark out.    A cab took me to my Airbnb apartment. Once there my host pointed me in the direction of restaurants. It required a 10 minute walk in the pitch dark along golf cart paths on a golf course. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit afraid. I was very hungry though so I chanced it. Using my flashlight app on my cell phone and my headlamp I was able to navigate to a dirt street along a beach that had small shacks as restaurants . There were very few people there and the ones I did see did not make me feel overly comfortable.   Despite that I got some food and made my way back to my apartment as fast as I could.

Day 582: Monday, April 18, 2016

On my last day of this leg of my journey I did something uncharacteristic and joined a tourist-oriented full day catamaran sail and snorkeling trip from Saint Kitts to Nevis Island and back. I figured that it was the best way to get to Nevis and still enjoy the day. There was a big group of Americans on the boat that were all staying at the Marriott nearby my Airbnb apartment.

The Airbnb apartment owner lent me a bicycle that I used to ride over 30 minutes to the port where the catamaran was departing from. The bicycle was in a pretty bad way so it was a tough ride and I wasn’t sure I would make it all the way. But make it I did. The trip was enjoyable mostly for the interaction with other people. The snorkeling was pretty mediocre and on Nevis we had a few hours to walk on the beach. The beach was where the Four Seasons hotel is so I was forced to see people traveling in a much more lavish style than I am.

Heading back to Saint Kitts the skies were getting really dark and I was wondering if I would make it back to my apartment before the heavens opened up. It would be tight. It was another 30 minute ride back to the apartment on the rickety bike and because the skies looked so bad I decided not to stop at a store for any food. About 3 minutes before I got to the apartment the rain started. I got under cover and settled without getting too wet and it was about 5pm. I expected the rain would only last a few hours and then I would be able to venture out in search of food. That did not happen. It started to rain really hard and did not stop the whole night. Thus I was without any food. In the frig I did find an open jar of peanut butter so I got a spoon and ate that slowly throughout the evening. At least it was crunchy peanut butter so it helped make it feel like I was eating something.

Jump to Other Countries: French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Caribbean.

Day 583: Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Today I got to go home! My flight was at 7:30am so it meant leaving my Airbnb apartment at 6:00am. The guy that owned the place was nice enough to take me after his wife was kind enough to ask him to do so. He was getting up early anyway to go fishing. The car was a real beater with holes through the floor such that I could see the road beneath my seat. He was a real island dude with dreadlocks and the smell of pot permanently socked into his being.

Days 584~594: Wednesday, April 20, 2016 ~ Saturday, April 30, 2016

I spent an amazing 10 days at home. It was really great spending some good quality time with my parents, daughters, sister, grandkids, and friends. It was go, go, go the entire time. In addition to family and friends time there was a ton of stuff to do to prepare for the next leg of my ongoing journey.

While at home I was able to make it out golfing twice which because of my broken leg last year I had not done in nearly 2 years. On my second outing I actually got 4 birdies in one round, something I have never done before in 45 years of playing. It must have been because I was so relaxed and was just enjoying each individual shot. I hope I can remember that when I really get back to playing when my travels are completed.

I also got to go razor clam digging with my dad. My dad and I have been doing that together since before I can even remember and one of those things we will keeping doing together forever. It was one of the best clamming days I can ever remember which made it that much more special.

My last night in Olympia was my Rotary club’s annual auction and dinner. It was a really enjoyable night and I got to enjoy it with my daughters and parents.

 Out on the golf course in Olympia, Washington. Feels so good after so long.

Clam digging on the Washington coast on a perfect day with my dad.

A rare shot with both my daughters at the South Puget Sound Rotary Club Auction.