Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Latin America 2018 - Day 27. Santa Elena – Boa Vista - Manaus


Early next morning it became time to say goodbye. I joined the family for a delicious breakfast of arepas with egg, and tanked my gracious host by depositing with her several million Bolivares (which I am afraid will only be good to buy some candy for the kids). I also gave Luis a generous tip, which he accepted with feigned reluctance.

Luis and a couple of his friends then fired up an old Crown Victoria, even more decrepit than the other vehicles we had used before, and drove me to La Línea for me to take the colectivo that was to take me to Boa Vista. I left at 9 am, and should be in Boa Vista by 11 am, with plenty of time to take my flight to Manaus at 1 pm.

It was hard to say goodbye to Luis. I regard him more as a friend than just a guide, and sincerely hope that his tourist business picks up. He has my most enthusiastic recommendation, so if you are ever on this part of the world make sure to look him up:

Luis Vago
Vago Tours
Luis2652@hotmail.com
WhatsApp +58 416-585-9881

The costs of the trip were: $750 all-inclusive fee (for 1 to 4 people) + $200 tip to guide and porters. A bargain!

I reached Boa Vista in plenty of time, my flight to Manaus was on time, and by 3:30 pm I was entering the Ibis Aeropuerto in Manaus. My first tasks were to offer one of the enormous cold beers common in Brazil, catch up with a week of emails, and confirm my flight tomorrow for Bogotá.

Then I went up to my room and had a long, luxurious hot shower. Ah, the simple joys of life! Then I went into a paroxysm of clothes washing, and pretty soon the whole room looked like a laundry. Finally, I sank into the bed, a real bed, and drifted into sleep.

And this is the end of the Roraima adventure.

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