ture with music called joropo (track #4 on the play list) as the main contribution. We signed up with one of the local travel agencies for a four night-three day package, that included an ultra professional guide that caches anacondas like worms.Los Llanos is a region of tropical grassland that covers vast part of central Venezuela stretching from the Colombian border from the West up to the Orinoco's delta in the East. Due to the extreme climate, Los Llanos has hot and arid summers and rainy winters that floods a huge part
of the terrain, this huge grassland is sparsely inhabited and the main source of incom is a cattle farming.This has helped preserve the natural environment and allowed ecoturism to become an important part of the local economy.
My trip to Los Llanos took place in the middle of the dry season, which made all the water animals gather in close to the remaining sources of water. Every single pond was packed with caimans (relative of crocodile) and our safaris did not require extensive efforts. The trip followed the standard pattern of the "Los Llanos tour": boat trip on the local river, piranha fishing (rivers are full of them) horseback riding and of course chasing anaconda so everyone can have a picture.
Before going I heard stories from my Venezuelan friends about the -"tour guide type guy"- that were not rea
lly admiring and with my luck our guide fulfilled those characteristics by one hundred percent. Basically all the bad attributes of the machismo, condensed and accompanied with the lack of respect constituted his manners.Three nights of sleeping on the hammock, an hour of horseback riding with no formal training and infernal temperatures made me want to come back to Merida. Besides, those three days were enough to see and understand "Venezuelan tour guide" in action; just one more could have ruined my reputation of goodwill ambassador.
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