San Juan de Manapiare 2013

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Day 11. Dawn and we all seem well rested. We started the trip back. The road is much easier, no real work to do, everything is already clean and free on the way. We arrived to the burned field and we noticed that the FJ40 has broken the main leaf on the other side and that the gas tank was leaking, so we decided to camp there again and repair the FJ40 springs.

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Day 12: We start and everything seems peaceful, there is only work to cross the “caños”. About 10 am we were back in Caño Santo (Caño Holy) and stopped for a short rest and a swim in the river. We were later in the Savannah and perhaps for the confidence and not paying too close attention to the road, we do not realize that we had separated the original trail and it took us about 45 minutes to get back on track. After a stretch of jungle trail, we reached a small flat area that showed us a beautiful picture of the Serrania de Guanay, it was already late so we decided to camp at that point. Tonight became more difficult for some, a heavy rain fell in the middle of the night and the roofs of the hammocks did not work as they should. At least it was on the outbound leg and fatigue was no longer the same.

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Day 13. We picked up camp and left. At some point the FJ40 begins to misfire to the point of not holding iddle. We stop and began to diagnose the problem, it turned out that the selection valve for the dual fuel tank set-up was broken, perhaps due to a tree stomp hitting it, making it impossible the flow of fuel, and we patched the valve and continued the trip back home. Later the white FZJ71 punctured a tire again. We fixed the tire and continued the journey. The FJ40 strikes a log and dislocated the front spring mount from the frame, forcing us to use its own winch to put the transmission in place and roll like that until get got to a spot where we could camp and fix it. Despite of the multiple stops, we have traveled enough to camp just before Suapure river that night, at the same spot where we had camped the second day into the trip.

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Day 14 and final day: We got up and the co-pilots went to work on the entry path to the Suapure river where all the cars got body damage coming in. The goal was to clear the path enough so all the trucks could enter the river bank with some momentum. The water level had risen, so we unspooled almost the entire winch cables, joined a couple of straps and anchor to a tree on the other side of the river (just in case), but we crossed without much problems this time.

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We started to celebrate, and say goodbye to the hard way what that we left behind. We continued to the Orinoco river on Easter Sunday where the only thing open was pizzeria. Four extra-large pizzas for the eight of us and then we go to sleep ...

We declared GOLD medal at this point!

After about 200 fallen trees, cut and removed from the road, the large number of “caños” crossed, the hunger, the thirst, the weariness, the wasp and ant stings, the dangers of the jungle, we did it!

One of the most spectacular and unique travel offered in Venezuela where everything that was suffered is rewarded by the incredible scenery and the charisma of its people.



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Inspection of damage after the trip:

- Body panels hit in almost every side of the truck, they are almost inevitable
- Broken Snorkels
- Auxiliary lights broken
- One broken winch (from the truck leading the pack)
- One broken winch cable
- A broken fairlead
- About 10 tire punctures

Recommendations for this trip: (and for others too if interested)
- DO NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT
- Bring a medium size chainsaw with spark plugs and spare chains. The big ones become too big and heavy to manipulate after so many trees.
- Water purifiers and Aquatabs
- Sharp Machetes, several by cars, they always get lost
- Flavored drinks or anything that will remove the taste of river water
- Vaccines: Tetanus, Hepatitis, etc..
- Good and complete first aid kit
- Axle shafts, sledgehammer, picks, chicora, pulleys, tree straps, winch cables, clamps for the cable
- A pair of bridging plates, they were a nuisance and delayed us quite a bit
- Gasoline; on average 320 liters (85 gallons) per truck (and then re-filled in Manapiare)
- Spare Winches
- Hammocks with mosquito nets and roof
- Long-sleeved shirts and pants, hats with nets
- Be always aware of the wasps, try to not disturbing them
- Basic spare parts
- Spare Inner tubes and tire repair kits
- Co-pilots in good physical condition
- Designate tasks to everyone, that will prevent frustration and help harmony in camp 
- The group must know each other very well and have completed trips together before

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Excellent write up Alberto.

I've been there, but arrived on a curiara from Yutaje, which is a little camp that's on the foot of the guainay sierra and takes its name from the second largest waterfall in the country, the Salto Yutaje.
One of the nicest places i've visited in the country, If you ever get the chance to visit it, its highly recommended. Although you can only reach it by plane...

Seriously impressed that you guys made it in your trucks, im jealous and I hope I can make one of those trips one day. If I do so, I will do the same as Fernando and take a 2F 40 to avoid any "unnecesary" problems.

Felicitaciones!

Luis.
 
Hi all,

AlbertoSD, thanks for sharing your trip report, photos, & video with us!

:beer:

Wow! What an awesome trip!! That was a real test of vehicle & crew!

Regards,

Alan
 
On your trip, with all the water crossings, was it necessary to drain and refill diffs & T/Cs or regrease bearings, u-joints, hubs, CVs and birfs? I ask because of my inexperience & it wasn't mentioned in your recommendations. Thanks for sharing your journey! Everyone I talk to says I must be crazy to want to do this. I'm sure you know what I mean, if you have to explain it to someone why you do or want to do this, chances are they won't understand. But for us that can appreciate it, threads like this are great! Thanks, again:cheers:
 
Great read and pic's, sounds like you guys had a tough but very rewarding trip.
Hope to do something similar to this trip oneday.
Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Brian.
 
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