Merida, Adrenaline capital, Venezuala

Arrived in Merida, after crossing the Andes, for a couple of days of all out adventure. This university town is nicknamed La Ciudad de Los Caballeros ( The City of Gentlemen ) and has a very friendly feel to it. We are staying at the hostel run by Guamanchi Expeditions same company as we stayed with at Los Llanos. Local restaurants and street food is very reasonably priced along with any sporting activities you wish to participate in. Mountain biking, paragliding, rafting, are all available but I opt for canyoning along with Geoff, Lisa, Heather, Vanessa, Terry and Leslie. Canyoning involves climbing, rappelling and hiking down a river canyon and its waterfalls. After a steep climb in a 4 x 4 and a 40 minute hike we arrived at the edge of the canyon and got kitted up with helmet, wet suit, and harness and followed a lesson in rope safety and control. There was a fair bit of apprehension about but we all got stuck in. The waterfalls we were going to abseil down were 6 metres, 20 metres and 30 metres along with pools, slopes and climbs. It was a really enjoyable few hours overcoming any apprehensions you may possess. We all had a great day and arrived back at base tired, aching but full of adrenaline, what another great experience. A well deserved few beers tasted all the better. From here we head to a different border crossing into Colombia than previously arranged due to local trouble, but that's another adventure awaiting.

Adios

Tony x

1-3. En route to the top of the canyon
4-9. Lisa, Terry n Lesley, Geoff in his colourful shoes, Lisa, Vanessa and Heather, Francois all getting geared up.
10-20. At various stages down the canyon