Finally was only for about three hours and I woke up, looked through the back window and saw a man standing in front of his house looking towards me and I realized that it was time to look for another place in order to avoid for him to wake up the whole neighborhood and start inquiring about me or even calling the local police to investigate me. I drove for another half an hour and found the second final parking place to try to sleep for the second half of the night.
Please click on “View Album” to see pictures in a Google+ Album.
This morning was just a short rainforest mountain drive before I made it to the Caribbean, the city of Carupano in the state of Sucre. When I planned the route I wanted to stay always as close to the sea, having the expectation in a way to drive from one beach to the next and having numerous options to stay for the night. Only now actually driving along my planned route I realized that the geography and consequently the infrastructure is most of the time not as I expected or visualized.
The last 3000 km, actually since the city of Sao Luis, Brazil my planned route had shown me lots of beautiful beaches and sunsets but at the same time had shown me the limited access to the beach. This was definitely due to the amount of rivers joining the sea and the huge dimensions of the rainforest and the Amazon / Orinoco delta.
Please click on “View Album” to see pictures in a Google+ Album.
I was looking for a quite village with a quite beach and continued driving. I was hoping that it would be just around the corner from Carupano. Around the corner was actually a beautiful landscape, a small hilltop peninsula connected with the main land only through a kilometer long and a hundred meter wide sandy strip. The strip had a one way road in and out, unfortunately along the road very poor, unfinished and smelly houses. On one side a bay with fisher boats and on the other side another bay with beach. I went on; the coastline was very hilly and steep, the road very curvy and panoramic.
Another 30 km and I had found my beach, Playa Medina. The arrival through the rainforest and the curvy road which opened bit by bit the view to the palm trees and the beach was stunning. Getting closer on the dead end road the surface quickly changed from asphalt to fine grass and sand, the colors were intense and everything was quite organized; the parking, the umbrellas, the sunbed sand the kiosk’s. I spent the day with about 50 to 60 people of which half had been tourist and the other half staff and family, still somehow you had the feeling you had this paradise for yourself. I lay down on my sunbed and had this paradise for me for one day.
Parking, camping or sleeping during the night was not allowed in paradise. This was a day paradise with a kind of beach club atmosphere. On the way to paradise I had stopped at a viewing point and after sunset I drove back up the hill to enjoy the remaining light of the day shining onto paradise until it disappeared in the darkness.
For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.
Please click on map to enlarge!!!
See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias
0 km Maturin
65 km Caripito
135 km Casanay
180 km Carupano
225 km Playa Medina
Please click on “View Album” to see pictures in a Google+ Album.