Yesterday I had managed to recharge my battery to 10%, this morning I managed to recharge my battery to 1%. 1% was not enough to make the fourteen kilometers back to Paraitepuy. I could stand, but hardly walk, I was exhausted and had no strength. I had to consider a different option, a moto from Paraitepuy to pick me up. I spoke quickly to Gregory to thank him for carrying my back pack yesterday and gave him my lightweight air mattress. He had saved my life yesterday. I spoke to Omar about the moto. He spoke first to the family who lived at the camp if they would expect a delivery, this was not the case. Omar spoke to different guides from the different groups who were all at the camp and asked for a satellite phone to talk to the manager onsite in the Park office. Thirty minutes later Omar had an answer, 10:00 hours pick up at the next river and 30.000 Bolivares. I agreed.
The group had left one by one and I packed my back pack. I had to walk the last two kilometers of this adventure; I had to walk to the next riverbed, the agreed pick up point. I walked in trance, I did not feel my legs anymore, my mind carried me forward until I reached the riverbed. A small tree gave some shade, I lay down underneath and waited for the sound of a moto. Everything was quiet; a very strange feeling came to me, never had this kind of a feeling before and still cannot really find the right words to describe that feeling, maybe a mixture of peace, happiness, nothing matters, yet everything seems clear. The sound of the moto was distant and silent but came closer and suddenly it was noisy and right in front of me.
The drive was through the hilly savannah, the back pack still pushed me back several times and I had to hold on to the driver to not fall of the moto. The path was mainly dry but had some wet parts where the wheels slipped away and the driver had to use both his feet to keep the balance of the moto. We had to cross two more riverbeds with funny wooden bridges and I had to get off and walk. Just before the village the path got quite steep and again the driver had to use all his skills to make it up the hill without losing me. Somehow he must have felt or seen how weak I was, he suggested, he insisted for me to see the local indigenous doctor at the First aid office.
He drove to the local school where the doctor was teaching, playing or just watching a handful of kids. She had time to attend me and walked to the office. We arrived at the door steps of the office, I got off the moto but had no strength anymore in my legs, I felt paralyzed, without control of my legs and lay down on the floor. The doctor arrived; just a second, I just needed to recover enough strength for just another five meters to the bed; I needed five minutes. The doctor had already prepared the IV pole next to the bed, the injection needle and the plastic bag with glucose. After half an hour, life came back to my legs and my body, my batteries recharged to 1%, enough to make it to the Park office. One hour later my batteries were at 2% and team Enterprise and the 4×4 arrived. Another hour later my batteries were at 3% and we arrived at Kumarakapay. Two hours later my batteries were at 5% and the rest of the group Gregory arrived at the posada in Kumarakapay. I collected all names and contact details. Team Enterprise was first one more time and left late in the afternoon. Now it was my turn, I said good bye and drove to Santa Elena de Uairen.
My adventure Mount Roraima was over, I had not been physically prepeared, I did not have proper clothes for the climate and I had succeeded a diet for the price of total exhaustion.
Group Gregory
Operator – Gregory
Guide – Omar
Cook – Cleidymar
Cook – Keila
Carrier – Julian
Carrier – Jesus
Doc McCoy – Alejandro Izaguirre
Chekov – Yanjos Ave
Uhura – Maria Jose Lopez
Rammstein – Omar Rivas
Dreamcatcher – Joselyn Godoy
Photographer – Gianfranco di Campo
Journalist – Mariolga Gomez
Ecuador – Juan
Belgium – Sylvie
Guacharaca – Claudia Valenzuela
Guacharaca – Yolanda di Sevo
Guacharaca – Yuli Viloria
Gringo – AlexK