Salto Angel, Venezuela...

The boys ponied up $500 for a day trip to the Falls (in USD, $360 will work for a one-day flight to Canaima, a hike to nearby falls, and a Salto Angel flyover before returning to Ciudad Bolivar). I opted out, which is good, since in my various attempts to withdraw cash and my trust in those fabulously hospitable Venezuelan motorcyclists, my guard was down and someone "helped" me by helping themselves to $200 from my functioning ATM card. I had to cancel it, and hope the backup worked. I passed through all of Venezuela in less than a week, eating and sleeping off the Reais which I had to exchange at the border. Bring CASH people, the black market exchange rate on the USD is better than the bank rate...but who cares, since you can't withdraw any cash from Venezuelan banks! Haha! The gas is 6c a liter though, so at least there is some condolence.

Made it to the border with a handful of cash only to have the customs guys take it from me. I smelled a rat, got a bit nasty without my coffee first thing in the A.M. (receipts were only had 6 blocks away back into town through traffic), and was subsequently "detained" by the police. Sweet. Venezuelan jail. Life is good. They released me after attempting to toss my camera (don't take border photos - they don't like that) in the trash can and trying to get me to stay for reasons other than force. Meanwhile, the guys are wondering what happened, since it was literally a stamp and then my collar being lifted into a sweaty box by two policemen. Turns out, it is legit and they charge everyone to leave, bike, feet, or otherwise. 46 Bolivianos. Make a note of it.