Chichiriviche – Mirimire - 84 km
We continued past a vast lake two days later revealing thousands of pink flamingos.
Ernest had a flat tyre, allowing for plenty of time to take pictures of those beautiful
birds.
Mirimire was so rural, we felt positively alien. The search to locate an ATM
excepting Visa didn’t reveal anything, leaving us to find the most basic digs. With it
being a budget room, the door couldn’t close. It took piling all our noisy equipment
in front of the door, hoping it would make sufficient noise to deter any intruder and
wake us in the process.
Mirimire - Puerto Cumarebo - 97 km
Bike problems marred the ride to Puerto Cumarebo: first, Ernest had a puncture,
and afterwards, his tyre tore along the side. There was not a great deal one could
do about that, and he sewed the damage up using a fishing line, which did the job.
The route was reasonably hilly, but provided a strong tailwind that made it
comfortable riding. We turned into Puerto Cumarebo to find a bank but, again, it
was a fruitless exercise.
However, I still had enough money to buy food and beer. So, following shopping for
these essentials in town, we headed out and sneaked behind a petrol station to
pitch our tents at the car wash. A couple stopped to chat and gave us 50 VEF. How
nice was that?