Exiting Brazil at Santa Elena, the border office is easy to miss. Its a building on the right with a sign saying "Stop Police Check". There is no TIP paperwork needed for motorcycles entering or exiting Brazil. Entry stamps INTO Venezuela are in a portable office on the left and the TIP (temporary import permit) is in the building on the right. After presenting all motorcycle paperwork we were told in Spanish that we needed a permit issued in the next town 20km north IN Venezuela. We needed to return with it to the border for processing before the TIP would be issued and our ORIGINAL motorcycle paperwork would be returned! Yikes!
We were told to ask around Santa Elena for the Mapfre Segunda office. It was a very unusual request, but.... We drive to the centre of town and we just happen to spot a sign for Mapfre Segunda! While filling out the forms we realise this is all about insurance, which we already had and the Customs Officer didn't realise as it was in English. For the $8 charge we were doubly insured! The agent tells us Customs are closed for a 2 hour lunch break, so find a posada, have lunch and then return to the border!
That evening we check the paperwork to discover that Pat's passport number is wrong on the TIP!? So back to the border AGAIN next morning! Note: Always check paperwork as a mistake may cause untold grief down the track! Lucky fuel is cheap in Venezuela!
When filling up we take 15 litres and the bill is 1.5 cents!
We give a 50 cent note and the fuel lady doesnt have change, so its free! Some bikers we met never pay for fuel!
This is the cheapest fuel we have EVER encountered!
We read in our Footprints guidebook that there are good posadas 200km north in El Dorado, the location of "Pappion" a movie made in the 60's. A group of Venezuelan bikers we met riding Africa Twins inform us that this town is not safe and neither are the next 2 towns!

Our day becomes another 450km bender finishing at dusk, just before a big storm we pull into a hotel in Guasipate for the grand total of US$6 nice, clean and secure! Phew!
The next day we rode to near Cuidad Guyana to visit our new referral friends Yuddy and Carlos! While waiting for Yuddy at the gates of her secure complex a man and his son approached us and invited us to their home to wait. In appreciation we took the son to lunch at his awesome Country Club. It takes a very special person to invite total strangers into their home! The world is full of wonderful people, it just takes a bit of trust! The family then escourted us to Yuddy's place over a km away.

The next day Yuddy introduced us to Pedro who offered to organise a trip to Angel Falls for us, which involved him driving us to the airport 1.5 hours away! The next morning he picked us up at 5am and picked us up 3 days later, what amazing generousity!
Angel Falls is not an easy destination as the trip involves a 2 hour flight in a 4 seat plane, a 5 hour boat trip UP a river and 3 hours of hiking up the side of a mountain. We slept the first night in Canaima within the National Park. There are no roads in or out, so everything must be flown in! There are photos of the Hercules that flew the few vehicles in that transport tourists in the town! Angel Falls was amazing, it is the largest single drop (approx 1km) waterfall in the world and there are lots of huge waterfalls coming off the large plateau called Auyantepuy.

Angel Falls was named after Jimmy Angel, a US airman who first reported its existence and crashed his plane on the plateau 2 years later.
Our second night was spent sleeping in hammocks under a basic shelter and having asado (BBQ) chicken for dinner. The return boat trip the next morning down river was much quicker and exciting. The return flight we flew through a huge tropical storm and landed at night fall!

We made it with lots of adrenalin, even the Iranian guy with us was praying to any God who would listen!? The cost was US$180 all inclusive for 3 days, 2 nights. If we had used the official exchange rate of 6B to US$1 instead of the black market rate of 120B to US$1 it would have cost 20 times as much!
After recovering at Yuddy and Carlos beautiful home, we headed towards Isla de Margarita, the jewel of Venezuela.... with lots of amazing friendships made over a few short days!