Venezuela

[Birdman666]

I found my old photos from when we lived back in the amazon. I don't know if I'd be boring you folks if I posted them or not...

 

[Doublete]

You're funny...

POST!!!

 

[Birdman666]

First of all, this was the late 60's. And to get to where we were going required two airplanes and a dugout canoe...

Those of you who are classic airplane nuts, like I am will appreciate this. The plane was an old DC-3 (the gooney bird!). The Gooney Bird took us as far as Caracas, and we went the rest of the way on board a "Bush Plane" which was an old DH-2 Beaver. Prop driven aircraft, dirt runways, and rolling ladders that came up to the door. Someone pulled up in a jeep to take you and your bags to the terminal. The "golden age" of aviation... (or not!) Let's just say it's a little different now.



The local airport. Didn't even have a dirt runway. Just find a flat spot near where you wanted to be, and set it down there:



The dugout canoe was necessary because the bridge over the river had washed out during the rainy season. There was nowhere to land on the other side of the river. It was all steep terrain and jungle.



A view of the river from the air.



Let's hope the outboard doesn't quit, eh?!

 

[Birdman666]

Yeah. Ummmm... this puts an "interesting perspective" on the terms "Bush Plane" and "Bush Pilot." Another Beaver. This one not so pristine... (Apparently, the spot he picked was not quite flat enough, or he overshot the runway, or he snagged a wheel on something, probably the snagged a wheel on something and cartwheeled judging by the way the tail is bent.) There was a time when flying was considered an "ultra-hazardous activity" and was reserved for the "adventurous."

"Fasten seatbelt and Pray."



I think this might be the source of my sister's fear of flying.

And the reason we took the hollow tree across the river?! This was the alternate tramway across the river.

And the tramway was run by a winch, and had a nasty habit of jamming half way across...



OSHA standards pretty much didn't apply in 1960'S Venezuela...

Yeah. Take the canoe... it's safer. (Unless the outboard quits.)

Oddly enough, some of my friends would want to know how tall that thing was - "looks like an awesome base platform." (Pretty sure it wasn't tall enough though.)

 

[Birdman666]

When I say our place was right on the river, this is what I meant.



That little blonde kid?! That's me - a LOOOOOOOONNNNGGG time ago!



That's a mixed blessing in the jungle. Because every living thing in that place eventually goes down to the jungle clearing for a drink. Some of them are not things you would care to encounter...

Other things came out of the river to hunt the things that came down to the river clearing for a drink. (Like for example, the 12 foot anaconda we caught trying to eat one of our cats.)

The river clearing was in our back yard. (Fortunately it was a big yard.)

The amazon jungle WAS the front yard. Now you know why we landed on the other side of the river. No place to set a plane down on this side.





That's a seven foot tropical rattlesnake my Dad is holding. There were all kinds of poisonous snakes in the area. You wore boots in the jungle, and you didn't go out without your snake stick and a machete, even at my age.



I can tell you for a fact that Bananas do not taste the same when they aren't allowed to ripen on the vine. Neither do mangos when you pick them before they are ripe. Venezuela pretty much spoiled me for that. We had a huge mango tree in our yard, and this was also taken from our back yard.

 

[Birdman666]

On the plus side, living on the river meant lots of fresh fish...

Some of which had very large teeth. No rush to get the hook out. It can wait.









This was my big sister's first "big one." Not bad for an eight year old girl, eh?!



There were also pirahna and crocodiles in the river. Swimming was done close to shore, and was supervised by a "lifeguard" with a high powered rifle. You weren't allowed to go in the water if you had any cuts or sores.

I never had any close encounters with any of them.



Purina cat chow, jungle style. FRESH SUSHI! And it didn't cost a dime! The animals always helped out with the leftovers.

 

[Birdman666]

Nope. Not Maggie. This was the bird that broke my dad's fingers.



Notice he's being stick handled (by what's left of the stick. Chomp!)

And here are two of our YCA's.





I didn't find any of the whole flock.

 

[Scott]

Pictures or it didn't happen! LOL, of course we WANT pics!

 

[Birdman666]

Pictures or it didn't happen! LOL, of course we WANT pics!

That's how it works in skydiving... if you didn't get it on video, it never happened! I'm here late tonight. I'll get them up tomorrow.

 

[RavensGryf]

I can't wait to see the pics!

 

[Birdman666]

Walking to school we used to play a game of "can you spot the howler monkeys before they fling their poo at you...

Monkeys are actually quite nasty. Can you spot the monkeys?! There's a bunch of them... LOOKOUT INCOMING! (Oh yes they do!)



And there you have it. Pics are posted. Therefore, it happened... a long, long time ago. Almost half a decade ago, the beginning of my misspent youth.

I'm glad I found these. Hope I didn't bore you.

 

[Scott]

Wow, what an experience, Mark! Thanks for posting - it really did happen!

The beauty of the Amazon Jungle is apparent, but the ecosystem that lurks within and below certainly made life challenging. I guess one learns to live with the critters or be consumed! Must have been an awesome time for you as a kid! I'll bet the parrots stole your heart, and helped make you so intuitive with them!

That 7' rattler your dad is holding must have been a fright, and I imagine there were a variety of giant crawling/flying insects. Checks off two of my worst phobias!

Beautiful Greenwing, did it ever become tame? Were you able to import any of the birds upon return to the U.S? (recently read Howard Vorin's Jungle book on the challenges of wholesale importation!)

Did not spot any of the poo-monkeys for certain; no doubt they are experts at camouflage with a great aim!

Finally, found some history on that stunning Avensa DC-3. Based on a Google search of the registration YV-C-AVE, it was Douglas construction number 4179, purchased through the Defense Supply Corporation and delivered to Pan Am 2/7/1942. Went to Avensa 12/7/1945 and then to Lucaya Beach Air Service 2/2/1973. Last reported in storage at Madrid AFB in Columbia as of 9/1997. Yes, the DC-3 is an historic machine!!

 

[Birdman666]

I guess one learns to live with the critters or be consumed! Must have been an awesome time for you as a kid!

WELL, YOU'RE JUST TAUGHT FROM THE GET GO, THAT WILD ANIMALS ARE NOT TO BE MESSED WITH. (YOU DON'T RUN EITHER.)

I'll bet the parrots stole your heart, and helped make you so intuitive with them!

NO, THEY PRETTY MUCH KICKED MY BUTT AND PUT ME IN MY PLACE ON THE DAILY... I BECAME A PARROT PERSON YEARS LATER, IN SPITE OF, MY EXPERIENCE WITH THESE GUYS.

That 7' rattler your dad is holding must have been a fright, and I imagine there were a variety of giant crawling/flying insects. Checks off two of my worst phobias!

I CAUGHT 9 FOOT DIAMOND BACK ON MY WAY TO SCHOOL ONE DAY. SNAKES WERE PRETTY MUCH A FACT OF LIFE...

WHAT SCARED ME WAS THE FACT THAT WE HAD BUSHMASTERS AND CORAL SNAKES... I NEVER RAN INTO THEM, BUT MY DAD ENCOUNTERED A RATHER NASTY BUSHMASTER...

THE THING IS, THE NEAREST ANTI-VENOM WAS PROBABLY NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO GET YOU THERE IN TIME, EVEN IF YOU WERE AIRLIFTED. SO, YEAH, SNAKE STICKS WERE NOT OPTIONAL!!! AND YOU LEARNED HOW TO USE IT... GRAB THE HEAD, FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE MACHETE. LEAVE IT WHERE YOU FOUND IT. SOMETHING ELSE WILL COME ALONG AND EAT IT...

INSECTS?! DUMMY HERE FELL FOR THE "PITCHERS MOUND" TRICK. STAND ON THE PITCHERS MOUND AND THROW THE BALL. (IT WAS AN ARMY ANT HILL! I HAD A FEW HUNDRED BITES...)

AND WE HAD A FAMILY PICNIC ON SOME OLD INDIAN STONE RUINS... UNTIL A FEW HUNDRED SCORPIONS CAME OUT FROM UNDER THE STONE RUINS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIKE US TROMPING AROUND ON THEIR NEST!!!

TO THIS DAY, THE ONE THING I CANNOT STAND IS SCORPIONS!!!

Beautiful Greenwing, did it ever become tame? Were you able to import any of the birds upon return to the U.S? (recently read Howard Vorin's Jungle book on the challenges of wholesale importation!)

NEVER MORE THAN SEMI-TAME, AND I NEVER COULD GET NEAR IT. THIS WAS SOOOO NOT MAGGIE... THAT BIRD DID THE MACAW BULLY ROUTINE. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT AT THE TIME...

JUST BROUGHT ONE ZON BACK. THEY WERE WILD CAUGHT, AND WE LET THEM ALL GO. THAT ONE WAS BONDED TO MY MOM, AND REFUSED TO LEAVE WITH THE REST OF THE FLOCK, SO WE BROUGHT HER HOME WITH US. AND IT WASN'T THE SAME BIRD WHEN SHE GOT OUT OF U.S. QUARANTINE.

Did not spot any of the poo-monkeys for certain; no doubt they are experts at camouflage with a great aim!

I COUNTED 6 OF THEM IN THAT PHOTO... I'M SURE THERE WERE MORE YOU COULDN'T SEE. YOU WOKE UP TO THE HOWLER MONKEYS. THEY WENT OFF AT SUNRISE, AND YOU COULDN'T SLEEP THROUGH IT.

Finally, found some history on that stunning Avensa DC-3. Based on a Google search of the registration YV-C-AVE, it was Douglas construction number 4179, purchased through the Defense Supply Corporation and delivered to Pan Am 2/7/1942. Went to Avensa 12/7/1945 and then to Lucaya Beach Air Service 2/2/1973. Last reported in storage at Madrid AFB in Columbia as of 9/1997. Yes, the DC-3 is an historic machine!!

SO THAT PLANE WAS ONLY AROUND 24 YEARS OLD OR SO WHEN WE FLEW ON IT... THEY FLAP THEIR WINGS ON TAKE OFF... JUST LIKE A BIRD!

It started off life as a WW2 Defense Dept. (probably) supply or transport plane... most likely Marine air cargo through Pan Am.

WW2 ends in September, so it's sold to a South American Airline, probably as surplus, twenty-plus years later it's still in service.

Lucaya Beach Air Service, the leasing agent for 3rd world puddle jumper airways...

Now, it's a Columbian Air Force Plane. No doubt a mothballed Army jump plane being parted out or scrapped... I'D ACTUALLY LOVE TO JUMP FROM A DC-3!!!

 

[Giggleagain]

Awesome photos Birdman! Maybe one day I'll have to go dig for memories in my basement too. Though we were at opposite ends of the altitude spectrum where South America is concerned, I too once sat in one of those hollowed out trees crossing a river.

How old were you when you left Venezuela?

 

[Birdman666]

We were in one country or another in South America from late 1968 through 1973. So, about 6 years old, to about 10ish...

A couple of years after we moved back to the States, we moved to San Francisco, and that was where we stayed put.

 

[Terry57]

Wow, Mark, absolutely awesome pictures!!
I have to agree about the monkey thing, we had one once and she loved nothing better than throwing her poo at us. At least we could get away from her cage, can't imagine a whole posse of them throwing poo!
What an amazing experience that must have been for you all.

 

[Birdman666]

Well, they would try to get you to drop stuff, so another monkey could take it. You would have a troop of monkeys in the trees throwing stuff at you... (not just poo, they'd fling anything that was handy.)

While a couple of the braver ones would sneak out of the bushes and try and steal your stuff. They were fairly coordinated in their attacks. And we had to "run the monkey gauntlet" on our way to school each day.

Snake sticks were not just handy for snakes. They pretty much worked for monkey bashing if the little suckers came in too close... all you had to do is start swinging the thing like a baseball bat, and they'd show their fangs, but back off... (until the second you turned your back on them.) Fortunately the howler monkeys seemed to prefer to remain in the trees. They didn't chase us up close too often. (Only a couple of them ever did that stuff.)

Trust me, the "monkey gauntlet" was one of those things you don't forget. And those suckers have vampire fangs...

 

[RavensGryf]

Mark, I LOVE this thread!! Thank you for sharing these awesome pics of the scenery that most of us wouldn't get to see otherwise. I really enjoyed it! Do you have more?!

What brought your family to South America in the first place?

 

[Birdman666]

Well, My Dad was an engineering Geologist. And in those days he was doing a lot of hydro-electic projects in South America. In this case, it was building the Guri dam.

I never actually discussed this with him, but given the timing of when we were in South America, I think perhaps my Dad found the prospect of working in the Jungles of South America preferable to getting shot at in the Jungles of Viet Nam... I don't know that for a fact. I'm just guessing, but... the timing seems to be about right. Some things are better left not talked about.

 

[Allee]

Mark, thanks for sharing your amazing photos and experiences.

I love the vintage aircraft photos, Wow! Two aviation icons, the DC-3 and the Beaver.

Incredible photos of the jungle you called home and a priceless education for you and your sister.