Date: 2014-03-25
To: Sara vs. the Anaconda
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Not really any kind of A.T. prep but posting this story was by request:I enjoy watching nature documentaries and have always been fascinated by anacondas. I planned an adventure trip to Venezuela to observe the world¢s biggest (heaviest) snakes in the wild. Daryl decided to come along and we organized a five day private trip with a German guy and three ladies from Spain.Our group piled into a 44 truck and we drove smack dab to the centre of the Los Llanos region of Venezuela. Los Llanos is a grassland plains area, which turns into a wetland during the rainy season. We visited during the dry season so wildlife was easy to spot and congregated close to waterholes.We slept outside on hammocks at a local farm and enjoyed their home cooking which included local delicacies like capybaras. Capybaras are the world¢s largest rodent and look like enormous guinea pigs. I caught some piranhas in a nearby river with bits of chicken saved from my lunch and had a very tasty meal one evening.Anacondas love the water and hide in the mud near waterholes in the dry season. Our wildlife guide had promised me an anaconda sighting for days and I was excited when the time came. We set off in the 44 with a couple local guys from the farm into the plains until we reached a promising waterhole.The men exercised their anaconda tracking skills by wading in the mud and trying to scare out an anaconda with their rubber boots. They are quite proficient and have helped many National Geographic and Discovery film crews with anaconda documentaries. I was giddy with anticipation when a huge female snake was found and slithered out of the mud.The wildlife guide asked if I wanted to hold her in a photo. I was surprised but could not miss my chance to get up close and personal with such a beautiful creature. The snake was over 5 metres long and weighed 300+ pounds. It took a group of us to hoist her. Daryl and the Spanish ladies were very afraid and stayed a good number of paces back.The snake had been acting fairly calm so the guide asked if I wanted to take a photo holding the snake¢s jaws shut. I agreed without hesitation since I had travelled from Canada just for this encounter.The wildlife guide handed her massive head over to me and I gripped down with my bare hands. I yelled for Daryl to quickly snap the photo. The snake took this opportunity to protest her capture and I almost lost my grip on her slippery body. She opened her mouth, let out a mighty hiss and bared her fangs. She lunged up and tried to bite my face. I was prepared for such an instance and held on tight as she thrashed about.The wildlife guide stepped in and grabbed the snake¢s head away from me. He gently set it down and the snake peacefully returned into the waterhole.The guide was quite impressed that I was brave and held my ground against the serpent. He said most people would have panicked and let go. If the fangs had connected with my face I would have required major plastic surgery ¢ or even worse if she had hit my neck.Daryl was way too concerned with my safety to snap proper photos of the encounter. Like Indiana Jones, Daryl hates snakes. I love them! We continued our trip in Venezuela checking out the Amazon, mountains and coastline. We encountered more snakes during the trip including a near miss with stepping on a deadly pit viper.