Eight vehicles and their crews gathered at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary car park on this sunny morning.
Shivanand came to see us off, and president Gauph called to wish us well.

The intrepid voyagers and their trusty steeds were:

Sheldon M in his recently lifted Rocky;
Frankie M and Carol in their recently lowered Jimny automatic;
Paul T, mother Angela and Andrea in his Toyota Hilux complete with snorkel and fog lamps;
Raffick M and Lystra, finally in a decent vehicle -a new Suzuki Jimny;
Raymond de C without shoes and his jeep without a top;
Roger R - a new member with Sharon and their two energetic boys in a Suzuki Vitara,
Narvin M  - Sheldon's friend - and Sharon (not the same as above) in a Nissan Frontier;
Ryan R and Kerry (who were kind enough to give auntie Leemoy and yours truly a ride) in a Great Wall pick up.

We stopped off at Maraval for ice and hot coffee (go figure) and around ten o' clock set off for the mountains.
The hills and switchbacks were interesting.  Even two of the seasoned offroaders were impressed by the gradients and angles.
As we climbed, the weather became a bit overcast and soon we were driving through the clouds (ok - mist) but the young at hearts thought it was cloud nine. Who am I to argue with Frankie and Raff?  This limited the view somewhat, but could not hide the steep slopes down to the valleys below. It was sobering. Paul was best prepared for the mist with his four brand new fog lamps - too bad he did not connect them to a power source.

Raymond who seems to know everyone  and everywhere - active childhood? - acted as our guide and showed us two places we would have otherwise passed by.  The first was the Saut D'Eau lookout at the head of the hiking trail to the beach from which in clearer weather a fantastic view would be had.
Next was the North Deck - an entertainment facility built at the edge of a cliff. You must have faith in those engineers to stand at the rail and wonder about the strength of the structure while looking at the ground several hundred meters below.  Many thanks Raymond.

We proceeded to Maracas Beach for lunch, but the incessant rain discouraged any further activity.
Everyone however seemed to have enjoyed the event, and the consensus was that we must return soon - preferably in better weather.

Thanks to everyone who attended or wished us well. Those who could not make it - we missed you.

Thanks also to Paul for the beautiful pics.

Trevor.