Los llanos is a wildlife paradise. This is the region of grasslands and plains in Venezuela. I traveled to Los llanos with the rest of the wedding troupe and we were about 16 people in all. We came here to spend our last 4 days of our trip to Venezuela to enjoy what's probably the best wildlife spot in the whole country. We where there in the dry season which is the best season to see the animals there because they all come closer to the water which is getting scarcer.

The first animal we saw was a caiman crocodile and if you're imagining that we saw it near a river or water you're wrong. We saw the caiman crossing the road at night from the bus before we arrived at the ranch we were staying at. It's a bit that they don't have "Crocodile crossing" signs here that would have made a nice souvenir photo. I might also add that the brave women who were with us in the bus went to relieve themselves in the exact same spot where we spotted the caiman. I wouldn't want to be the one who pisses on the caiman's head thank you.

  

We spent the whole 4 days chasing feathers, slimy reptiles and flying insects at night. There aren't many mammals here but the birds make up for this gap. The most spectacular birds are the scarlet ibis with their unmistakable scarlet (duh) colour. Vultures are all over the place as are herons, cormorants and anhingas. We also managed to catch a los llanos special, the anaconda. This deserved a whole morning chase but it was well worth it.

  

The extra curricular activities apart from running in the fields were limited to fighting on "horseback" swimming in the river, and attending a local folk music contest at night. This was an extremely powerfully cultural experience where locals gather to slag each other at the tune of traditional instruments. (Watch Video)

The best was reserved for the last part when I got to see the burrowing owl. This was the bird I targeted to see before I left, me being an owl fanatic and everything. Tony, the guide, managed to spot a family of owls in a field about 200m away from the road. Then he recommended that I'd go near to them as far as possible and enjoy myself. I approached them cautiously for half an hour until I managed to arrive at about 3 meters away from the burrow they were guarding.

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