In the south east part of Venezuela is the crown jewel of Venezuela's national parks. Caniama.
(say Caw - ni' - ma) Included are the Tupuy ( two- poo' - e), the table top mountains / mesas. They go up to 3-4,000 feet abouve the jungle floor. Pretty amazing to look at. In the villiage of Canaima, I stayed at a "camp" at the logoon. 5 waterfalls drop into the lagoon. The camp has some private cabanas but I stayed in the group area, under cover but out in the open. Had lunch with my group and the group just leaving. So lunch with Thor the Dane and his Japanese girlfriend, 2 Chinese, 4 from Spain (they have interesting accents) 4 Venezuelans and me. Oh, did I mention that Thor was black ?
That afternoon, we went to a nearby waterfall, Salto Sapo. The really cool thing was that a trail was made UNDER THE WATERFALL! And yes, you get drenched. Really amazing and was good for bonding the new group together. We came back to camp soaked and having a great time. Photos of Salto Sapo are limited since I had trouble with the new camera. But problem solved for the next part of the trip.
Next morning we had breakfast and went into town to see the "native village". Looked to me just like a small town in latin america, (Shar, think Nicargua) Then we went above the falls and loaded into a big dugout canoe. We had over 50 miles to go upstream. (the 40 hp Yamaha helped a lot)
At one stage we had to get out and walk over a savanah because the rapids are too difficult with the canoe loaded. About a 3 mile walk, after which we threw ourselves into the river until the canoe came.
Then up the river mile after mile. Got exciting a few times when the engine sputtered in the middle of a rapids, but just as panic was starting, the engine kicked in. (even the guide was starting to react) Further river, the Tupuy started to appear. (Think So. Utah canyons and cliffs)
Then it started to rain. I thought I knew what rain was. Think Forks on steroids. A half hour later, it was still coming down. Everything was soaked. Everyone except me was shivering and goose bumps. I was finally cool !
The end of the boat ride was the primative camp on Isla Raton. Island of the Rat. :)
But from camp you could see it. Angel Falls ! Photos and more to come. Plane to catch.
(say Caw - ni' - ma) Included are the Tupuy ( two- poo' - e), the table top mountains / mesas. They go up to 3-4,000 feet abouve the jungle floor. Pretty amazing to look at. In the villiage of Canaima, I stayed at a "camp" at the logoon. 5 waterfalls drop into the lagoon. The camp has some private cabanas but I stayed in the group area, under cover but out in the open. Had lunch with my group and the group just leaving. So lunch with Thor the Dane and his Japanese girlfriend, 2 Chinese, 4 from Spain (they have interesting accents) 4 Venezuelans and me. Oh, did I mention that Thor was black ?
That afternoon, we went to a nearby waterfall, Salto Sapo. The really cool thing was that a trail was made UNDER THE WATERFALL! And yes, you get drenched. Really amazing and was good for bonding the new group together. We came back to camp soaked and having a great time. Photos of Salto Sapo are limited since I had trouble with the new camera. But problem solved for the next part of the trip.
Next morning we had breakfast and went into town to see the "native village". Looked to me just like a small town in latin america, (Shar, think Nicargua) Then we went above the falls and loaded into a big dugout canoe. We had over 50 miles to go upstream. (the 40 hp Yamaha helped a lot)
At one stage we had to get out and walk over a savanah because the rapids are too difficult with the canoe loaded. About a 3 mile walk, after which we threw ourselves into the river until the canoe came.
Then up the river mile after mile. Got exciting a few times when the engine sputtered in the middle of a rapids, but just as panic was starting, the engine kicked in. (even the guide was starting to react) Further river, the Tupuy started to appear. (Think So. Utah canyons and cliffs)
Then it started to rain. I thought I knew what rain was. Think Forks on steroids. A half hour later, it was still coming down. Everything was soaked. Everyone except me was shivering and goose bumps. I was finally cool !
The end of the boat ride was the primative camp on Isla Raton. Island of the Rat. :)
But from camp you could see it. Angel Falls ! Photos and more to come. Plane to catch.
1 comment:
Wow, sounds like your kind of trip! Glad it's been this interesting so far and hopefully it continues! Can't wait to see all the pictures! Be safe!
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