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July 1999- When my parents came down to visit me I knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to finally go see Angel Falls. Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world (nearly one kilometer high) and Venezuela's most famous attraction. Wednesday morning we left Caracas to embark on our adventure to Canaima and Angel Falls. Canaima is the largest of Venezuela's many national parks, containing more than eight million acres of land. Once arriving at the airport shady characters trying to sell us tours or otherwise swindle money overwhelmed us. One guy asked us what our destination and departure time was, then exclaimed "Hurry, you need to check in over here right now!" So my mom started panicking (understandable given that she is not used to the chaos that is Maiquetia International Airport) and we rushed over to the counter to check in. Then, with half an hour to spare, this same individual that was rushing us along proceeds to lead us over to the booth for Tiuna Tours and show us pictures for their Canaima tour. Since the trip that I had booked only included the flight and room and board, we decided to sign up for his tour to Angel Falls (thus validating his sales technique). |
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We flew to Puerto Ordaz first and then took a World War II era DC-3 the rest of the way. I think the plane was my dad's favorite part of the trip. He wanted some pictures in the cockpit of the DC-3, and since we were sitting in the first row he just kicked the door open with his foot. When the stewardess was coming he thought he was busted but she invited him to go up into the cockpit and take some pictures. He was stoked! Our in-flight beverages consisted of beer out of cans (the Venezuelan Polar, of course). July is the middle of the rainy season in Venezuela and for most of the flight all we could see below us was water. Somehow we still managed to take entirely too many pictures before we even arrived in the camp. Once the plane touched down all the tourists checked in and we dropped our things off in our room. The Hortuvensa camp was amazing, very rustic looking with breathtaking views. The main lodge was situated just in front of Hacha Falls with the tepuis (plateaus) in the background. In the afternoon we took a small boat across the lagoon for a short hike. This was included in the Angel Falls tour we had signed up for at Maiquetia. My mother entertained my father and me by asking the guide all kinds of questions that he did not know the answers to. "What kind of flower is that?" "Are there a lot of animals in this region?" and so on. I got to field all of the geology questions on the unique formations of the area. After a few hundred yards we followed the trail UNDER a waterfall. It was a thrilling experience with the thousands of gallons of water pouring over you. The sound of the water rushing overhead as you walked under the Salto Sapo made it easy to concentrate on the task at hand. We lingered around there for a while and took some pictures before continuing on to the top of Salto Sapo and Salto Sapito. Unfortunately while capturing my mother and I on film my father's camera became waterlogged and went haywire. Once back to the camp we dried out our exteriors while soaking our interiors at the bar. The trek to Angel Falls departed at 4:30 in the morning so after eating dinner the three of us went to bed pretty early. It was pouring down rain all night and instead of going right to sleep we stayed up talking about everything we could remember from my childhood. It was remarkable; my parents kept reminding me of events that had not crossed my mind in almost twenty years. It was quite possibly my favorite part of their whole visit. |
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4:30 AM came far too early the next day. Our guide was supposed to wake everyone at 4:00, but apparently he overslept. Luckily my mother had brought along a travel alarm and we were ready on time. Unfortunately we had to wait out in the rain for half an hour while the others prepared for the day. Our meeting spot was along the shore of the Carrao River just above the hydroelectric plant of Guri, which supplies power for the camp and surrounding villages. We found out quickly that trying to stay dry was a futile effort and just came to terms with being soaked to the bone. I wore Tevas and swim trunks and a raincoat and my parents dressed similarly. Once everyone was ready to go we set off up the river in a local Indian boat called a curiara. It was carved out of one giant tree trunk. Along with us on the tour were a pair of Americans, along with a young Italian couple, a German family, and a few Venezuelans. We took the boat up the river for about half an hour before exiting for shore. We had reached the Mayupa rapids where tourists have to walk around while the guide takes the boat up river. Despite the cloudy sky we could still see the tepuis looming in the distance. Tepui is the Pemon Indian name for the sandstone massifs that loom thousands of feet above the valley floor. They were arguably as spectacular as the waterfalls, especially for someone like myself with a geology background. Continuing up river in the tree… err boat, we traveled another 45 minutes to a small camp on Orchid Island, where we ate breakfast. Despite the name, I never saw any orchids. According to our guide the flowers used to flourish on the island and InParques is currently trying to reintroduce them. The camp consisted of one open, tin-roofed building with a small kitchen, some bathrooms, and a large open area full of hammocks and tables. An alternative tour travels to this point the night before ascending Angel Falls. |
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We were all fairly cold once we arrived at the camp, just from being so wet. It was nice to sit under cover for a while and drink some coffee. The German family had two young boys and decided not to continue on because of the weather. The rest of us persevered up the river to the base of Angel Falls. The weather started clearing up a little bit, giving us spectacular views. We were surrounded by tepuis with waterfalls dotting their sides. It was a thrilling boat ride too because you were whipping through the trees and there was no shortage of rapids. At one point my dad tried to take a picture with my mom's camera and managed to flood that one as well. We were down to just my camera and I didn't want anything to happen to it so I guarded it with my life (and a ziplock bag). While we skimmed along the water the boat motor was singing at wide open throttle the whole time. There was an extra motor in the hull in case of an emergency; the current was so strong that you would not want to be stuck without one. Two hours after leaving Orchid Island we arrived at the bottom of Angel Falls. The rain stopped and the clouds parted just as we reached the shore. Perfect timing! |
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Our group met up with some other tourists and then we all set off for the true base of Salto Angel. We hiked 1.2 miles (I love GPS!) over slippery roots and wet rocks to the base of the falls. Our guide for this portion was barefoot and only wearing a loincloth over some Speedos. You could tell that he loved his job as he held every woman's hand over the slippery parts of the trail and hammed it up whenever possible. The view of Angel Falls from our final destination was spectacular. I've been to Yosemite many times and thought that I had seen some pretty high waterfalls before, but Angel Falls was an entirely different experience. After taking yet more pictures we hiked back down to the shore of the Rio Carrao and ate BBQ chicken for lunch. The guides skewered whole chickens and roasted them over an open fire. After lunch it was time to head back to the Hortuvensa camp. The trip down the river was a WHOLE lot quicker than the trip up had been. With my GPS unit I clocked us at speeds up to 30 mph. Not bad for a tree trunk! In addition to the spare motor in the hull there were also two large jugs that my father and I had thought contained extra fuel. When the guides started drinking out of one of the jugs I started asking questions. It turns out the contents of the jugs was beer made of fermented yuca root. They make the drink by having young girls (best teeth in the tribe) chew up the yuca and then spit it into buckets. Apparently the saliva aids in the fermentation process. Our now buzzed guides managed to deliver us back to camp just in time to watch a breathtaking sunset, more great timing. My parents and I changed clothes and ate dinner, but after such a long, exciting day that was all that we could muster for the evening. Unlike the evening before, nighttime conversation was at a minimum. |
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On our final day my family shopped for souvenirs and explored around the camp before our return to Caracas. We managed to spot a monkey (the only animal we saw the whole trip other than frogs and lizards) who managed to keep me entertained for about half an hour. After buying our fill of local crafts my parents and I checked out of our room and boarded another DC-3. Shortly after take-off my mother got an unexpected shower of Coke and Polar when the stewardess was passing out drinks and we hit some turbulence. Otherwise the flight was uneventful. We stopped in Puerto Ordaz to change planes as we had done on our way to Canaima. Unlike our previous stop here however, the airport was full of people. One of the crowd watchers informed me that President Chavez was making a visit to Puerto Ordaz and was expected soon. I joked with my parents that it was a good thing that Rob was not there because of an incident we had with some of the president's goons during the prior week. The next day the headlines exclaimed that someone in Puerto Ordaz had attempted to assassinate Chavez with a high powered rifle! (I later learn that this "assassination" attempt was actually a confused Spanish tourist here on a hunting expedition and the "high powered rifle" was a .22.) Once back to Caracas my parents rounded out their vacation with trips to the beach and shopping, but the trip to Canaima was definitely the highlight of their stay in Venezuela. |
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