Salto Angel
It seems that whenever we go off to look at a waterfall we always get more than what we bargained for. The Angel Falls in Venezuela was the waterfall that exceeded our expectations the most. Recognized as the highest waterfall in the world, this 976m column of water attracts visitors from everywhere - and especially at this time of year. Inaccessible by roads, we were part of a group of about 30 tourists who made our way, first by a 70 minute 5-seater Cessna flight, then by a 5 hour boat ride to a camp at the base of the falls. The boat ride was excellent fun (although long and rather uncomfy on the exterior) and we arrived drenched at our hammock camp with the late afternoon and evening all ours for relaxing, swimming, chatting with new friends, staring at the falls and good eating.
We were blessed with excellent weather. No rain (except at night and for a brief spell on our journey back) - which is exceptional for Venezuela now. Relatively cool temperatures, good water temperature and, to Johan's delight, no plaguing insects. What struck us the most about this 3 day trip was the scenery. The area is full of towering flat table-top mountains called tepuis, churning dark tannin rivers and stunning wild jungle. The area looks so wild, striking and spectacular that it makes even the likes of the otter trail look like a walk in the botanical gardens. We have thus earmarked Venezuela as a country we will return to.
Day two took us on foot through the jungle for about an hour until we reached a good view point of the falls. A little while deeper into the jungle and we could swim in the pool at the base of the falls. Breathtaking. Johan went wild with the camera. The afternoon boat ride back was downstream and faster. We returned to the village at the airport where we would spend the night and enjoyed the lagoon beach at the base of one of the cascade waterfalls nearby. Quite a surreal setting with a dark brown fresh-water sea, waves and all, pink beach sand, cascading waterfalls in the background and palm trees in the foreground - feet in the water.
The last morning, before our flight, our guide took us over the lagoon to one of the cascades. We walked under and behind the waterfall and swam in the waters just above the falls. This was another exhilarating bonus to the trip. While the trip organizers often had us a bit confused as to what was about to happen next - all in all it was a fantastic experience that we are so glad we were privileged to have.
We were blessed with excellent weather. No rain (except at night and for a brief spell on our journey back) - which is exceptional for Venezuela now. Relatively cool temperatures, good water temperature and, to Johan's delight, no plaguing insects. What struck us the most about this 3 day trip was the scenery. The area is full of towering flat table-top mountains called tepuis, churning dark tannin rivers and stunning wild jungle. The area looks so wild, striking and spectacular that it makes even the likes of the otter trail look like a walk in the botanical gardens. We have thus earmarked Venezuela as a country we will return to.
Day two took us on foot through the jungle for about an hour until we reached a good view point of the falls. A little while deeper into the jungle and we could swim in the pool at the base of the falls. Breathtaking. Johan went wild with the camera. The afternoon boat ride back was downstream and faster. We returned to the village at the airport where we would spend the night and enjoyed the lagoon beach at the base of one of the cascade waterfalls nearby. Quite a surreal setting with a dark brown fresh-water sea, waves and all, pink beach sand, cascading waterfalls in the background and palm trees in the foreground - feet in the water.
The last morning, before our flight, our guide took us over the lagoon to one of the cascades. We walked under and behind the waterfall and swam in the waters just above the falls. This was another exhilarating bonus to the trip. While the trip organizers often had us a bit confused as to what was about to happen next - all in all it was a fantastic experience that we are so glad we were privileged to have.
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