Sharon Huang and Bil Thomas' Trek to the Tallest Falls in the World.
Location as of 11/23/04, Canaima National Park, Venezuela [Angel Falls 05º59´N 62º32´W ]
Nov 2004
Cruising is not just about sailing to various islands and soaking up the sun, it is about travel, seeing, experiencing, and learning new things. Some of the crew of Makai decided to visit Angel Falls (Katra & Biff, the cat crew stayed aboard to protect the boat). Angel Falls or Salto Angel in Spanish is a trip to the interior to the Canaima National Park. There are no roads in, so the trip is arduous and sometimes frustrating, but the chance to visit the jungle and see the many water falls was worth the pain. What follows is our thoughts and experiences.
The Trip started with meeting Jaime, a local who arranges trips and exchanges money, amongst other things. The price was good and it came recommended by other cruisers. The package included a car from the marina, a bus trip, hotel, plane ride, park fees, and return trip. The only food we had to buy was the trip up and back. The Park package includes all meals (which were very good and plentiful).
Departure was early. Senor Roger pick us up and delivered us to the bus terminal. He waited to ensure we got on the right bus and even spoke with the driver. The ride was on an executive bus, but the suspension was worn out and the roads very rough. It was an uncomfortable 4 1/2 hour ride. We were met at the bus by Bladmair in Cuidad Bolivar and were taken to the Leja Real Hotel. The hotel is across the street from the airport, but it is in the middle of the city. The hotel was OK, the A/C worked great, but it was a taxi ride to get to down town was a hassle, so we vegg'd in the hotel enjoying the A/C and went to sleep early.
At 7:10 AM the room phone started ringing. We answered, but since we had no idea what the desk clerk was saying we repeated the line that has helped us so little "No Compredo" and hung up. Only to have the phone ring again, finally we understood the lobby. We had miss understood the time Bladamir was to pick us up. We thought 7:30AM was the pickup time, it was actually the plane departure time. His wife hustled us over and got us boarded with a quick espresso for breakfast.
The Plane was a 5 seat tail dragger, smallest plane Sharon has been on since the AT&T corporate jet (lot less amenities too). The small plane is needed as the only way to Canaima Park is by plane or up the river. There are no roads. The flight was about 90 minutes. Coming in for a landing the view was spectacular with a big water falls flowing off the port side. Hitting the ground was easy but stopping was not. The plane's brakes were in need of work, as metal to metal the breaks screamed and pulled us off the runway in to the gravel return road. Happily we stopped before the trees. We ended up twice as far down the runway as the plane behind us who landed and turned around headed to the terminal before we came to a stop!
Once safely on the ground we were met by our guide Mumba, a
local Indian, who got us through check in and brought us to meet
our
traveling companions; Antonio (Spain) & Drudie (Ecuador), and MariSol &
Jesus (Spain). With a short break we loaded up on the back of an open
truck and delivered up to the first falls. The water falling over the falls was
deafening and the view amazing. Mumba explained the park and showed us our
route, before the first walk. The water is the color of coffee due to the high
levels of tannin in the water, the same stuff in red wine. The walk was short
and led us to the dugout canoe that would take us to the falls. The
pirogues are logs the are hollowed out by the natives Indians and just to bring
them into the 21st century 50HP outboards are added. The ride up to the
drop off point is about 4 1/2 hours, about 45-55 miles into the jungle on a
twisting river.
We loaded our gear and donned the life vest and we headed off up river. The views were excellent and the water flat until we hit the first rapids. The driver and the bowman expertly dodged us around the rocks and ledges using the paddle on the bow to push and turn the boat while gunning full blast up the river. What amazed me the most was with the dark water I couldn't see the rocks until we passed them. The driver missed them all, but we did get a pretty good bath at almost every rapids.
Our first stop brought us to a set of rapids that the government would allow tourists on as several had died in the past. The group unloaded and began a 45 minute hike to the pickup point. Of course the driver and the porter immediately headed up river while we walked in the noon day sun. The country side is just like the savannahs in Africa. At the end of the trail was the pickup point and the first opportunity to jump in the water and cool off. While we were relaxing another group caught up to us. There canoe showed up shortly. The trip up the rapids is rough that there canoes motor was broken from crashing on the rocks. Our ride appeared and we prepared to take off. The other group had to split up in to other canoes while theirs has a replacement engine delivered (ours carried a spare engine).
Once back on river Mamba handed out lunch, baloney and cheese
sandwich on white bread.
We
all sat back and watched the scenery go by as we munched. More rapids, a
couple of bano stops, and we made it to Devil's Pass. The pass is a tight,
twisting set of rapids that we had to duck, bump, and bang our way around.
Some of the spots the canoe could barely get through, but judicious use of the
steering paddle and lots of throttle pushed us out the other side. A short
time later we made the drop of point, thoroughly wet, but excited as the first
views of Angel Falls in the distance.
We traded our sandals for hiking shoes. Now was the beginning of the 3-4mile walk into the jungle. The trail is just a worn down path going in and up the side of the mountain. We walked on roots and rocks as we climbed up the falls base. The entire climb was challenging and tiring but when the falls exploded into view it was worth every step. We rested at the overlook while taking on the sight. the falls reaching up to sky in one direction and spreading down into huge valley with a rainbow at the end. Instead of going to find the pot of gold we went to the base of the falls.
The view from the base was even more impressive as you had to
tilt your head back to look up almost 3 thousand feet to see the top.
The
pool at the base was cold and refreshing. We took the opportunity to swim
and climb in the falls, though one had to be careful as the rocks were slippery
and the water was moving very fast. We swam and played, but soon had to
head down as the sun was falling and it gets dark early in the mountains.
So we packed up and headed back. Some of our group was slower and the
guide told us to move on down the trail. We started the climb down with
Antonio and Drudie on our heals.
Clouds
started to move in and before long we had thunder and lightening and of course,
rain. We kept moving occasionally checking to make sure we weren't getting
off the trail.. It was hard to follow and looked different as the darkness fell.
It seemed like many miss steps and lots of miles before we popped out of the
jungle to the rivers edge. We trundled over to the river cold and wet and
tried to get the attention of our driver. We ended up yelling, whistling,
singing, cussing for 45 minutes before one of the other camps boat came and
picked us up. He was going to just let us off on the other side to walk
but we convinced him that a ride down river in the dark was just what we needed.
The moon was 3/4 full and bright as we made our way down. it was an
interesting sight, a bit eerie, but it got us to camp.
The driver who was also the cook was making our traditional Indian roast chicken on a stick dinner. The food was very good and plentiful and I believe that this saved his life as we all were ready to kill him. Mumba shared some of the traditional Indian flat corn bread. Interesting. After dinner we chatted for a bit and Mumba told us the traditional story of how the waterfall was formed (see side bar). We all pretty quickly trundled off to our open air hammocks. They were covered in mosquito netting and had a blanket. It rained very heavy that night and got unbelievably cold. Between the cold, the snoring, and Mumba talking in his sleep I don't think anyone got a good nights rest.
Morning arrived early as breakfast was set out.
The
morning views of Angel Falls and the other tepuis made for a breath taking eye
opener. Soon it was time to head back down. We loaded the boats.
Due to the higher speeds going down river we had to wear of life jackets.
We were not even 3 minutes from camp when we blasted wide open into some rapids
burying the boat and soaking us to the bone. It still was pretty chilly
out. We were probably doing between 25-30 mph. Which on the water
twisting and turning through the rapids is fast. the trip down is 1 1/2
hours shorter. The ride was pretty nerve racking, though I loved it, there
were some places that concerned us as we ducked in, out and under branches,
dodged rocks, and underwater snags.
We finally made it back to the Indian settlement. The
others we heading back to civilization. We wished them well as they
departed. We still had the tour of the lagoon and Sappo Falls. We had
lunch and Mumba took us to the falls via a canoe. We met Rocky another
quite that Mumba had gone to school with and was now teaching him German.
The falls are spectacular as thousands of gallons fall over crashing to the
rocks. Mumba guided us behind the falls and it opened into a cavern that
ran along the base of the falls
for about a 1/4mile until we popped out the other side. It was excellent.
The
cavern was opened 20-30 away from the falling water, but narrowed down to 10
feet in some areas. Mumba explained that there people had know about this
place for eons. We were the only ones there and got to poke about and
relax at the falls. It is impossible to explain or photograph the feelings
and effects of standing behind the wall of water!
After a walk around the lagoon we headed back for an evening of relaxation. After dinner Mumba stopped by and asked if we were interested in going to see the local beauty pageant rehearsals. We said sure and chatted as we walked over to the main hall. The settlement is fairly primitive with few cars and motorcycles. But they have plenty of electricity and DirecTV. once at the hall we sat down in the back amongst the stares of the locals. We were the only ones not from the settlement there. There were 15 young ladies practicing the group dance and making speeches as to what they would do as queen. Some were good, others.....well, they had fun. We left without finding out who won. We were exhausted!
The
next day we packed up to head home. Our plane was supposed to leave
at 12:30 but was delayed as 2 French guys were expected at 3PM. Because of
the delay the pilot told us we could fly the falls no charge, but the French
guys were paying. A free ride can be had. We loaded up the five
seater and took off to the falls. We flew over the falls and then the
pilot spiraled down in to the canyon and leveled out below the lip of the falls
flying straight toward the wall of rock and water. We were all worrying
that he was getting close and turned the plane and parceled the face for some
spectacular views. We were so close you could almost reach out and touch
the water. We finally had to head back to make Cuidad Bolivar before dark.
The pilot buzzed a few falls and pointed out the scenery below.
The flight back was easy and clear. Just before we landed several storms rolled in. We watched as we landed right between 2 of them. The landing was the ending of the trip. We had fun. Now we had to get back to Puerto La Cruz. Blad took us to the bus stop and found a taxi that would take us for bs5000 more that the bus. The 2 French guys, Sharon, my self, and all of our gear were loaded in to a geo Prism for the 3 hour ride back. The tight the car took 1 to 1 1/2 hours off the trip. The driver dropped us at the gate and we made it back to our boat at 10:30PM.
The trip is over and we enjoyed the fun, the excitement, and the challenges of visiting the tallest falls in the world. I would recommend the trip to anyone in moderate to fair shape.
This page was last updated 11/16/05