In the clouds with the angels

We arranged our trip to Angel Falls at Cuidad Bolivar airport. Walter Bernal (junior) at Sapito Tours was very friendly and we got a much better price than that offered through Dragoman.

We arrived at the airport on the morning of departure at 7 am as requested. But we didn't actually leave until 9 am. Ourselves and one other squeezed into a little plane crammed with a cargo of toilet paper and Coca Cola .. only the essentials. It was just over an hour away and we had a wonderful view of table top mountains. Arriving at Canaima we had a fantastic view of the beautiful and magnificent waterfalls there. We were happy when the old plane finally touched down having spent some of the trip wondering if it would rattle apart.

Our guide was Jose and we had a fun ride on the back of two different pickups to get to the boats. We had thought we were camping at Canaima the first night but obviously because of changing days (we did that because of Pieter's need to visit the Dentist) we were going direct to Angel Falls today. No worries. There were 12 in our group, the limit imposed by the boat. Five Spanish, four Chinese and a Canadian called Steven who we talked to the most.

The boat was a wooden longboat with benches and no cushions which proved to be extremely hard on our backs and bottoms. About 20 minutes upstream we had to get out and walk, lightening the load enough for the boat to negotiate some rapids. Over a savanna, past a traditional mud and straw house with tourist tat inside. Back in the boat we went through more rapids and got very wet as bucket loads of water launched into the boat. And it also rained very hard a couple of times. We were soaked and soar but the ride was beautiful. Rainforest and table top mountains. The mountains were so grand and breathtaking. The Canaima National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that easily earns its title. About half way on the four hour trip our boat stopped. We had mechanical problems with the outboard motor. We waited on the sandy shore. Two other boats were behind us and they stopped. Eventually our motor was removed and put in one of the other boats. We thought 'Oh well, we will be here for a while' but then the other boat produced a spare motor. We were saved.

We had lost a little time so as soon as we got to the falls we headed up to the mirador. It was only an hour but there were lots of slippery up hill bits, difficult to negotiate when you yourself are soaked. The mirador is no more than a rocky outcrop. The falls were very high as we expected but with little more than a trickle we were a little disappointed. Especially after having visited the Kaieteur Falls in Guyana in all its raging glory. It rained hard on the way back and one of the Chinese girls sprained her ankle. We crossed the river to our campsite just as it was getting too dark to see. Hammocks were up. It was no more than a shelter with a little kitchen and a couple of loos operated by buckets. No showers. But it was very pleasant. We changed into dry clothes and enjoyed a chicken dinner. There were candles around the tables and under the benches. The fire used to grill the chicken was burning into the night. We just talked then read by torchlight until sleep took over. Being in comfy hammocks that didn't take long.

We woke to a cloudy morning. After an arepa breakfast that was very nice we left for the return journey. As we loaded the boat the Angel Falls peaked over the clouds. It was quite beautiful. Gratefully the return journey was quicker, going downstream, and it was broken by a stop at a waterfall called 'Happy Falls' where I had a little sit under the waterfall. We were quite grateful to be off the boat at the end, our bottoms were very soar. The boats were very inadequate for such a journey. We used our life jackets as cushions.

We had to walk for 20 minutes to the Canaima campsite from the top of the falls next to the village. Arriving we found a similar set up with a big open hammock area but much posher with rooms available and showers. It was quite civilised. We relaxed and showered and hung out our wet clothes. Lunch was hot and filling with beef. The site had a great view of the waterfalls next to the village. Steven left after lunch as his two days were now done.

At 2:30 Jose took us to Sapo (Frog) falls. In our togs, bag in a plastic bag, we walked directly under the falls. There was a guide rope. It was great fun, lots of spray, at one point it was full on shower. It was a brilliant view of the world through the torrent of water. It took Tomas Bernal (relative of Walter) 2 years to build the path and the remnants of his camp between the falls remains. Walking to Sapito (Little Frog) falls we declined the invitation to go stand at the edge at the top of the falls. We then went to the top of the Sapo Falls before racing the rain back to camp to rescue our clothes that were out drying.

In the evening we found ourselves talking to the Chinese people. They all had some English. The two guys worked for some big company with an office in Caracas, doing IT. There wives were visiting from China. The guys spent less than a month at home every year. They were young and on couple were married only six months. They really couldn't understand us preferring travelling to working. They would rather work to have a bigger house or apartment. We discussed the economy and corruption. They were lovely.

Dinner was port for Pieter and fish for the rest of use. Very nice. There were foxes hanging around, waiting for a feed. Nice to see some wildlife other than mosquitoes and flogs and insects that defy classification.

We had a cosy night in hammocks again, but this time with th added comfort of a mosquito net. It rained a lot during the night which kept the temperature down.

We could have gone to the village in the morning but instead opted for extended hammock time and taking a walk around some of the island we were on. We went to the beach with a view of the falls and walked along it until we could feel the spray from the falls, and beyond to see the smaller falls better. We passed an abandoned campsite and walked until we had a view of Canaima.

After a spag bol lunch we were rushed onto the boat and across to the town. We were hurried up to the airport but while the Spanish and the Chinese were shown directly to their little planes, we had to wait an hour. Oh well, it wasn't too bad as we lounged on the benches not occupied by tourist tat and cuddled the cutest, tiniest black kitten. He was probably only a couple of weeks old. So precious. In due time our plane arrived and 10 minutes later were off with 3 others and the chubby pilot who read the newspaper and filled in a sudoku on the way back. We were happy to the back on the ground. Later we learned from a man who used to be a tour guide and now lived at the Hotel Da Gino (his brother was the owner) that a plane taking off from Cuidad Bolivar that day had crashed near town in a lagoon. He showed us a picture in the paper of some unfortunate British or Australian wading neck deep through the vegetation clogged water to get to help. We felt lucky.

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