Blogs from Canaima National Park, Guayana, Venezuela, South America

Dzis wrocilismy ze wspanialej wyprawy do najwyzszego wodospadu swiata - Angel Falls! Po relaksie w Choroni czas przyszedl na rozpoczecie naszej wyprawy na dobre. Pojechalismy busem do Ciudad Bolivar i nastepnego ranka wyruszylismy do Canaima. Lot: trwal okolo 1 godziny 10 minut, maly samolocik 8 osobowy razem z pilotem!Clint jako ´big man´ zostal posadzony obok pilota a ja z tylu z bagazami - i tak w obie stony,hehe. Widoki oszalamiajace to tego stopnia, ze az mi zaczelo sie w zolodku przewracac i musialam, zastosowac metody wdech przez nos i wydech przez usta gapiac sie w jeden punkt, zeby sie zrobic bu bu. Przezylam! Niestety jak zwykle musze sie streszczac wiec w skrocie: jak wspomnialam wyzej samolocikiem ciut ponad godzinke, drewniana lodzia motorowa 6 godzin w gore rzeki( lekki hardcore - trzeba byla pchac lodke wiec faceci ... read more

A 5am wake up call saw us leave at 6o'clock on a 1.5 hour hike to Angel Falls. It was a 4 hour round trip in total, on empty stomachs and with no water provided until we reached the falls where we got a stingy one cup each after sweating buckets in our long trousers (tucked into our socks to avoid a bug whose name I don't know that ventures under clothes and leaves pussing reminders) and raincoats. Venezuela is not ready for tourists! Nonetheless it was a scenic walk through rainforest and rivers (the flow so strong it nearly toppled me!) and across pink sandy beaches. The falls themselves were magical, nearly 1km in height, the water reduced to a fine and far reaching spray near the bottom, with a rainbow affront. We arrived just ... read more

Having bought a ticket to fly from Ciudad Bolivar to Canaima National Park (one of the largest national parks in the world!) on Saturday, the tour operator then informed me that the plane had a mechanical fault so he would put me up in a hotel for the night and start the trip the following day. Needless to say I wasn’t pressed for time and a free night’s stay in a good quality hotel will always be appreciated. On the Sunday morning there were no such problems with the plane. The 6-seater Cessna got us to Canaima Village without any problems, but because of it’s size there is no room to store bags, so I was incredibly cramped on the back seat with luggage all around and couldn’t wait to get out. The flight took us ... read more

So difficult to get a taxi on Sunday night here in Sta Elena, been waiting for 30 minutes with some backpackers from Hotel Michelle also going to the terminal on their way to Puerto La Cruz.Finally a private car took pity on us and took us to the bus terminal for 10 Bolivares for the 3 of us. Confusion about the bus that I actually need to take, Francisco said he booked me with Expreso Occidental but there was no one at the counter when I arrived at the bus terminal so a man took me to Los LLanos bus, he said it arrives at the same time, same terminal in Ciudad Bolivar so I went with him. Freezing cold in the bus! Arrived around 5:30am,in Ciudad Bolivar a 10 hours bus ride from Sta. Elena. ... read more

Wow.... what can I say about the last few days..... How about holy crap!! So having overstayed my welcome a little in Lecheria (not with my friend but with her sister) I decided to take off to see, what is Venezuela’s most famous, and probably most spectacular, tourist attraction, ANGEL FALLS!!!!!!!!!!!! The highest waterfall in the world (989 m high, I believe). This incredible wonder, named one of the 7 wonders of the world, was named so not without reason. Having been to Machu Pichu (another wonder of the world), and many other breath taking places, now I truly understood, why the places that were actually called “wonders of the world” were wonders of the world. You see I hadn’t planned on coming here, but I figured why the hell not. It was a super ... read more