Canaima and Angel Falls

---

The pics for this entry are from our amazing time in Canaima National Park, where we spent four days (Jan 24-28) and visited Salto Ángel (Angel´s Fall), the highest waterfall in the world. We slept in hammocks in a beautiful camp set in front of three water falls, of course, smaller than Salto Ángel.

To arrive to Salto Ángel, we took a boat ride through the Carrao and Churm rivers, with 7 other tourists (Venezuelans, a gringo from San Francisco, two Argentinian girls, and an Australian dude), plus a guide and boat drivers. The ride lasted four hours and a half, which included an hour stop for lunch and to enjoy an amazing waterfall on the way to the big one. This area is called "El Pozo de la Felicidad" (Happiness Well), and it gave us an idea of what is was like to seat at the foot of Salto Ángel and get a water massage. The water is very cold but the afternoon weather makes it very enjoyable.

The ride is mostly smooth, with some areas where the water is low and, therefore, the ride slower.

In January there isn´t much water, in other words, it is dry season, but that didn´t undermine our trip, scenery and emotions to visit this great Venezuelan treasure.

We did not arrive directly to Salto Ángel. After four hours and a half riding the boat, we arrived to an area where we could see the falls; then we trekked up for 45 minutes to the foot of Salto Ángel. Unlike the Pozo de la Felicidad, the water here comes down very strong and we did not seat underneath for our water massage. The water is coming down from 979 meters (3,212 ft).

We seldom saw animals and birds, but the area is sorrounded by "tepuis" (plateaus), being Auyatepui the most important and where Salto Angel comes from.

At the moment we are in Puerto Ordaz, a very industrial city in the Southeast of Venezuela. This is the third week of our tour around the country. We´ve been to Mérida (The Andes, west of Vzla), Ciudad Bolivar (Southeast), Canaima (Southeast and rainforest), and now for a couple of days in Pto. Ordaz.

---