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Published: October 23rd 2007
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Roraima
Day 1 - Ready to go! We are back from our 6 day trip & feel exhausted. Very tired legs & lots of bites, but feel a real sense of achievement.
We left our Santa Elena hostel after breakfast & arrived at Paratepui village late morning where our trip would begin. We took a photo of Roraima (on the right) & its sister Kukenam (on the left) at the village & realised what a task we had ahead of us. Our guide Gideon & 2 porters Alex & Pablo let us start the walk on our own. It was just us walking out into the open countryside, the sun was very hot & we were very excited. Little did we know what was ahead of us.
Day one took us around 4 hours over fairly flat terrain, apart from one steep hill which Gideon called our first test. I was out of breath very quickly & fell behind the others & at this point I wasn´t sure whether I would make it. Miles had faith in me though! Once at base camp (Rio Tek) we bathed our feet in the cool river (first lot of bites by sand flies called puri puri) & had dinner
The grey tent
Miles was first! cooked by the boys. Slept our first night in a tent. Talk about uncomfortable. The ´grey tent´ was set up for us. (where we could have a poo). Actually it wasn´t that bad once you realised it was your only option.
The next day we were up early. The walk took us 6 hours over rugged terrrain with aLot more uphill. No shade along the way. At the second base camp, which was just below Roraima, the mosquitos were even more nasty than the puri puri, so we put long sleeves on as soon as we could. Still got a few bites though. Nasty. I was so exhausted by this point I slept for 12 hours.
Roraima was all up hill all the way over rocks, tree roots & slippery gravel. It was going to take us 9 hours to reach the summit. Felt like giving in at this point, but had come so far. Miles took alot of my weight from my rucksack which helped alot. What a wonderful hubbie I have. The views just got better & better. We reached a high point where we ate pack lunch & looked at the last stretch called the
ramp. Chris & I were having a moment a this point. The climb looked too steep, too slippery & too near the edge. To top it all it started to rain around 30 minutes from reaching the top. How could we possibly get up there safely, but we did. It was a bit scarey though & wow was it worth it. Views to die for & talk about another world up there. Lots of huge black bolders, some sandy parts, very green & luscious in places, white crystals & pools of water. Stunning. They call it the lost world & I can see why. Never seen anything like it before. We stayed in a cave, the locals call them hotels.
Finally a day of rest at the top, although we did spend around 4 hours exploring. There were some beautiful pools at the top called jacuzzis which we went in for a wash. Talk about cold. Enough to make our bodies go numb, but we needed the wash! We were lucky & had a really clear day & at night we watched the lightning overhead (no rain though) & the fireflys. I was quite emotional with it all.
Day 5 we made our descent. It was very had on our legs & Tina twisted her ankle right near the top. Don´t know how she managed to get down. I guess she knew she had no choice. At the base camp where we had spent our second night, Chris & Miles split Tina´s rucksack & she hobbled down with a stick. It took us 9 hours to get back to Rio Tek. We got loads more bites & still itching now. Last night of our trek we were given t shirts, saying ´we did it´& had a bottle of wine to celebrate.
Day 6 we wanted to leave early so we wouldn´t be out in the midday sun for too long & reached Paratepui at lunch time. We all crossed over the finish line holding hands high in the air. We were all totally exhausted & desperate for a shower & rest our legs. I can honestly say this was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done. Feel very proud of us all.
I must just say for any other backpackers reading this, that I highly recommend Eric Buschbell who runs the backpackers hostel in
observation point
Miles & Gideon- Wow what a view Santa Elena & the tour company that we went on the trek with. He is such a fantastic host & although his trip was more expensive than most, (but from what we saw & heard, it was well worth it), he allowed us to pay him direct to his account by international transfer in US dollars. He gave us the black market rate & it saved us around 50 pounds each. He trusted us enough to let us go in the trip before the funds arrived into his account & also arranged our onwards flights to Ecuador for us whilst we were at Roraima. Also Gideon was an excellent guide & Alex a brilliant cook.
We spent one more night in Santa Elena at Eric´s hostel, got all our dirty clothes dry cleaned & then got the over night bus to Cuidad Guyana which is where I am now typing this. We only got stopped twice this time on the bus for passports & bag checks. Just feels quite normal now.
We have 2 nights here & then fly to Caracus weds morning & then onto Ecuador. We could have stayed in Venezuela longer & gone to a place called Merida, but it would have meant a 24 hour bus ride back to Caracus & an over night stay there. We have already met 2 backpackers that were mugged in Caracus, so we decided to move on before we planned to avoid any possible incident. Also, we have been advised that Venezuela is the most expensive place in South America.
Next time I write we will be in Ecuador, possibly the galapagos islands. Who knows what I will be doing for my birthday. Will keep you all updated.
p.s. I have had 29 messages via this blog as well as many personal emails. Thank you everyone, keep them coming. nice to know we haven´t been forgotten. Some of you have said that you get error messages when you try via the blog. If its easier you can email us on milesgander@myway.com. Will endeavour to respond to you all over time. Loads of love & lots of kisses to you all xxx
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