published June 1, 2000 I traveled to Venezuela with three girlfriends — Robyn, Rohini, and Shilpa. Our 12-hour flight over was ace. I had fives seats to myself. Leaving everything to the last minute, we all had our own copies of Venezuelan travel books trying to plan our itinerary while on flight across with assistance from many of our fellow passengers. In the end, it didn't really matter since we did everything we said we wouldn't and nothing we said we would. As soon as we landed in Caracas, we got the first flight out that we could score, which was a tiny plane to Cuidad Bolivar. We checked into the first hotel we found then spent our first day arranging a trip to the jungle to see Angel Falls — the world�s largest waterfall (over 3200 feet). Wasting no time, we were set to leave the next day. While the other girls spent the remainder of the day shopping for the trip, I opted to find a cafe and people watch. Bolivar sits on the river, so I wandered down to the beachfront to snap some photos. A group of people were setting up a stage for a passion play (it was the day before Easter). I met the actors and was invited to come back later to take photos in the press box. Apparently the show was being televised nation-wide and they mistaken me as the press corp. The benefits of lugging a big camera! Our 6:00am flight was in a small six-seat plane taking us to the Indian village of Canaima. The flight was amazing, over small villages, lakes, and flat top mountains called "tepuis". The tour started with exploring numerous local waterfalls, swimming in them, walking across or under them, or just sitting at the beach of a lagoon with a waterfall in the distance. A small taster of what's to come. The next day we had a lengthy boat ride up a very long red river to the base of Angel Falls. We had to challenge quite a few rapids on this one and I ended up with blistered ears from the intense sun. That night we slept under a tin roof at the base of the falls in hammocks like a bunch of bananas. Angel Falls is on the Churun River, located in the Guiana Highlands in southeastern Venezuela. This area was unknown to Venezuelans until the early 1930's. Overland access is blocked by a huge escarpment (a type of steep slope). Venezuelans were able to survey the region with aircraft and they discovered the falls in 1935. Angel Falls, surrounded by dense jungle, was named for James Angel, and American adventurer who crash-landed his plane on nearby mesa two years after the falls have been discovered. The water, which actually seems to be leaping, falls from a flat-topped plateau called Auyan-Tepui, which means "Devils Mountain". The height of the longest uninterrupted drop is 2,648 feet. The foot of the falls was once considered a dangerous and sacred place to the Karara Cota Indians who believed great harm, perhaps death, would come to you if you went there. We hiked through the jungle to Angel Falls and swam at the base. After admiring its awe for a while, we did the extensive return journey back to Canamia to catch our flight back to Bolivar. This is when the four of us split up. Two of our group went to southern Venezuela to hike tepui (flat-top mountains) for six days as well as cross over to Brazil. Rohini and I flew to the Andes to see what's to be discovered there. Not to be outdone by our friends hike, we found some guides to take us up Pico Humboldt — the second largest peak in the Sierra Nevada reaching approximately 15,000 feet. It would take us four days and we were setting off bright and early the next morn. It was a challenge comparable to the NYC marathon and incredibly gorgeous. The first day we hiked through a tropical rain forest, camping at a lagoon. The second was much steeper and more challenging, going over massive boulders, cliffs, and waterfalls. That night we camped at another lagoon watching falling stars streaking across the open sky. Day three we ascended to the peak, starting out at 5:30am. The morning's hike was so steep we climbed with our hands, followed by scaling more rocks and cliffs. By noon we made it to the glacier. We strapped on our ice gear, pulled out an ice pick, and worked our way to the top. What a feeling! At the top of the world and we didn't have to climb any higher! We arrived back at base camp around three and encountered other people for the first time since we started our trek. Three Duchies making camp were ascending the summit the next morning. They asked me how it was then didn't sleep a wink, scared to death from the pain I described. My friend Rohini arrived in camp much later with tales of another adventure. She got lost and ended up on a cliff somewhere. It gave her a scare, but our guide came to the rescue. So far we had not showered for days, slept very little (either too freezing or too much adrenaline), and we were wearing the same clothes since we stared. One more day to go. Day four was the final descent to the bottom and that was actually the most demanding. I didn't realize we hiked so far in those first two days. My feet were raw from blisters and I felt like I was in that scene in "Blaire Witch Project" where they walk and walk and end up in the same spot. I was cussing at the jungle and my friend for talking me into this wild but exciting adventure. We made it back to town around 5:00pm and enjoyed the best shower ever, the most delicious beer I've ever tasted, and the softest cockroach infested bed I've ever slept in. Too sore to do the mountain biking and horseback riding as planned, we decided to hire a car and tour the Andes villages in luxury instead. After the mountains, we were ready for the beach, so the next day we ventured to the coastal town of Puerto Columbia. After a two-hour taxi ride packed with five of us (the three Dutch folks we met along the way) through torn apart roads winding up and down a mountain, we cruised into a sleepy town. There was little sign of life and the air was pervasive with fish odor, but the streets were lined with brilliant colored colonial homes. We slept for two days before returning to Caracas via a jammed-packed bus. I shared my seat with tow other women and their two daughters. It was better than Rohini who was shoved between two massive pot-bellies. The rustic bus creaked and rumbled all the way down the mountain. The switchbacks in the road were so sever it took two drivers to maneuver the thing, one to drive and one to navigate as they reversed the bus on the hairpin turns. I saw the end of the bus hanging over a cliff a couple of times on the narrow road. Losing our seat on the flight back to the UK gave one extra night in Venezuela. This time it was a 5-star hotel compliment of the airline. Overlooking Caracas with a lovely pool, it was the pampering our bodies were crying out for weeks.
November 28th
Venezuela Ventures
by admin
Categories
- Business Growth (1)
- Free Stuff (1)
- gratitude app (1)
- SEO (10)
- Uncategorized (2)
