Part 10: Venezuela - 1Km High Waterfalls and the Gran Sabana
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Saturday 14th September:
Angle Falls was discovered by bush pilot Jimmie Angle back in 1937. He was a bit of a story teller about huge gold nuggets, and mother loads of gold and certainly no one believed him about 1km high waterfalls. So to prove them wrong, he returned in a borrowed plane with his wife and two friends to search the area again. He found the falls and landed his plane on top of the Tepui ( Flat topped Mountain) unfortunately the plane became stuck in the marsh and it took 11 days of trekking through the jungle for the group to return to civilisation. It was 12 years later in 1947, before his larger than life claim was finally verified.
It took some organisation to arrange our Angle Falls booking as many companies did not answer the e-mails or were just not interested. Finally we booked with Thomas Berry at Arekay Tours who we were impressed with. thberry@arekaytours.com www.arekaytours.com
US$260 Cash/US$273 Credit Card or BsF 7,800 /person. All inclusive 3 days - flights, basic accommodation for 2 nights , meals, and boat trips.
An early rise for the 1 hour flight from Puerto Ordaz to Canaima, and when we arrive in Canaima this beautiful old cloth winged Fokker is parked up.
Laguna Canaima is the central hub of this remote indigenous village.
Six massive waterfalls hammer curtains of water into the lake year round.
In the grounds of our accommodation a Macaw and this Tapir that comes for a feed of milk and bread
A long boat ride past 5 of the six waterfalls then a walk around to No6.
This one you can walk behind.
This is the real Wet and Wild!
Sunday 15th September:
You know when it is a great day - you take over 200 photographs!
Four and a half hours, 13 people and overnight gear in a dugout canoe made from a single tree.
The centre one is currently under construction with the cross poles spreading the timbers
Rio Carrao, then Rio Churun wind through primeval rainforest and past majestic mountains.
Over 50 sets of rapids have to be negotiated. The guys have each set of rapids imprinted for the exact route through. One guy on the motor at the rear and the other up front with a huge wide bladed oar for paddling left and right when needed.
More than once, waves of water come over the edge.
The canoe is about 15metres long and it takes some manoeuvring through the huge rocks.
The ride up is as much of the adventure as the actual falls.
Our first glimpse.
The total height is 979m with a continuous fall of 807m and that makes it the world’s highest waterfall.
It is a hard 1 hour walk through the jungle and up to the base of the falls.
Yes ! This is the track over roots and boulders
But what a great reward!
The evening was in the jungle in a very rustic camp with hammocks as beds.
BBQ’ed/smoked chicken done over the open fire complements the evening.
Camp 326: Angle Falls Camp
Monday was a return down the rapids, and a flight back to Puerto Ordaz.
It was a real challenge to top up our supplies before we left Puerto Ordaz our last big town before the Gran Sabana. (Grand Savanna)
The shelves in the supermarkets are almost empty. No milk, no eggs, no sugar, in fact very little of anything. Worst of all - NO TOILET PAPER, to be found anywhere !! (no tissues, paper towels, or alternatives !! )
It was dark and finally camp was in Upata behind a Service Station.
Fortunately just across the road was a supermarket - still no basics or toilet paper, but good meat and eggs.
Camp 327: Behind Service Station in Upata
Cost: Nil
N08* 00.393 W062* 23.395
Today : 60 Kms.
Trip Total: 103,669 Km
Tuesday 17th September:
The country is flat and covered with rainforest, occasionally small settlements and farmlets have cleared the land for crops. In one of the towns we stop for coffee and try again for toilet paper in the supermarket. Nothing! The girls ask and are pointed down the road and into a side street. Here is the Black market for all things not normally available.
We managed to buy toilet paper on the Black Market!
There is a first for everything.
The town of El dorado is the start of the road south, (Kilometre Zero) it is a seedy mining town. El dorado’s other claim to fame is its prison from the movie ‘Papillon’, a story based on a fact. We searched for the prison without luck.
This old bridge was just outside town.
Further south and the more rough gold mining town of Las Claritas and 3km further San Isidro or simply Km88.
We were advised by many not to stop in these towns. Even the Police are controlled by the Mafia !
There was no real need to stop as now we have Toilet Paper !
Along the streets Gold (Oro) buyers haggle for the rewards of the miners.
In the street the bars are full of miners spending their money.
Camp 328: 1/2 way up the La Escalera or Stairway on the road up to the plateau, beside an old Radio Tower
Cost: Nil
N05* 57.770 W061* 23.027
Today : 356 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,025 Km
Height: 1131m
Wednesday 18th September:
Enter La Gran Sabana Park National.
An open grassland area, for us reminiscent of Mongolia, other than the numerous Tepuis (Flat toped Mountains) and waterfalls.
This 1500m high area stretches south to the Brazilian Border and east to Guyana. It is in habited spasmodically by the Permon natives.
As always we take the lesser roads, and this one leads us to the village of Iboribo.
For BsF100/person (US$3.30) we take a motorised dugout canoe for 20 minutes to the 105m high Salto Aponguao.
Another impressive Waterfall
Our camp is in the Permon Iboribo village, and whilst preparing these notes the children are impressed by photographs of themselves.
Camp 329: Village Iboribo Camp
Cost: Nil
N05* 35.732 W061* 29.696
Today : 71 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,096 Km
Height: 1252m
Thursday 19th September:
At the end of this road is the indigenous village of Kavanayen.
The ‘town’ developed around a Capuchin Mission about 50 years ago and all the houses have copied the stone structure of the original church.
The surrounding Tapuis are impressive and we push on. However the road, becomes a track, becomes a path between increasingly larger holes through swamp land. We elect to turn back. The underlying reason - all this land is infested with sand flies that bite and leave a 3 day itchy welt.
Back on the main road, travelling further south, we find a headland with wind maybe the wind will blow away the flies....not to be. They start at 4pm and continue to attack till 6.30pm.
Camp 330: Headland Camp with good view.
Cost: Nil
N05* 22.056 W061* 13.166
Today : 176 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,272 Km
Height: 1193m
Friday 20th September:
In the southern areas of the Gran Sabana the indigenous are living in grass huts with mud walls.
The grasses are useless for livestock and it is difficult to understand how they make a living.
This elderly couple carrying fire wood.
The Gran Sabana is crisscrossed with rivers and many cascade over rocky platforms.
Every one a different in shape and colour
The border town of Santa Elena is a very different town to all others in Venezuela.
It is a hive of activity with shoppers buying products that are unavailable in Venezuela and have ‘arrived’ from over the Brazilian border.
The town also ‘supports’ a large petrol smuggling operation, since fuel in Brazil is more that 30 times the price in Venezuela. The locals a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese speaking (Brazilian) peoples as well as the indigenous Permon.
We manage to get some quick internet time at the backpackers lodge before heading out to the west. The weekend approaches so we will cross south to Brazil on Monday.
Camp 331: Grass paddock
Cost: Nil
N04* 35.114 W061* 15.433
Today : 141 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,413 Km
Saturday 21st September:
It is a mix of alternate lifestyle escapees, indigenous Pemon, illicit Gold and Diamond miners, and petrol smugglers. Some are just making a living on the small local tourist trade, others involved in the highly controversial Gold and Diamond operations look OK.
Obvious are the number of partly completed and abandoned dwellings, a sign of failed dreams.
Late in the afternoon, a tough 1 hour walk to a ridge line (El Abismo) that separates Venezuela from Brazil. This escarpment forms the northern catchment for the fast Amazon basin.
Looking south is a sea of trees as far as we can see.
Apart from our single road south 70kms to the east, there is nothing out there but jungle.
All is quite
A couple of macaws squark
Here time is not measured in hours, days or years only eons.
Camp 332: El Vergel Campground at start of track
Cost: Nil ( The owner came around and just said ‘welcome’)
Basic bush showers & toilets
N04* 27.114 W061* 35.479
Today : 64 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,477 Km
Sunday 22nd September:
Today back into Santa Elena to food shop and fuel, however we find almost everything closed. So tomorrow it will be fuel and food and then into Brazil.
It is always a bit of a challenge to find camping in or near town as opposed to out in the bush. We asked the Police/National Guard and they did not offer a suggestion. We know a friendly money changer on the corner who could speak english and kindly he offered his front yard. Well is was one of our more unusual camps, and it was appreciated.
Camp 333: Money Changers yard.
Cost: Nil
N04* 36.839 W061* 05.832
Today : 92 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,569 Km
Monday 23rd September:
A plan is only a plan until it can be completed !
Today there is no Diesel in town, and none over the Brazilian border. There is (maybe) 100km south into Brazil but at 600 times the price here, we elect to stay another day here awaiting resupply of diesel.
We have been offered black market Diesel 100Lts for US$60 but with the local price being 100 Lts for BsF5 (US$ 0.15cents) we will wait till tomorrow.
We have little BsF currency left so spent my almost last Bst 270 on 3 bottles of Ron Anejo Rum. At 90BsF (US$2.50) per bottle I could not pass up the chance....and it’s good stuff too.
Let me explain something interesting:
The currency is very strange here with two exchange rates. Officially, at Banks or using credit cards US$1 is equal to 6.5 BsF; unofficially when using the money changers US$1 = 36 to 38 BsF. So everything is 6 times more if using the official exchange rate, which would make that rum US$15/bottle. The money changers are only available at the borders so we had to anticipate our money requirement before we left the Colombia/Venezuela border. 3 weeks ago.
Inflation is rampant, 3 weeks ago the unofficial exchange rates was 30-32 to US$1.00 so in that short time it’s about 10% inflation. Thus the locals are hungry for US$ to preserve their monetary value.
Camp 334: Campground outside Santa Elena (North)
Cost: BsF 50/vehicle after negotiating from BsF100/vehicle
Nice Place, Toilets & Showers
N04* 40.196 W061* 04.093
Today : 47 Kms.
Trip Total: 104,616 Km
Tuesday 24th September:
We have Diesel this morning 103Lts BsF5 (Total price US$ 0.14) would not sell us more but happy.
Now off to Brazil !
