Venezuela - Angel Falls

Typical Angel Falls excursions last for 3 days and 2 nights. The Falls is on the western side of the Canaima National Park, which can only be accessed by domestic flights (about 45 minutes from either Cuidad Bolivar or Puerto Ordaz). The Falls itself then requires a motor boat ride upstream for 4 hours to the camp, followed by a 60-90 minute trek through a dense forest of thick and intertangled roots. That was basically how I spent my first day of the excursion, bar the trek which we saved for the morning of day 2, as we arrived at the camp with only about an hour of daylight left.

While it might sound pretty tough going (and believe me, sitting on a motorised canoe on a hard seat with no backrest for 4 hours is pretty tough on your butt), most of the journey was very enjoyable. The flight to Canaima was made in a light propeller aircraft at relatively low altitude so we had excellent bird's eye views of the national park down below.


When I got to Canaima airstrip I couldn't find my contact who was supposed to pick me up, but luckily I'd made a few friends back at the airport who were also staying at Kavac Lodge, so I went with them. When we got to Kavac Lodge I was out with another group who had arrived earlier from Cuidad Bolivar - José from Roraima was amongst them, and it was good to see him again!

Within half an hour we were off again. Because of my early flight on day 3, our guide decided to go straight up to the Angel Falls camp for the first night, then come back to the lodge for the second night. After a short ride up a dirt track, we got to our boat and loaded all our luggage and food on.

Rio Carrao was much wider than I expected - the two rivers we crossed on the Roraima trek were babies by comparison. This one looked calmer but much deeper too - I wouldn't fancy my chances trying to cross it without a boat.

But it wasn't calm all the way up. Within 10 minutes of riding upstream we had to disembark and walk for about 20 minutes because the boat was hitting rapids and it was unsafe for us to stay in it. The driver picked us up further upstream.

But there were actually many more rapids upstream, and it was really fun navigating through them! As they were caused by a change in the depth of the the river (e.g. big boulders on river bed), the canoe driver had to work out which way to go so the boat didn't hit big rocks or get stuck in the shallows. We, the passengers, were left to our fate over how wet we would get as the boat charged through the water! There was a section that was so narrow because of giant boulders in the middle of the river that it was called the Devil's Gate.

We stopped by a small waterfall for lunch (very warm and soggy cheese and ham sandwiches) where we had some time to go for a swim too. I didn't know about the stop so my swimming shorts and towel were inside the big backpack, which I couldn't be bothered to get out. To be fair though I was already so wet from the splashes from the rapids that I might as well have jumped in anyway. But it was OK - I would save the swimming for the big one the next day. 

The scenery along the way was incredible too. The river was flanked by dense mangroves, and every now and again a towering tepui appears in the background. They were all of different shapes and sizes - a memorable one looked like a skateboard ramp. It was only later that I realised they were all one tepui, the Auyán-tepui; we were just seeing different parts of it at different sections of the river. Some parts of the river was so wide and calm that we had almost perfect reflections of the blue sky, grey tepuis and green forests down below.

And so with such beautiful Jurassic-park scenery and excitement at the dozens of rapids, the 4 hour ride went like a breeze. The majestic and elusive Angel Falls fell into sight as we approached our hammock camp at around 4pm. But she wasn't going to make it easy - we were only allowed a cheeky peek of her upper half; to see her full glory would require more hard work the next day ;-)

We spent what was left of the daylight walking upstream to another camp that had a better view of the Falls. I was hoping for some good sunset shots but the sun had already disappeared the Falls and the tepui so we were at the wrong angle. It was nice to be out in the wilderness once again nonetheless, this time without mosquitoes, allegedly because the red water is too acidic for them to lay their eggs.

On our way back to our camp my fellow German traveller/photographer stopped to speak to a group of German tourists, and I struck gold. When I was on Roraima all but one of my camera batteries had run out and I had left the charger back in luggage storage in Caracas. I had no idea if the remaining battery would last until the end of the Angel Falls trip, and it would be tally annoying if it didn't! But I was really lucky that one of the German ladies had a similar camera (and therefore battery and had the charger on her.) Woohoo!

One warning about the hammock camp: there are cockroaches. Shortly after getting ready to sleep, I went to get something out of my backpack, and when I turned on my headlight this filthy piece of shit had already crawled inside my backpack liner. He went deeper in every time I try to get it out. Eventually I had to cut up the plastic liner and transfer everything to another bag. He was nowhere to be seen and to this date I still have no idea where the hell he went. Little fucker. (And yes I have a phobia of cockroaches)

I got up before dawn the next morning to take sunrise shots of the Falls. The weather was perfect - as the sun coloured the top of the Falls golden orange, a thin slither of mist also floated up into the frame. I felt very lucky :)

After breakfast we set off to climb up to the viewpoint and to the bottom of the Falls. The trek was a walk in the park compared to Roraima, but the forest floor was made up entirely of tangled tree roots, on which grew an abundance of moss, which made it very easy to slip or trip over.

Within an hour we were at the viewpoint and were just about able to see the Angel in her full glory. Water flowed graciously from the top, each droplet performing their once-in-a-lifetime Olympic dive. As they fell they opened up and spread out, synchronising with each other. Towards the bottom they gathered again and congregated all their energy for a final push, and roared with triumph as they sailed powerfully to the pool at the bottom. But it wasn't over yet, their journey would continue for miles, joining their rivals from other waterfalls in the red river. But it was clear who the winners were.

On a less poetic, but very relevant side note (given the recent climate change agreements signed in Paris), our guide told us that as it was officially the wet season, there should be much more rainfall than what we had, and the waterfall is usually covered by clouds. But because of global warming and El Niño, the weather has been much drier and more erratic throughout the year. This wasn't the only example that I've heard local people talk about climate change during my trip either.

The viewing platform was actually on a slight slope, at the end of which was a vertical drop. We attempted (very carefully) a few jumping shots anyway.

Then it was time to descend to the bottom of the falls, which allowed us to admire her magnificence up close, as well as swimming in the pool at the bottom. The water was cold, and took a few minutes to get used to but thoroughly enjoyable once you were in, especially if the sun is out. The rocks at the bottom of the pool were uneven and slippery though, making it very difficult to walk around, particularly as the water was too 'red' and there was too much froth to see through. At one point I slipped and hit my left foot against a rock - it was so painful I almost thought I'd broken my toe (luckily I didn't coz they would be quite shit). It was bruised for a few days though.

Most of the guys in the group who were more comfortable in water were able to swim up to where the water impacted the pool. They were even able to lean back without touching the wall because the force of the water was so strong. I only managed to get within 3m before I got pushed away. It is hard to describe with words or even photos - you really have to experience it for yourself!

We spent about an hour swimming and taking photos before heading back to camp for a quick break in the hammocks and lunch. The return boat ride, downstream this time, was a bit quicker and still fun navigating the rapids.

We got back to the lodge area by about 3.30 but that wasn't the end of the tour yet. We still had to see three other waterfalls that emptied into the red river.
 
The first one wasn't that full so we could actually walk right up to it at the top. We were treated with a great panoramic view of the bay and palm trees on the opposite side too. 

Then we saw Sapo Falls, which was extremely powerful and you could either admire from the beach on the opposite side (where we started) or on a boat (where another group of tourists were, which provided a great opportunity for a sunset silhouette shot). Better still, you can go right up to it and walk BEHIND it, which was exactly what we did. We got very wet in the process - even my dry bag could not protect my camera and phone completely from the force of the water.

But it was worth it. Not only could we walk from one end of the waterfall to the other, see the enormous gush up close (and realise how easy it was to just step onto the boulder, take a couple of steps, and disappear into the veil of whiteness forever) - no, not only these, we were also treated to the sunset behind a curtain of water, every droplet glistening in the orange yolk, reflecting and refracting the radiance that made the whole world glow in golden superiority. It was a perfect end to the tour.

(The actual end of the tour was much more underwhelming - by the time we got back to our lodge it had started raining. The clouds lingered well into the following day, much to the others' disappointment as they had planned to take the $80 flight over the Angel Falls to see it from another angle. Indeed, the third day of my 3D/2N excursion only consisted of breakfast and a transfer to the airstrip to fly back to Puerto Ordaz. I ended up writing a complaint email to my agent about the slightly misleading itinerary.)

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 5 and 6

Day 5

This was the toughest day of all. I've always enjoyed the ascent much more than the descent; I find the latter much harder work to keep stable, and more fatal if I took one wrong step. The only two blisters that I got from the entire trek also came from the descent. Ah well, tough shit.

The route down was identical but in reverse as the route up, except it was quicker so we did the equivalent of Days 1 and 2 all on Day 5, camping at Tök. The water at Rio Kukenán wasn't as high as before, so we were all able to walk across the boulders, with Marisol's help. No need to swim and no rope (and splinters) this time!

Marisol told us at dinner that one of the people who had been on the way up earlier in the day had slipped when they passed under the waterfalls, and was likely to need helicopter rescue the next morning due to a potentially serious head injury. We were all thankful that we only came away with insect bites and blisters.

According to Marisol three tourists have died on Roraima in the past - two of heart attacks, and one under unknown circumstances. Apparently the guy had commented "this isn't a bad place to die". He then insisted on staying an extra day at the top, while the rest of the group went down (after signing a disclaimer for his own safety etc). On the way down the guide had a bad feeling, so he sent a porter and the man's nephew back up, only to find him dead for no apparent reason. I was glad that Marisol left these chilling stories til after we left.

The last day

It was sad to leave Roraima. I looked back several times as we approached the gateway to the ramp, part of me wished we had more time to explore at the top, but I was also happy that we made the most of the time we had. I felt extremely grateful to have made it. And I realised that every step I took was not only of my own effort, but also the effort and help of the stones and rocks and branches and trees that supported me, stopped me from tripping or slipping, and helped me reach the top. I used to think about 'conquering' mountains, but now I realise how small I was. Even a small stone along the path has been there for millennia before me, and will be there for millennia after me. It has seen everything, and I was only a fraction of a nano-second by comparison.

Roraima was an incredibly humbling experience. She was hard work but beautiful, tiring but humbling. She was incredible in every detail. She was magnificent.

On the drive back to Santa Elena we stopped briefly at the Jasper Creek - the red colour of the riverbed is due to the colour of the mineral rock. It was very pretty :)

One last bit of drama, though it wasn't us this time. Another of the 4x4's had broken down so our driver stopped to help. We ended up towing them all the way back to Santa Elena for an hour on a loose rope. It was a good thing that their brakes were still working...

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 3 and 4

I got up at 5.15 to watch sunrise at the base camp. As the sun rose above the horizon, it lit up the walls of Roraima and Kukenán from crimson red to a brilliant golden orange. It was incredible scenery, particularly as clouds moved through the valley between the two tepuis. Wished you were here - you would have loved it too :)


The trek today was hard. As soon as we left the camp we were already hitting almost vertical climbs and had to scramble our way up. The route to the top was simple - get to the wall of the cliff then follow a steep "ramp" along the side of the wall all the way up. For the first two hours we were forever trying to get closer to the wall; we were always so close yet so far away. Brice had already disappeared ahead after 5 minutes; I was mainly walking with José, Maria and Norman, with Flavio, Daniel and Marisol behind.

The steepness gave us plenty of opportunities to take short breaks and look at the flora and fauna, with explanations from Norman, our resident biologist who came on this trip to document plant species.

Then after two hours of hard climbing we finally got to the wall. It stood as tall as ever and we felt no closer to the top than we had been two hours before. We continued nonetheless. Along the ramp there were two 'viewing platforms' where we had a panoramic view of the valleys below us - it was incredible. The base camp looked so small now.

Marisol instructed us to wait for her at the second viewing platform, which we did (I didn't want to defy her again after the river crossing). From there we could trace the route all the way to the top now, which involved walking under two waterfalls. Although the reality was having heavy rainfall for about 3 minutes, it was quite cool and fun. Whilst everyone had their ponchos, I had to use my umbrella and was told later that I was being English :)

From the start of the ramp to the top took another 3 hours - mostly consisting of almost vertical climbing. After the waterfalls we split up again. I was slightly faster so I followed a porter up, while Marisol and Daniel stayed back with Flavio, who had a knee injury from a cycling competition before the trek.

The sun was replaced by mist by the time I got to the top. It looked like a completely different world. The landscape was formed by black volcanic rocks of different shapes and sizes, with patches of plants growing on softer swampier ground. There was no trail anymore so I had to follow the porter closely to avoid getting lost.
We camped at Hotel Principal under the cover of a giant rock formation, which was incredibly fortunate as it rained quite heavily after lunch in the afternoon (lots of groups had to camp out in the open). It was already 4pm when the rain finally subsided, so we decided to go up to the summit which was just opposite our campsite. Despite the persistent clouds we were treated to a great view of the valleys below. 

As we started to make our way down, I suddenly felt really fortunate and grateful to be where I was. And it was only possible because of my parents and my family. But I've never thanked them. I've never thanked them for bringing me up, for sending me to school and uni, for the hard long cold hours they had to endure at the Chinese takeaway, for giving me the opportunities to go on my travels and everything else that they've done. I've never thanked my sisters either for their support of my endeavours.

I felt guilty and emotional. I promised that I would thank them when I got back down the mountain. I missed them.


Day 4

At 4am I got up to use the toilet, and saw a beautiful full moon when I came out of the tent, so I decided to stay out to take photos. By 5am the sky was changing from dark blue to light blue with a tinge of red. Then I saw the most incredible sunrise with reflections from the tepui ponds.

Marisol took us for a wall to the Kukenán Window before breakfast - cliff and vertical drop with other tepui across and clouds below. The view was out of this world. Unbelievable. Gobsmacking. Magnificent. No words nor even photos could do it justice. You HAVE TO see it for yourself.

After breakfast we went out again, but the weather changed quickly from glorious sunshine to mist/cloud rising up from the cliffs to heavy fog to heavy rainfall. All in the space of 5 minutes. I quite liked the mist and rain - the eerie and mysterious atmosphere added to the deserted alien landscape.

Through the rain and mist Marisol took us to see quartz crystals (apparently lots of these have been taken by tourists in the past), some interesting rock formations (at one point I was sure I was in a Star Wars film set), and plants indigenous to Roraima along the way. We ended at a (relatively small) waterfall not too far from the Kukenán Window, where a few of us took a shower under the freezing cold water but man how exhilarating and refreshing! The water fell hard and cold on my head but it felt so good - if only there was also a hot pool or sauna to jump into! Flavio had a waterproof case for his iPhone and managed to take a photo of the four of us :)


On the walk back we passed another cliff face but it was not quite as spectacular as our earlier visit because of the mist. Before heading back for lunch we had a stop at the 'jacuzzis' - pools of cold water where visitors use to bathe in (or bomb-dive into). I didn't want to get wet again but the others had a great time.


By the time we finished lunch it was past 3pm and the weather had turned for the worse. The incessant rain kept us in the camp for the rest of the day. It was quite nice to have some time to rest and bond with others. As darkness fell the rain and dampness gave the camp an eerie atmosphere, complemented by my albatross soup mystery (which spooked myself out more than it did the others) and Flavio's paraffin lighters that served as our 'camp fires'. The rain was still going when we went to bed at 9.

Venezuela - Roraima Trek - Days 1 and 2

Day 1

After being told we would leave between 8.30-9.00, we finally set off at 9.30 in a couple of 4x4s, driving from Santa Elena for about an hour and a half to Paraitepui, the starting point of the trek. 

Our guide and porters getting all the equipment and food ready

After unloading everything, signing our lives away with the park warden and having a light lunch, we finally set off at 12.30. There were 7 of us in the group:

• Brice - French guy living and working in the UK
• Maria - Russian girl travelling around South America and then Asia
• Normunds - Latvian expert in plants and biology, doesn't like group travel but loved our group
• José - my tent buddy, a massive fan of fast cars and also going to Angel Falls afterwards
• Daniel - from Brazil, always positive, happy and brought lots of smiles to the group
• Flavio - Daniel's brother, super active and competed in a cycling competition just before the trek

Plus Marisol, our guide, 3 porters who stayed with us til the end, and a few day-porters for the first day.

The walk to the Tök campsite where we stayed the night was fairly flat and straightforward, consisting mostly of open savannas. You could see some of the grass has been burnt down, leaving specks of black ash dotted around. The sun was shining, and the scenery was beautiful. Already we could see Roraima and Kukenán to her left staring straight at us.

Mount Kukenán (left) and Mount Roraima (right)

We arrived at the campsite at 4, which gave us about an hour to fill our water bottles from the river (upstream), bathe/swim/wash our clothes downstream, and prepare our tent for the night. We had been warned by other trekkers about the puri-puri (blood flies), but I didn't realise how bad they were until we got to the camp. They were everywhere and were completely immune to my DEET-50 repellent!

The campsite had no electricity so once it got dark activities were limited to dinner (some excellent spagbol, though not enough), some night time photography and sleep. The moon was almost full, so it was too bright for stars, but it did light up Roraima which was an incredible view and much different from daytime.

Day 2

Marisol told us that to make the summit on day 2 would require us reaching the base camp by noon. This would give us more time on top of Roraima to explore so I was keen, though for some reason we were waiting around a lot after breakfast so when we were all finally ready to leave I was up front with Brice - he was the only smoker but also the fastest walker in the group. We had two rivers to cross and were specifically told to wear socks when crossing to avoid slipping. The first, Rio Tök, was only ankle deep. When Brice and I came up to the second river - Rio Kukenán - it was much wider and deeper. There were two sides on the opposite bank, separated by the rubber running down from the tepui. We found a rope that linked the left hand side of the opposite bank and us, and decided to cross even though the others (guide included) hadn't arrived yet. Everything made sense - the socks, the plastic bags lining the inside of our backpacks, the warning about water reaching chest height.

Rio Kukenán (Photo credit: José)

The green rope, taken on the return journey. On our way the water was so high that the middle of the rope was touching the water (Photo credit: Flavio)

Brice went first and I held the rope taut for him from my side. Halfway across I could see the water was up to waist deep. I already had everything in my plastic lined backpack or dry bag, except for my shoes that were hanging off my rucksack, so I wasn't particularly fazed. 

Then it was my turn.

I held on to the rope with both hands and started making my way over slowly. The water was cold, and got deeper with every step I took. It was hard to find my footing - the rocks were uneven and slippery, the water was flowing relatively fast and I couldn't see the bottom to see where to take my next step. I had to rely on my other senses, feeling for the next possible step. When I was almost halfway over the water was now at chest height, and it occurred to me how stupid it was to try and cross like that, but there was no way to back off now.

In the middle of the crossing was a big boulder, which I thought would be useful to leverage off but it turned out more problematic - it was at am angle and all I could do was to wedge my foot between the boulder and another rock - it was a recipe for twisting or breaking my ankle with one wrong step or even loss of balance! Eventually I found my footing and marched on (only metaphorically). But it was only another two steps before I lost balance and fell backwards. I held on to the rope for my dear life but my while body including my backpack both submerged in the water. I think I even heard a couple of ooo's from the other trekkers further downstream. I recovered quickly, fearing the water getting into my backpack and camera, and managed to land on the other side without further problems.

But the worst wasn't over yet.

Just as I stepped onto dry land, Brice and I heard Marisol shouting at us, signalling for us to turn back. When I looked over everyone else had already changed into their swimming costumes. Marisol waved us back again and even got her whistle out. There was no two ways about it. We had to go back the way we came.

Being the closest to the rope I went first this time, though I noticed Brice isn't holding it quite as taut as before. I decided to also use my trekking pole to balance this time, which worked out much better than the first time. Again the middle of the river was a challenge but I managed to make it back without issues this time.

Obviously we got told off when we rejoined the group. Marisol did not look impressed at all. Everyone was getting ready to swim over and I almost did too but decided swimming was a bad idea in a strong current and freezing cold water. I took the raft option instead (think I was the only one who didn't swim!) Probably a little cowardly, but I know my limits!

Photo credit: José

Once the adrenaline died down I noticed both my hands had LOTS of splinters from the rope, which was really annoying and were really difficult to remove. 

The rest of the day was fine without further drama. Roraima became bigger and bigger in the foreground as we appraoched base camp, sometimes in full view, sometimes hiding behind mist and clouds. We could see waterfalls flowing from the top of both tepuis from the distance too.

A look back at the way we came

We made it to the base camp at around 2.30, and would have to wait until the following day to summit, which was just as well - it gave us enough time to bathe (in the freezing cold river), wash out clothes and watch another incredible sunset, with Roraima standing tall and resolute behind us. As the sun started to fall towards the horizon, it painted the cliff faces of Roraima a golden yellow. We all stood to admire its beauty and magnificence; not even 1,000 photos would do it justice.

Darkness fell quite quickly again. This night we were treated with a moon rise over one of the cliff faces. Soon after dinner it started to rain, which was then accompanied by thunder and lightning in the distant background of the Kukenán tepui. Suddenly the camp acquired a spooky atmosphere, particularly when I was back in the tent and all I could hear was raindrops hitting the tent and the distant thunder. It reminded me of the spooky stories Marisol was telling us earlier. One was about how a man who had shouted "I want to be like you Roraima" when he was bathing at the base camp, then became sick and untreatable when he got home. Apparently his comment attracted the attention of the mountain so his life was being taken away. They needed a shaman to fix him.

It was definitely time for bed.