Day 2 of the Angel Falls trek was guess what.... Another early start. We all meet for food, pancakes, eggs, ham and juice. We were then informed we had three hours on a boat which was not expected. What made it worse was that he then said three boats a year capsize on the journey and none had so far. When we got on the boat it was not hard to see why some capsize and when we were separated to sit next to different people we were a little comprehensive. Within minutes it worked out better as Abigail sat next to Maffe, the worlds most talkative venezuelan and I was on the row in front with Eric. We spent most of the trip talking as a four anyway which just made the group feel more united.
After a quick walk we got back in the boat and arrived at another waterfall. We were able to get out and go for a swim in "the pool of happiness" and we walked up and behind the waterfall again which you can see on the picture. Apart from falling over at every opportunity it was great fun.
It was lucky that we had our swimming stuff on and had got wet earlier in the day as it seemed our four seats were the only ones on the boat that would get sprayed. This wouldn't have bothered us in the slightest except it only ever happened two minutes after we had just dried off. Some of the sights on the way to the falls were amazing and just how we had imagined them but none compared to the first glimpse of Angel Falls from a far. It looked like clouds were rolling down the mountain instead of water.
We dropped our bags off and headed on a 2 hour jungle trek to the base of the falls. On the way we saw a tarantula which decided to jump out at the group but that was the only scare we had. The trek became a lot more difficult the nearer we got and seemed to split in two with us being in the leading group. The sights when we got there were sublime, with clouds moving quickly giving glimpses of the summit and hiding it again made it all the more surreal and made us appreciate it all the more when we could see the top. What made it even more amazing was Simon proposing to his girlfriend and her saying yes.
Sitting and admiring the waterfall was beautiful and we didn't actually want to leave. We set off on the same trek back to the camp but with a slight detour. Trekking through a small river was the wettest any of us were supposed to get. When the boat to take us back to the campsite was late our guide elected to take matters into his own hands. He left us on the rock waiting and dived into the river only to find the current far too strong. He was being swept down the river and was only saved by our boat actually turning up to save him which was eventful. Jose (the guide) didn't seem overly impressed though.
Back at the camp we had a quick wash a sat down for food. Cooked chicken on the fire literally fell off of the bone with vegetables and we have been advised not to take the route we are going on. It should make it interesting but adds to the sense of adventure.
Candles were lit and we all jumped in our hammocks which made it a romantic evening sleeping in hammocks in the middle of a jungle at the base of a waterfall.