We flew out to Canaima 2 days ago in a 6-seater Cessna. The approach to Canaima was specatular with gorgeous views of the tepuys (tabletop mountains) and the 7 waterfalls skirting the north shore of the Canaima Lagoon. Our campsite was an open area with a roof and no walls, with hammocks strung all around the periphery and the dining area in the center - the campsite looked out directly onto one of the waterfalls (Salto Hacha).... a very idyllic setting!

That afternoon, we trekked about a mile from the campsite to the Sapo Falls. The falls were absolutely spectacular, and we walked behind the curtain of the falls for a few hundred yards to the other side. We then went on a little further to the Sapito Falls and enjoyed both falls from the base as well as the views from the top. As we had some time before dark, Mumbe (our Canaima guide, who is from the inidigenous Kamaracoto tribe) took us across the lagoon to walk behind the Hacha Falls. It was a little intimidating with the force of the falls crashing down hard on us as we made our way through the curtain of the falls, but it was definitely a worthwhile experience!

After breakfast the next day, we took off on a 3-hr trip to the Angel Falls, mostly by boat except for a 30 minute hike in the early part of the trip, as the rapids were too rough for a full boat. We did get rather wet both from traversing the rapids, and also from the steady rain that started in the last hour of the journey - I was well pleased to have purchased a poncho at Canaima to be able to keep dry and hence a little less cold than I otherwise would have been. The views en route were beautiful - with tepuys towering over us, and the boulders in the river eroded into very distinctive shapes, wild plants growing out of their cracks. We were joined by a group of 7 Spaniards on this trip. One of the chaps was a policeman who had started learning English a month ago, and we made the most of each other - him speaking in English and myself responding in Spanish, and correcting each other in the process - great practice!

It was still raining hard when we arrived at the campsite, and we waited out the rain, whilst we dried ourselves out and warmed up with a coffee. The campsite is a more basic version of the prior night's (same setup but no electricity and no running water), and looked right across to the Angel Falls. It was very idyllic, and rustic!

It was a 1-hr hike up to Salto Angel (Angel Falls), which is the highest waterfall drop in the world, and was very impressive indeed - rather like a longer version of the Yosemite Falls. On our hike back it started to rain quite heavily, and the light faded quickly (it gets dark by about 5:30pm), and soon we had to turn on our flashlights to help us pick our way through the rocks, roots, tree trunks along our pathway which at certain times now resembled a little stream in this tropical rain.

The river served as our water supply for washing - not that any one of us bothered that evening. We all had had enough of a soaking for the day, and didn't fancy trudging down in the rain for a wash.

Dinner was atmospheric. They had a bonfire going and they roasted whole chickens on spits over the fire - and the dinner table was two long benches illuminated by candles.

Sleeping was a very tight arrangement - the hammocks were strung so tightly together that we were practically rubbing alongside our neighbours on either side - a little too cosy for our liking, but amazingly we all had a great night's sleep.

We got back into Ciudad Bolivar this afternoon, and will be boarding a 15-hr bus into Santa Elena this evening.