Wed 2nd - Sun 6th Oct (Week 1-2)

8 flights in 6 days ranging from 50mins short hops, to 9.5 hours !

Wed 2nd - The long 9.5 hour flight over from Madrid to Caracas was with Iberia which only had one screen at the front, no individual consoles, and the one screen broke after about 2 hrs so I took a sleeping pill and slept on & off for 4 hours.

Arrived into Caracas and luckily were met by our Osprey Expeditions rep who checked us in for our domestic flight to Ciudad Bolivar. I say luckily, as the Rutaca Airlines system was down so they had no record of who was on what flight, and had to issue us with hand-written boarding passes, with assurances that it would all be fine ! (all in Spanish of course !)
Our rep also changed some US$ into Venezuelan Bolivar for us at a really good rate of 30 BOL to the US$, as oppose to the advertised currency conversion rate of 10 to the $. But this was all done behind the tinted windows of her 4x4, and not in the open of the airport ! Felt a little surreal !
Boarded our internal flight after waiting 25 mins for a pizza, and were pretty much the last ones on board ! Lovely quick flight of 50mins, and were met at the other end in the tiny arrivals hall with one small conveyor belt, and no passport control !
Arrived at Hotel La Cumbre at 9pm, and were both shattered after 2 flights and 6.5hr time difference, so just crashed out in our room without even unpacking ! Nice hotel though, kind of a tree house feel, with old plane equipment, and old typewriters etc dotted about, and a hammock in our room ! But did feel out of place as the only non-Spanish tourists, and no-one spoke English !

Thurs 3rd - Flew down to Canaima at 9am the next morning in a 18-seater plane. Another short hop, but spectacular scenery and its experiences like that that make the 9 months of planning and stress, and giving up our jobs all worth it. Great jungle views, with large brown rivers, and then big mountains looming where Angel Falls are. We landed on a little air strip in the middle of nowhere, right next to some magnificent series of falls. So bizarre to have been in Madrid only yesterday, and now in the middle of nowhere, on a small plane, staying in a little camp.
Wandered down to the lagoon, and had a swim in the clear brown waters starring in awe at the powerful falls and jungle and palm trees. Possibly the most amazing place we've ever been.

Met some other fellow travellers who were also on long trips around S.America, and felt good to chat to other similar people. Although one girl has been travelling in S.America for 4 months already, with no end in sight, and another bloke has been here a year ! Makes our 2.5 months seem far too rushed.

Had a 3hr trip in the afternoon to Sapo falls - via a long wooden boat, and 30mins walking. Incredibly powerful falls, and we all had to strip down to our swimwear to walk on the long footpath behind the falls. Got absolutely soaked, and in some parts the spray was so strong you couldn't see or breathe. But just an awesome experience.

LP quote for Angel Falls: "Salto Angel is the worlds highest waterfall - total height of 979m, with an uninterrupted drop of 807m - about 16 times the height of Niagara Falls.
The waterfall is in a distant, lush wilderness with no road access."

Fri 4th - The next day we headed off on our 80km boat ride in a pretty uncomfortable wooden boat with benches for the 12 of us. Amazing scenery - from flat savannahs, to towering cliffs with waterfalls pouring over, and jungle all around. Had to walk for 30mins over the savannah as the boat had to go over 4km of rapids which wasn't advisable with a full boat !
Arrived at Angel Falls at 2:30, and had a 1hr trek through the jungle to a spectacular view point to see the 807m drop in all its glory. We were really lucky and although it was cloudy, you could see the waterfall in full, which is apparently quite rare. Went for an ice-cold swim in the highest pool and then headed back to camp in semi-darkness at 5:30pm, trying not to fall over the rocks, roots and mud !
Our camp was pretty cool - all open sided with tin roof, and it started to rain just as we arrived at 6pm, so we had the lovely relaxing sound of rain on the roof. Had a nice group dinner and were given instructions on how to sleep in our hammocks and turned in at 9:30pm.
Slept surprisingly well, despite jungle noises, snoring and being a little cold, but I think Brandon struggled a little more being so tall !

Sat 5th - Up at 5:30 as dawn is so early here, quick breakfast and headed off at 7am. Another long 3.5 hrs boat ride back again to Canaima, stopping briefly at "Happy Falls" for a swim to cool off from the baking sun. Apparently the UV factor here is 13 - really strong - and you feel like your burning instantly !

Absolutely fantastic two days, and wish we could stay in Canaima longer - its such a stunning place, but more adventure awaits !

Flight back to Ciudad Bolivar in a rickety 4 seater plane, with lots of turbulence and felt pretty queasy ! Can just imagine it being like the plane that Jimmy Angel flew in when he discovered Angel Falls !
Then had a one hour car transfer to Puerto Ordaz, then another 1hr flight to Caracas for an overnight stay.

Sun 6th - Up early for our 50min hop over to Los Roques for one day. Stunning flight over the Caribbean islands and atolls - very similar to the Maldives.
Took a boat to a nearby island for sunbathing and snorkelling and were pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of fish we saw, and just the idyllic turquoise waters and white soft sand. Why did we only come for 1 day ?!!

Very brief and busy trip to Venezuela, but have seen some incredible places and have really enjoyed it.
We have found our basic knowledge of Spanish is not enough, and have struggled quite a bit both with understanding and being understood. Even though we have been trying hard to understand, and saying what little Spanish we know, we've found the general attitude has been very much if you don't speak fluent Spanish, they're not interested, and don't try and help you. We're hoping the other countries are a little easier !