oe O Y | cruisers’ radio net if anyone would be interest- ed in exploring the world’s highest waterfall: Angel Falls in Venezuela. My wife Leona and I were among those who replied \ y I A rT ] I | : from the United Kingdom (Freya, Beez Neez and El Lobo), Blue Song from Austria/ Germany, Tashtego from the USA, and our Voyageur C from Canada. Many cruisers have made the trip from Isla Margarita, Caracas or Puerto La Cruz to Angel Falls, but to our knowledge, no one had done the trip from Trinidad before — especially with our budget objective of US$1,000 per head — and there was a lot of interest from other cruisers. Our timing was dictated by the ferry to Venezuela: plus a carryon. Although many people have never heard of the Guayana Highlands, that part of Venezuela is the home of Angel Falls — the world’s tallest waterfall with an mesas that rise thousands of feet above the Gran Sabana, a vast grassland. On Wednesday, October 7th, we checked in at Pier One at 7:00am for the 9:00am departure of the ferry to Guiria, the Venezuelan port of entry on the Gulf officer boarded to check us for swine flu. When the ferry finally pulled up to the dock, Anne was delighted to see Branko and Betty waiting for us. We celebrated our arrival in Guiria with local beer (3.5 Bf per bottle) and ALL ASHORE... “yes”! it only runs once a week, on Wednesdays. Anne did all the “legwork”, coordinating overall height of 979 metres (3,212 feet) and a clear drop of 807 metres (2,647 of Paria. After a smooth three-and-a-half hour crossing we pulled into the har- Cacique rum (35 Bf for a 750ml bottle) and dined on excellent Syrian sha- September morning in 2009, Anne of Freya of Clyde enquired on the Chaguaramas, Trinidad Our group eventually expanded to six couples from as many boats, with three with travel agents Branko and Betty (of Turistico SurAmericaTravel) in Venezuela, and hosting our weekly planning meetings. Yellow fever shots and anti-malaria prescriptions were required and baggage limit would be one backpack per person, feet). The area also hosts the Orinoco River and the tepuis — huge sandstone bour at Guiria. After we waited in the harbour for nearly two hours, the medical oO warma (18 Bf) while sitting at a table on the street wedged between the gutter and N the traffic. To put the prices in perspective, you can buy five Bolivar Fuerte (Bf) for Lu ONE US dollar — at the unofficial rate. QO After our overnight stay at the Hotel Plaza in Guiria we took a 12-hour bus ride to x Ciudad Bolivar, founded in 1764 as Angostura. (Angostura bitters now come from Trinidad, but that is another story.) Our bus, ably piloted by Carlos, was basically an extended air-conditioned van with little legroom and fixed seats, so the occa- sional stops were greatly appreciated. Filling up the diesel van was an eye opener — the price was equivalent to one cent per liter! Gasoline is twice as expensive. a The trip took us through a surprising variety of topography from mountains to plains > with grazing cattle. We crossed the Orinoco at dusk on one of only two bridges across this oO river in Venezuela. We stayed at the Da Gino hotel (a cut above the Plaza) beside the air- oO port and dined on pizza and beer at the hotel restaurant. Zz Friday morning we went to the airport and met the representative from Sapito Tours << (www.sapitotours.com) who had made the arrangements for our group to enter Ww Canaima National Park. The one-and-a-half hour flight to Canaima was made in six- ray seater aircraft, so everyone had a window seat. Flying at a maximum of 6,500 feet oe over the 119 miles we had great views of the tepuis and waterfalls as we approached << Canaima. Canaima sits on one side of Canaima Lagoon, which is fed by four spec- O tacular waterfalls on the Rio Carrao. After landing, we walked a short way and were then transported by canoe to oO Camp Bernal (www.bernaltours.com) on Isla Anatoliy, which is situated in the 5 lagoon between two of the waterfalls. On arrival we were given refreshments and 9 ? presented with bead bracelets and necklaces. Native people here are the Pemon (who operate the park) and guides must be native. We met our river guide, Danielle, at the camp. Danielle spoke English like a first language — all of the DECEMBER C guides here must speak English. The guides we met displayed grace, dignity and excellent knowledge of the local flora and fauna. We had the balance of the day at the camp so we wandered off to see Salto Hacha (Axe Falls), which featured a lengthy path beneath a rock overhang directly under the falls. It’s slippery, so socks are better than shoes or bare feet. Also, you are walking through serious downpours here — ladies, hang onto the tops of your bathing suits! Later Danielle took us to a lovely sand beach (Playita) just below the Salto E] Sapo (Frog Falls sounds less exciting) where we had a swim. Then we crossed through a path behind these falls — quite slippery with water dripping everywhere and very tunnel-like with water on one side and rock on the other three sides. It was impos- sible to hear anything over the roar of the water a couple of feet away! At the other side of the falls we climbed up and walked back across the top of the falls. Despite the torrents going over the falls, we could walk across the top with dry feet because | YANMAR | FLEETGUARD Filters most of the water flowed through channels cut into and under the rock. We had opted for cabins (four people to a room) with private baths, but the rooms were very hot so some of us slept in hammocks under mosquito nets in the main lodge — basically a roof with no walls. On the Saturday morning we sorted through our stuff, stored what we would not need at the upper camp and took the canoe to Canaima, then walked through town and up around the falls to Port Ucaima — the curiara landing. A word about the curiara. Our open boat held a party of 17, including the boat driver, a guide and a bowman, with the other 14 of us seated two abreast and our luggage stored under tarpaulins between us and the driver. This presented a full load, especially since river depths were dropping as the rainy season came to an end. The curiara is powered by a 48- or 72-horsepower Yamaha and might draw about six inches. —Continued on next page MARINE MECHANICS (ALL MAKES) - HAUL OUT 24h BREAKDOWN SERVICE « SALES « REPAIRS * MAINTENANCE Marina Pointe-a-Pitre 97110 Phone: +590 590 907 137 Fax: +590 590 908 651 TOHATSU E-mail: fredmarine @ wanadoo.fr SERVICES Mechanics and Electricity Boat Maintenance Engine diagnosis Breakdown service 24/7 Haulout and hull sand blasting Equipment for rent Technical shop LEAVE GOODS Various lubricants Genuine parts Yanmar & Tohatsu Basic spare parts (filters, impellers, belts) Filtration FLEETGUARD Anodes, Shaft bearings Electric parts, batteries Primers and Antifouling International FOR RENT High pressure cleaners 150/250bars Electrical tools Diverse hand tools Vacuum cleaner for water Scaffolding YOUR BOAT IN SKILLED HANDS