Angel Falls 2

A leisurely start this morning saw the group embarking on a new adventure. We took slightly bigger long boats than yesterday for the 4 hour trip up the river to Angel Falls. Travelling up the Rio Carrao we encountered rapids which the boatmen skillfully but exhilaratingly guided us through. After getting off the boats and walking for 1/2 hour we took the boats once more towards our first stop of the dayat the ´Pools of Happiness.´Many of the group took advantage of plunging into the cool water, a refreshing change from the heat of the day. On the boats once more after a quick stop for lunch we continued to power up stream, our guides prepared us for the sight we had been waiting for. As we turned around a final bend in the river, the jungle parted and there, visibly thundering off the top of the mountain was Angel Falls. A continuous drop of white water, cascading down the vertical side of the Tepui. With this now in view we stopped and walked the short distance to our jungle camp for the night, taking just our cameras we started the short hour walk to the falls themselves. It seemed a long time since we had been trekking in jungle but the group soon grew accustomed to the roots, branches and trees. Encountering a coral snake constricting and then eating a mouse, a huge maze of spider´s webs hanging in the trees above us and vines strong enough to swing on reminded us of what an amazing place we were in.
Aftera 20 minute ascent we arrived at the view point of ´Salto Angel´as we appeared out of the vegetation we heard it before we saw it, thundering and echoing through the forest. The sight was absolutely breathtaking, clear skies allowed us to see the water plummet over the edge of the tepui before exploding and cascading, as if in slow motion, down the enormous drop into the churning pools below. With a total a drop of 807metres this was a waterfall of epic proportion, totally amazing and the group looked on in awe. Back at the jungle camp the group reflected on what they had seen over the most delicious meal of potatoes and chickens cooked to perfection by the boat men on spits over an open fire.