Tanda Tula Safari Camp Merida

... 1st day of the year recovering, a group of us went canyoning. I´ve been canyoning before in Switzerland, but this was totally different. This had HUGE abseiling parts and not so much jumping off big waterfall parts.. which was kinda disappointing. We did get to slide down a waterfall which was very bumpy. There is absolutely no OH&S here either.. we had to abseil down small cliffs to get out of the jungle without any ropes.. very scary, and then climb along tiny ...

... reorganised, it is expensive to do Angel Falls any way you do it. We have decided to travel from Caracas, where we go tonight on another night bus, and fly down in a couple of days though it is far cheaper to get to Ciudad Bolivar by bus (either from Merida or Caracas) and then join the tours from there into the Canaima National Park where Angel Falls stands. As we are pushed for time and it's Julie's birthday we have decided to pay a bit more and fly down, it ...

... of this phenomenon is in the orographic effect of these mountain ranges that lock up and restrain to winds of the northeast taking place clouds of great vertical development, concentrated mainly in the river basin of the Catatumbo river. This phenomenon is very easy to see from hundreds of kilometers of distance, that is to say, from the own lake (where clouds usually do not appear during the night) reason why also it is known ...

... Beer) flavoured Ice Cream, haha! Here the police are not corrupt like in Caracas and walking around was no issue. Everywhere I went, I found myself constantly gazing up at the mountains, that shadow the city until the sun rises far up enough to shed light over the place. We did food shopping after a while of walking around and bought things for desayuno and dinner. Its so good having a kitchen we can use again! The last month, we have had nothing but ...

... nicely for my birthday on the 4th and the hostel is right near Copacobana beach. I somehow have to get to the Angel Falls (Venezuela) for the 3 day trip, then see as much of northern Brazil (including an Amazon trip) within 2 weeks (highly unlikely) then fly to Rio for the festivities. Something's going to have to sacrificed along the line somewhere. Jan 9th Merida (Sigh) been feeling a bit tired and illin lately and waking up this morning I realised I had a cold (really bad timing ...

... and yet I was exerting so little effort that I was not sweating. I stopped noticing the altitude the moment I wasn't trying to go up hill. But I begin to understand why people say the Inca trail is tough. On the other side, the path was above the vegetation line for a while but soon hit beautiful alpine meadows of browns and reds and followed a river valley down the mountain. Gradually, mountain grasses were replaced by increasingly large shrubs and bushes, many ...

Merida is a wonderful city, the best in Venezuela. There is no feeling of impending tçdeath here at night and there are many activities to do. The climate is cool and the mountainous scenary around is stunning. We went canyoning here - a day trip full of adrenalin, absailing off wanterfalls, jumping into pools of water many meters below and hen sliding off a waterfall at some point!! We went with a S African girl ...

... cartoon-like lightning bolts, our expectations get lower, leading us to say things along the lines of: ¨That one lit up the clouds really well,¨ or ¨That`s been the third flash in the last 10 minutes, awesome!!¨ While continuing to gaze hopefully at the sky, we`re startled by a splash behind us. ¨What was that?¨ Sara asks. ¨Someone went to the bathroom,¨ I reply. ¨No, it wouldn`t just go in the water.¨ ¨We`re in the middle ...

... to 5768 metres. There are 4 stations on the way up where you have to get off and get the next one up. Sky is clear and conditions look good but as we get near the top the wind is blowing v hard. View is fantastic of the valley and surrounding mountains and is well worth doing despite being quite pricey (think it was about $16 each). Outside the top there is snow and ice and one of the station ...

... up pretty warm, and to prove that I am made of sterner stuff, I hammered out a quick burst of press-ups. Andrea watched with a look of awe, I think, but my vision went a bit blotchy so I couldn't be sure. Paragliding Emma and Ben, keen paragliders, had bought us a tandem paraglide each for our wedding present, and today was the day. The instructors picked us up from the posada, along with a swiss couple who were also going up up and away. We drove about 1/2 ...