Arekuna Lodge Canaima National Park

... with there being no official carrier, no flight number and no departure time! Following various enquiries, we manage to find the right place to check-in. They duly charge us excess baggage despite the fact that we later learn that there are only 4 of us on the plane. Consistent with there being no flight number there is no departure gate and no departure information on the boards. We select somewhere to sit with our bags that we think is the right area but turns out that it ...

... trip that is usually sold in Ciudad Bolívar is a 3 day 2 night trip, but together with a couple of Dutch people (Imke and Rob) I met in my posada I decided to stay one extra day to take relax and take in the beauty of Canaima. Day 1 began with a 7am departure which wasn’t as early as I thought it would be, which was nice as I was still trying to catch up on my missed sleep. The flight in the little Cessna plane from ...

... the bus leaves at 3.30 p.m. and by South American time (Esp Venezuela) around 5 p.m. on the dot!!!! My hunch was correct, although i was there at 3 like he said, the bus left at around 5.30. During which time on the television there was the worst soap acting I had seen and the guy with the remote thought the same; he turned over to Chavez speaking, within a millisecond the soap was back on!<br><br>The ...

... for another hour. But it was totally worth it....<br><br>The boat ride takes you up a increasingly fast and narrow river, with spectacular scenary all around. The Angels Falls NP is full of amazingly dramatic table mountains that emerge out of the dense rainforest. The river is full of rapids that drench you as the motorized canoe powers through. Once you start trekking, the path is over thousands of tree roots, making the way ...

... por favor!´. It was classic and they shut up but the rest of us had to stop ourselves from beaking into to fits of laughter. It´s become the catch phrase of the trip!<br><br>The next morning we started our walk up to the waterfall which took about an hour. We got to the view point and could not see to the top of the waterfall as it was covered in cloud but was an absolutely spectacular sight non the less. We continued onto reach the base of ...

... jump on a boat right away to head for the falls down the Churun river. The rainy season has just begun but at some points there is not enough water and we all have to get out and walk around the shallow area while the driver took the boat over. A genuine highlight of the holiday so far was having to go UP rapids in a traditional wooden boat (Curiara), wearing only lifejackets that look like they were salvaged from the Titanic. One was ...

... its height and therfore the water is a bit less than in the rainy season, pretty cold though. The trek back through the jungle to our camp for the night where we get to sleep in hamnmocks with mosquito nets on out in the open. Very fortunate that there was also a full moon so lit everything up nice and brightly for us, also saw glow worms in the jungle as I went for a walk with a couple of the others at night. Also managed ...

... and two bags of fruit. Take off was fun for Adam while Karrina was left scared. Until she looked out the window and saw the awesome view! Plus, the flight was only na hour anyway. Adam told Karrina that he could see the pilot playing Suduko. Karrina was mortified! But then began to think that it was ok, after all, it must be pretty boring for him doing this same flight however many times a day. And I am sure he is taking care of us at the same time. She ...

... at us. As we couldn't yet see the top due to the clouds and mist we decided to head for a swim at the base of the falls and return in an hour or so. At this time of the year it is safe enough to swim but during the wet months the water is too high and dangerous - you can easily be swept into the rushing river. The falls drop and cascade onto a small cliff top, about 30 metres wide and 10 metres high which channels the water into a rocky pool where you can swim ...

... het meer dan waard... Angel Falls in al zijn glorie. Water dat van bijna een kilometer hoogte de diepte in stort. Heel indrukwekkend!! Op deze tocht hebben we nog twee broers uit Caracas ontmoet, die nog een paar mooie weetjes over Chaves hadden. -Hij heeft recentelijk de klok een half uur terug gezet (oftewel Venezuela heeft een andere tijd dan andere landen in hun tijdzone) - Hij heeft de vlag van Venezuela aangepast ...