Back to reality (oh, there goes gravity?)

Ok, so enough of the past. Time to move on to real time. We just got back from 3 days visiting Angel Falls. It was glorious. Here´s what brett wrote about it (we still can´t upload from his palm pilot):

We just returned from a very enjoyable 3 day trip to Angel Falls. I was a big skeptical about taking a planned tour to the "world´s highest waterfall" (see the indian village, buy their junk, etc) but it turned out to be really great. The tours depart from a small town in a national park called Canaima in the middle of the Venezuelan amazon. No roads even approach the town so we flew in on a small cessena (cindy you would´ve died). The flight was fine despite our concerns about venezuelan aviation safety standards and it was a bit nerve-racking watching the guy eat his breakfast with no hands on the controls while balancing his juice in his lap and chatting with another passenger while turned around facing the back of the plane. In addition to his cavalier appraoch, we were flying most of the way through thick clouds with nearly zero visibility. Luckily he had his little Garmin handheld GPS on the dash. Landed on a tiny potholed runway. The area is famous for its "tabletop" mountains or Tepuis which made for dramatic scenery on the way in. Dropped our things off at the posada and met the guide and the boat drivers. The boat was essentially a dugout canoe with a 50hp outboard on the back. We spent the next 4 hours speeding up the river enjoying the scenery but in ridiculous pain from the hard wooden seats. We were on of the lucky groups to get a camp witha view of the falls and it was dramatic. The water starts out at the top as a single stream and by the time it has dropped the 3,000 plus feet to the bottome it is nothing but a huge sheet of mist. Quite a sight. Camp was basic but the food was surprisingly good. Whole chickens roasted over a fire pit. Slept in hammock which were alright but i didn´t sleep much.

Everyone, including the guide, had been giving us a hard time about how little we packed for the trip (just ruby´s little marmot bag) so when we headed out on the jungle hike to the base of teh falls in the a.m., we were determined to show them all it could be done in flip flops. So while everyone put on their hiking gear, we stood there hoping we hadn´t made a mistake. The terrain turned out to be a bit rough but nothing we couldn´t handle. I did get bitten by some fire ants which was nice. Finally got to the top and had a great view of the falls. Hiked down a pool at the base and swam in the cold water. Saw a neat green snake. Got annoyed by the 6 other germans in the group.

On the boat ride back it poured most of teh way which made it unpleasant. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got back to the posada, so we ate and crashed. Unfortunately we were in the room nearest the villages dining area which doubled as a disco at night. And some frenchies decided to give their asian friend some english lessons right outside our window. Got bit by mosquitos and didn´t sleep well.

Today we went to see some nearby waterfalls where we were able to walk behind the water. They were a good size and it was neat to see the force of the water from teh backside. Got completely soaked and dried off in the sun on the other side with a great view of the huts and basic farms surrounding the town. Finally went back adn said bye to our guide Jose and german guys were nice but stank like shit. Thunderstorms made the return flight more hair raising. Ruby wasn´t having fun at all.

We´re staying at a great posada called Posada Don Carlos. The german owner if very friendly and the place is built around an open air area in the center giving it a very pleasant feel. They also have german-syle bar witha serve-yourself beer fridge which spellsl trouble for thirsty travelers such as ourselves. Had a fun night with 4 irish boys last weekend sitting around drinking and shooting the shit. Nice to be with other travelers. Great change of pace from Caracas, that´s for sure.