Lost World
Venezuela & T&T
Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: an embattled president, a divided military, drug-related conflicts along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples. The trip from Canaima upriver over 3 days in a canoe to see Angel Falls was probably the highlight of Venezuela (yes I know, most think Venezuela==Chavez, slightly more enlightened ones know about OPEC, the most enlightened know Venezuela produces more Miss Universes and Miss Worlds than any other country. While most ladies seems to be dressed to shape, most men seemed to be out of shape, a fact that I thought was unfair for Reena.
THE wooden canoe, a curiara in the language of our Pemón Indian guide, winds through the rapits of the Carrao River. A drizzle lets up as the sun rises, revealing the misty escarpments of Auyan-tepui. Then, abruptly, the tepui — a Pemón word for the majestic sandstone mountains in this wide jungle and savanna — comes into magnificent relief. But the best part is yet to come: Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall at 3,212 feet (almost 20 times the height of Niagara Falls), named in honor of Jimmie Angel, the bush pilot who crash-landed his turboprop nearby in an ill-fated search for gold in the 1930’s. Though the Pemón Indians were surely among the first to contemplate the waterfall, the name Angel Falls stuck after word of the arduous 11-day trek of Angel’s traveling party reached the outside world. Venezuela has done little to develop this corner of Bolívar State, and the flight from Puerto Ordaz, over thick jungle and sinewy rivers, to Canaima, an asphalt strip and collection of thatched huts that passes for an airport, attests to the region’s remoteness. Beyond the polarizing political theater that defines Venezuela these days are places of intense beauty, from deserted Caribbean beaches to snow-capped peaks. Angel Falls, in the heart of Canaima National Park, a protected. Geography unique to Venezuela made the surreal setting around Angel Falls possible. There are dozens of tepuis (pronounced tey-POO-ees) in this region, remnants of what geologists believe were the mountains of the ancient supercontinent known as Gondwana. Some of these isolated mesas are two billion years old, preserving an array of unique plant and animal life that rivals that of places like the Galápagos. Some birds cannot fly from one tepui to another because of the distances involved. A family of flowering plants found near Angel Falls that is related to plants in Madagascar, another long-isolated portion of Gondwana, which once included Africa, Antarctica, South America, Australia and the Indian subcontinent, among other land masses. Each tepui has characteristics that give us a window into what the world was like more than a billion years ago. Ms. López, our guide shepherded us into a canoe for an excursion to Salto Sapo, or Frog Falls. The 20-minute ride upriver and the one-and-a-half-hour hike through thick rain forest and lighter savanna vegetation was a warm-up for the following day when we would ascend to the foot of Angel Falls. A plucked a yellow flower from the ground that was a little larger than a pinhead. “It’s the smallest orchid in the world,” she said. WE were drenched as we navigated a narrow rock pathway under Salto Sapo’s curtain of water, holding on to a withering length of rope; when we emerged on the other side of the waterfall we jumped into the water for a swim. Rain started falling and I was surprised by the orange, tannin-tinted color of the river water. In the distance, two other mesas, Kurún-tepui and Kusari-tepui, soared above the savanna and jungle. The remoteness of this region has kept it relatively pristine; it is still impossible to travel by car through most of Canaima National Park because there are almost no roads. Airstrips built by Capuchin missionaries allow limited travel in small planes. Canoeing or hiking are the most common ways of getting around. We got a taste of both methods the next morning with our Pemón guide who grew up in the village of Santa Marta near Angel Falls. With Auyan-tepui still sheathed in darkness, we set out in a motorized curiara for the four-hour trip to the base of the waterfall. He maneuvered the canoe upriver against the rapids with amazing deftness before arriving at a camping site and lookout point where we could view Angel Falls in the distance We had a brief breakfast of arepas, the white corn cakes that are a staple throughout Venezuela, then set out on a smooth sandy path that led into thick jungle. Early on, we came upon a small coral snake. Then we proceeded up the tepui, stopping occasionally to peek at the falls through the trees or gulp down some water. Reena carried Anav most of the time and when it grew hot we all stripped down. The path in some stretches was completely overgrown with trees slowly Amal ascended the tepui, grasping parts of tree trunks and branches to gain balance on the slippery mud and stones. Little by little, the thick trees above us began letting in more sunlight, raising the temperature to greenhouse levels. We glimpsed Auyan-tepui’s stone escarpment and, finally, the water falling more than 3,000 feet from the top of the soaring mesa.
But we still had about an hour to go before we arrived at Angel Falls. When we finally got there, the pool of cool water at the base of the falls was a welcome sight. The cascade of water that doesn’t so much crash as separate into smaller falls and showers of mist as it descends in seemingly slow-motion. There were no souvenir stands or snack bars here, just a few boulders to sit on. All around us was dense green jungle, accentuating the. When we returned it was dark, we kept bumping into trees, tripping on roots and landed up in marshes. Later, in the canoe back to Ucaima, we stole a last glance at Angel Falls. Eventually, we hiked down the tepui back to river, where our guides prepared a lunch of chicken roasted on a spit over an open fire, accompanied by casabe, a hard bread made from manioc.
