And so begins our next adventure: a journey to the base of the highest waterfall in the world. Christi and I together with Kelvin and Ashley and George and Chow-Lung are in a long narrow speedboat and on the Carrao River by 8:30 am – earlier than any other tour group. We are the same group as yesterday and team for this trip comprises Elliott (our English-speaking guide) plus two crew. The river levels are low at this time of year and there will be some shallow spots where we will need to get out of the boat and push to protect the propeller. The plan is to reach the Angel Falls campsite by 2:30 pm and then trek to the base of the falls today so that we can be back in Canaima tomorrow with enough time for our free scenic flight.
The boat ride begins easily enough: the Carrao River is wide and deep and we power along. Problems begin, however, when we encounter rapids. The first couple we actually get out and walk around while our team takes the boat through. The other boats on the river (probably about 8 of them) all seem to have more power than us and are making better time than we are despite our early departure. We stop for lunch on Orchid Island, 3 hours into our 50 km journey. While we eat, our guides have removed the propeller and are pounding on its mangled form with a stone – although they assure us there is nothing to worry about.
It is at this point, of course, where things begin to go wrong. Kelvin, George, and I spend more time out of the boat pushing it through the rapids than actually riding inside it. Sometimes the water is genuinely too shallow to use the motor, but mostly the engine is too weak to propel us up river against the current. Often I find myself waist-deep in a strong current, trying to heave the boat forward while maintaining my balance on slippery rocks and moss. Then I have to clamber back in the boat ASAP so that we don’t lose momentum. Many times I bang and scrape my legs and cuts and bruises begin to appear. At 2.30 pm we are still a long way from our destination. We become progressively more tired hauling ourselves in and out of the boat and driving it forward. The engine provides a secondary form of motion to our own muscles. We have no choice but to keep going because there is nowhere to camp on the thickly vegetated banks of the Carrao River.
The views of Auyantepui and the 979 meter-tall Angel Falls are truly breathtaking as are the gorgeous reflections in the often glassy-calm water. Under less trying conditions I would be photographing like crazy, but I’m so tired and worried I might irreparably damage my camera that I rely on Ashley and her point and shoot digital camera to capture the grandeur and essence of the place (Note all photos today are courtesy of Ashley Thompson). Darkness falls and still we continue to limp along; thankfully there is a full-moon to guide us. Eventually another boat takes pity on us and speeds us to our campsite without further issues or delays – the way God intended. We arrive at 7 pm, 10 hours after leaving Canaima. Our campsite is the furthest from the river and we pass several established camps with fires, dinner cooking, and hammocks erected. When our crew finally arrives with provisions and equipment, they silently begin to set up our camp. The food finally arrives by 9:30 and by 10 pm I’m fast asleep in my hammock. This has been the most exhausting day of the journey since hiking Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale.
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