(Venezuela)
Some photos from our vist to Angel Falls in September 2007.
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The start of a stunning, stunning day !!!
After staying overnight at Canaima Lagoon we were up at 4.15am to start our 60km
motorised canoe trip up Rio Churun to the base of Angel Falls
It was a magic sight seeing the Tepui appearing out of the dawn mists
Our first close-up glimpse of Angel Falls
To get closer to the
falls we walked through the jungle for 2 hours
Eventually we reached the closest lookout point at the end of the track
Angel Falls is
the Earth's highest waterfall on Earth at 979 metres, with a clear drop
of 807 metres.
The height of the falls is so
great that before getting anywhere near the ground,
the water is buffeted by the strong winds and turned into mist.
The view from a
kilometre away. You could feel the spray from here
The
base of the falls feeds into the Churun
River, a tributary of the Carrao River.
In the indigenous Pemon
language Angel Falls is called Parekupa-meru
meaning "waterfall of the deepest place".
They
were sighted in 1910 by the Venezuelan explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz,
but he did not publicize his discovery.
They were not known to the outside world until the American aviator
James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel flew over them
on 16 November 1933 on a flight while he was searching for a valuable
ore bed.
Returning
on 9 October 1937, Angel tried to land his Flamingo monoplane "El Rio
Caroni" atop Auyan-tepui
but the plane was damaged when the wheels sunk into the marshy ground
and he and his three companions,
including his wife Marie, were forced to descend the tepui on foot.
It took them 11 days to make their way back to civilization but news of
their adventure spread
and the waterfall was named "Angel Falls" in his honor.
Angel's plane remained on top of the tepuy for 33 years before being
lifted out by helicopter.
The official height of the falls was determined by a National Geographic Society survey carried out in 1949.
Back through the jungle, and on to Canaima in the motorised canoe.
Our hotel overlooking the lagoon
The
stunning view from our front door
This stunning
day finished with a concert by the children from the local village
after dinner at our hotel
Then the children got us up
to dance with them. We enjoyed it.
What a fantastic day !!!!!
Last
looks at Canaima Lagoon as we flew out
Angel
Falls from the plane
Back to my top 10 natural sights ...
