My experiences on a trip to Angel Falls were different to
those reported in a Globetrotter e-newsletter a couple of months back. I
went in 9/88. The US $ versus Bolivar’s exchange was great. My wife Rosemary
and I flew into Canaima. We had a dugout trip to Orchid Island where we spent
the night. Metal roof, open sides, toilet facilities were any clear spot you
could find in the jungle. It started to rain, they were attempting to roast,
what they called chickens, over an open fire, they were on ironwood stakes.
Unlike any chickens I have ever seen. Eventually they got them halfway
cooked. Not very good. They served an orange juice looking drink. Rosemary
drank it like it was going out of style. She refused to drink the water
because it had been taken out of the river, full of tannin as you are aware,
She didn’t realize that the water in the orange drink was taken out of the
river, nor did I tell her. We slept in the hammocks, no mosquito nets. We
really weren’t bothered with mosquitoes, I don’t understand why.
The next morning they served something for breakfast, not sure what it was,
it looked like corn beef hash but it wasn’t. Rosemary said that was enough
for her. So she got in an outboard powered canoe with some Indians and went
back down river to Canaima where she stayed in the hotel, the only one at
that time. I followed instructions and dressed in shorts, BIG MISTAKE. After
going up river about an hour I was getting very sun burnt. They found a piece
of canvas to put on my legs.
They were already burnt, also my face. Best they could find was some sun
screen to put on my face. We got to an island where we got out of the canoe.
We had to walk part of the way across it as it was too dangerous for us to go
thru the falls in a canoe. The Indians walked ahead found a bulldozer and
a trailer and came back across the island where we were still walking and
picked us up and took us to where the canoes were waiting. We finally about
1430, arrived at the base camp for Angel Falls. All the people walked thru
the jungle to base of the Falls. I was unable to do so as
I was hurting and lay in a hammock in similar conditions as the night before.
When they came back it was getting dusk. They had some people there fixing
the meal it was fairly good, the only thing I ate was some sliced pineapple
and dank some of the juice. No alcohol allowed but one German had brought a
bottle of brandy along and they all enjoyed it. Oldest was about late 30’s I
was at the time, 63. One Italian couple had been married three days, another
was married eight days. The next morning they took the canoes up river to a
point where I could get a good view of the falls.
We all got out and walked around, I didn’t walk much, I
was hurting. We went down river to Orchid Island where they were staying the
night. Two other canoes were there and leaving for Canaima. One of our
Indians, clothed in a loin cloth, went over to one of the canoes and talked
to them. The Indian had lived in New York for some years before coming back
to Venezuela. He told me to wait until one canoe departed and then for me to
go over to the remaining canoe and they would permit me to go with them. He
said the first canoe had the operator in it and he would want to charge me a
lot of money to go with the canoe. They stopped at a small falls, which was interesting
but I
didn’t get out of the canoe. We finally made it back to Canaima and walked
the mile or so back to where the hotel and other facilities were. I found
Rosemary and they took me to an Indian first aid station. The Indian woman
there with rings on all her fingers rubbed, what I later found out was Nivea
cream into my legs. Those damn rings HURT. Rosemary went to a village store
and bought some Nivea cream. That night Rosemary brought a German young
couple, back to our room, whom
we had met in Merida the week before and I went to the top of Bolivar Mountain,
the highest peak in Venezuela. We went up via a four stage cable car. After
we got up there I had to be given oxygen. Let me get back to Canaima. I had
something to eat at the open air hotel dining facility. The next noon time we
stood in line to get on the Avensa Airline 727. There was a large group of
Italian tourists there. One young man walked up to near the head of the line
when they started loading. The National Guard officer came along and took him
to the back to the end of the line. He wasn’t
satisfied and when he thought they weren’t looking he went to head of
line. Unfortunately for him they were watching. They took him out of the
line, stood along side of him and the last we saw of him he was still
standing there when the aircraft took off for Caracas.
I went to the medical facility The Dr. there told me I should read: I went to the medical facility where the doctor there told me
Upon arrival In Caracas I decided to go on to Miami, I was hurting.
Upon arrival in Miami after a night sleep we started north to Patrick Air Force Base.
You might not know where it is but it supports NASA at
Cape Canaveral where the shuttles are launched. I went to the medical facility where the doctor there told me, I had a serious burn on the legs and there was
a possibility I would need a skin graft. Well I was fortunate I didn’t need
it.
We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of Mac reminiscences about some of his travels around India in 1992.