Freaky Friday (Eliza)
We went to have breakfast and then we played for a little while then our boat came and we got in it in and we went to Norisqui Island and we first played for a little while and then we went to have lunch very hungrily and we had rice and chicken and a bit of bread. It was very delicious.
And then the whole family went snorkelling and we saw lots and lots of blue red big fish. And then Monty got a little cold and so Mummy and Monty went to rest on the island. Jemima hurt her foot on the corals and there was blood. Then me Jemima and Daddy went snorkelling out in the deep bit and we saw two turtles and a humungous fish. And then we went back to tell Mummy and Monty and Mummy and Monty wanted a go and then Monty changed his mind so Mummy and Daddy went to see the turtles and the big fish.
Well then we went to the boat and the man said he would go round the storm which was coming and we went round the storm but suddenly there was loads of thunder and lightning and rain and it was very very very very scary. “Golly goujons!”. And we hadn’t gone round the storm after all. Then we went to an island before our hotel island and there was a man that Daddy talked to while me and Mima and Monty and Mummy saw a very wet parrot. And then we went back onto our boat and we got to our hotel and when we got there another storm started. And then we got changed and we had a shower and then we wrote this blob.
In the eye of the storm (Hugh)
A great morning’s snorkelling (turtles, parrot fish, wrasse), but a rather spicy journey home. Having been driven around by a couple of youngsters the day before yesterday, I think we were fortunate today to have our trusty usual man, of indeterminate age, but with so few teeth we must have seen this kind of stuff a few times. It would have been nice to have the youngters’ boat though – our man drives a bath tub with an engine on the back, which needs a few things doing to it frankly. The front seat had collapsed on the way out as we hit a big wave so this time we were relegated to the back seat.
The boatman welcomed us with the news that we would have to do a big detour to get back to Gran Roque because there was a nasty storm brewing. And so there was. We had only gone a mile or so before we were hit by a downpour of biblical proportions. The rain was seriously painful on the skin, the team huddled under towels, and before you could say “Davy Crockett” you couldn’t see more than 20 yards from the boat. Very eerie to be in the eye of the storm – no wind at all, and lightning striking only 50 yards from the boat. Not ideal, and really quite loud. We took shelter in the lee of an island and stumbled ashore to wait out the storm for 20 minutes or so. Standing around with some other refugees of the storm, we mulled over the situation. None of those present were really sure what happens when lightning strikes a boat. We asked the boatman, who shrugged and laughed, conveying in that rather typical South American way of looking at things, that if your time is up, then that is the way of things and there is no point trying to avoid the inevitable. His only other comment that I could understand was that there were enough bad guys in the world to make it unlikely that this misfortune should happen to him. Fair enough, and he is entitled to his view, but I am more into taking evasive action. On this occasion, there is probably nothing that we could have done other than got out of the boat, which would have been far more dangerous I imagine. A famous Venezuelan baseball star died last year (apparently) when the water near him was struck by lightning and he was mega-zapped.
After the storm had gone, the boatman merrily jumped back in the boat and we followed suit. The journey back was very rough, a few more things seemed to fall off the boat, and we made it back just before the next storm hit. More luck than judgement I would say. Apparently it hasn’t rained here in Los Roques since January so maybe the boatman hasn’t had that much practice after all.
Friday, 3 July 2009
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Monty’s day
Monty’s day
We went on a boat to see the turtles and then we went to a beach and then we went back. We went bumpy and it was so big waves and we went jumpetyy jumpetty jump.
This morning we found a lizard and I catched it and I held it on the back of my hand and it was a baby lizard and it was so cute. Then Mima holded it and it went up her back and then we didn’t know where it was but it was actually in her hair. We were having breakfast and Mima said I think it’s in my hair. So we looked in her hair and we couldn’t find it so we finished our breakfast. I saw a little crab with a shell. We played with it and Mummy got snipped and then Mummy got snipped and I was so brave that I could hold it when it was coming out. And I didn’t want it to snip me and it didn’t snip me.
Then after breakfast the lizard came out of Mima’s hair. It went down her neck and popped out her sleeve and I came and told Daddy. Mima said “I said it was in my hair”. And it was, ha ha ha haaaa!!!!!
Cayos de Agua (Hugh)
Today we went to an island that is part of the Los Roques archipelago, Cayo de Agua. No windsurf rental here, so sub-ideal but otherwise pretty much perfect. I get to windsurf again tomorrow.
So, Cayo de Agua – the only permanent aquifer for drinking water on the archipelago and so a bit of a magnet for itinerant injuns back in the dark ages. These fellas came here for the Queen Conches, for which they had a bit of a taste. So much so that one of the islands is entirely made up of discarded Queen Conch shells that the injuns threw away. I guess they were fed up of the only other thing on the menu – fish.
We hung out here all day snorkelling – saw a manta ray, turtles, parrot fish by the dozen, other assorted pescados, a sting ray. A lot of the coral is dead though – according to the local research place this is the fault of global warming – a 0.1 degree rise in sea temperature apparently causes the symbiotic algae to be expelled from the coral polyps so ending the happy relationship that has until that time worked so well. Given the lack of care shown by the boatmen dropping anchor, I doubt whether this is the only explanation. Seasonal storms, or maybe even fishing with a bit of ordnance.
Interestingly, when we visited the turtle sanctuary I was offered a job. These guys wait until turtles hatch and make it to the sea, then catch them and grow them up for a few years before releasing them back into the sea. The idea is that by getting them through the hopelessly small stage, their chances of survival are increased significantly. They don’t just hatch the eggs – allowing the turtles to crawl to the sea apparently sets their compass so that they will return and themselves lay eggs some 30 years later. That’s the theory anyway. They’ve been doing this since 1965 and although marked turtles from here have been found as far away as South Africa, Australia and the like, none have yet returned to lay their own eggs. I pointed out that the first should have been due back almost 10 years ago, so if I were them I would be starting to give up hope a bit, but their own optimism seemed undimmed. Perhaps it was this insightful input, combined with some basic maths, which sparked the researcher’s interest in my joining the program, who knows. There would be worse places to be stationed – I was reminded of an old friend, Taff, from Oxford days who went somewhere similar to study butterflies and is still there some 18 years later. There’d need to be a bit of swell to make this one workable though, and although it would be ideal for kite-surfing and the like, I think I’ll let this opportunity go.
The sun here is mega-strong. Sarah has done a great job kitting out the team in all over body sunsuits and with 50+ sun factor suncream applied liberally almost every hour we have just about survived so far. The problem is that no suncream is entirely waterproof, and the kids are good enough to go and wash the suncream off in the sea following each application. Eliza had an incident following the first day when it emerged that her top had ridden up a little exposing an unprotected sliver of flesh day-long and this was mega-burned and very painful by the looks of it. Sarah has burned her legs a bit snorkelling today, and my nose has gone south as usual. I have been windsurfing in sunglasses, a hat, a long-sleeved rashvest, trousers and shoes, which has turned a few heads. The nice hire lady (Lucille-Lotta – yes, her real name) was a bit surprised when she first set the rig up and I jumped on and surfed off, fully clothed. Not the coolest man in town, but definitely the least sun-burned.
Before we came a lot of people told us that we wouldn’t find the Venezuelans very friendly. I have to say that we haven’t found this to be the case. I guess travelling with a young family does tend to break down barriers. The kids are all very inquisitive and have been out caring for the local wildlife on the local beach – puppies, cats and pet parrots have all been doing pretty well for attention. On occasion their rather eccentric behaviour has also penetrated any Venezuelan reserve that does exist. Eliza caused great amusement yesterday by reading her book while utter chaos reigned around us. We were boating upwind into a big swell and most people were holding on for grim death. Not Eliza – she was completely immersed in her book. The day before, she had caused similar hilarity amongst the boat drivers when, faced with a rather unfortunate position on the boat when returning home, with spray crashing all over the place, she donned full facemask and snorkel for the remained of the journey home and just sat there getting drenched.
We went on a boat to see the turtles and then we went to a beach and then we went back. We went bumpy and it was so big waves and we went jumpetyy jumpetty jump.
This morning we found a lizard and I catched it and I held it on the back of my hand and it was a baby lizard and it was so cute. Then Mima holded it and it went up her back and then we didn’t know where it was but it was actually in her hair. We were having breakfast and Mima said I think it’s in my hair. So we looked in her hair and we couldn’t find it so we finished our breakfast. I saw a little crab with a shell. We played with it and Mummy got snipped and then Mummy got snipped and I was so brave that I could hold it when it was coming out. And I didn’t want it to snip me and it didn’t snip me.
Then after breakfast the lizard came out of Mima’s hair. It went down her neck and popped out her sleeve and I came and told Daddy. Mima said “I said it was in my hair”. And it was, ha ha ha haaaa!!!!!
Cayos de Agua (Hugh)
Today we went to an island that is part of the Los Roques archipelago, Cayo de Agua. No windsurf rental here, so sub-ideal but otherwise pretty much perfect. I get to windsurf again tomorrow.
So, Cayo de Agua – the only permanent aquifer for drinking water on the archipelago and so a bit of a magnet for itinerant injuns back in the dark ages. These fellas came here for the Queen Conches, for which they had a bit of a taste. So much so that one of the islands is entirely made up of discarded Queen Conch shells that the injuns threw away. I guess they were fed up of the only other thing on the menu – fish.
We hung out here all day snorkelling – saw a manta ray, turtles, parrot fish by the dozen, other assorted pescados, a sting ray. A lot of the coral is dead though – according to the local research place this is the fault of global warming – a 0.1 degree rise in sea temperature apparently causes the symbiotic algae to be expelled from the coral polyps so ending the happy relationship that has until that time worked so well. Given the lack of care shown by the boatmen dropping anchor, I doubt whether this is the only explanation. Seasonal storms, or maybe even fishing with a bit of ordnance.
Interestingly, when we visited the turtle sanctuary I was offered a job. These guys wait until turtles hatch and make it to the sea, then catch them and grow them up for a few years before releasing them back into the sea. The idea is that by getting them through the hopelessly small stage, their chances of survival are increased significantly. They don’t just hatch the eggs – allowing the turtles to crawl to the sea apparently sets their compass so that they will return and themselves lay eggs some 30 years later. That’s the theory anyway. They’ve been doing this since 1965 and although marked turtles from here have been found as far away as South Africa, Australia and the like, none have yet returned to lay their own eggs. I pointed out that the first should have been due back almost 10 years ago, so if I were them I would be starting to give up hope a bit, but their own optimism seemed undimmed. Perhaps it was this insightful input, combined with some basic maths, which sparked the researcher’s interest in my joining the program, who knows. There would be worse places to be stationed – I was reminded of an old friend, Taff, from Oxford days who went somewhere similar to study butterflies and is still there some 18 years later. There’d need to be a bit of swell to make this one workable though, and although it would be ideal for kite-surfing and the like, I think I’ll let this opportunity go.
The sun here is mega-strong. Sarah has done a great job kitting out the team in all over body sunsuits and with 50+ sun factor suncream applied liberally almost every hour we have just about survived so far. The problem is that no suncream is entirely waterproof, and the kids are good enough to go and wash the suncream off in the sea following each application. Eliza had an incident following the first day when it emerged that her top had ridden up a little exposing an unprotected sliver of flesh day-long and this was mega-burned and very painful by the looks of it. Sarah has burned her legs a bit snorkelling today, and my nose has gone south as usual. I have been windsurfing in sunglasses, a hat, a long-sleeved rashvest, trousers and shoes, which has turned a few heads. The nice hire lady (Lucille-Lotta – yes, her real name) was a bit surprised when she first set the rig up and I jumped on and surfed off, fully clothed. Not the coolest man in town, but definitely the least sun-burned.
Before we came a lot of people told us that we wouldn’t find the Venezuelans very friendly. I have to say that we haven’t found this to be the case. I guess travelling with a young family does tend to break down barriers. The kids are all very inquisitive and have been out caring for the local wildlife on the local beach – puppies, cats and pet parrots have all been doing pretty well for attention. On occasion their rather eccentric behaviour has also penetrated any Venezuelan reserve that does exist. Eliza caused great amusement yesterday by reading her book while utter chaos reigned around us. We were boating upwind into a big swell and most people were holding on for grim death. Not Eliza – she was completely immersed in her book. The day before, she had caused similar hilarity amongst the boat drivers when, faced with a rather unfortunate position on the boat when returning home, with spray crashing all over the place, she donned full facemask and snorkel for the remained of the journey home and just sat there getting drenched.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Los Roques (Hugh & Eliza)
Los Roques (Hugh)
Wow what an amazing place.
Sunday was a bit of a test, with 3 more plane trips before we arrived. Another airport adventure, and this time I cannot blame anyone for the chaos. We had plenty of time, even time to sit down and order food, a beer etc. Only of course we didn’t have plenty of time. They don’t announce any plans for boarding over here, not even in Spanish, so we were without our usual prompts. You just have to be at the right place at the right time and, of course, we weren’t, we never are (I refer to my previous submission). I had in fact previously visited the gate to get a sense of the distance from the restaurant that we had to cross to get to the gate, and thank goodness, because it was the guy that I had spoken to before who recognised us gringos and found us in the restaurant. Never until now has someone actually come and fetched me to put me on a plane.
Fortunately, there was only one other guy travelling, so we did not delay too many fellow passengers. In fact, we had the plane to ourselves. We have a photo of this, which is quite jolly, but download speeds are not that fantastic from here, so we may have to wait.
Had a very jolly day on Monday. Desayuno at 830, then chilling around before a boat comes and takes you to a deserted island, but for kitesurfing and windsurfing headcases. What a co-incidence, I say, and head for a hut which looks to have some rigs laid out in the optimistic hope that some like-minded folk happen to wander past (this cannot happen very often).
So I left the team for an hour or so to windsurf while they poked at hermit crabs, snorkelled, and generally mouched about. 20 years since I had stood on a “sailboard” and designs have moved on a bit. The boards are now rather short and fat (ok, ok, very funny). I was handed a 5.0 and spent a good hour or so in 20 knot winds reminding myself of how this works. Very jolly. If the wind holds tomorrow (and it has, since they started recording it) I will get a bigger sail and a smaller board and hope that the rest of the team can forgive me this luxury.
Some photos of the day below, although goodness knows whether they will load from here.
Tuesday 30th June (Eliza)
We woke up and had breakfast, then we saw are boat coming and we got in it and then we went to the beach and went snorkelling in the sea then we went to warm and watched Daddy wind surfing and then we went to the lagoon and then we went back to the beach and daddy arrived and then me and Monty said hurray it is lunch time and we ate omelette and bread then me and Monty played then we went snorkelling with daddy and we saw lodes and lodes of fish under the boat and met mummy and Jemima snorkelling too, then we showed them all the fish and then we got out of the water and had some lunch then the boat came to pick us up and then we went on the boat and we got to are hotel and we went snorkelling again and there were even more fish so we tried to catch some but we couldn’t so then me and Jemima got the computer and rote the blog.
Wow what an amazing place.
Sunday was a bit of a test, with 3 more plane trips before we arrived. Another airport adventure, and this time I cannot blame anyone for the chaos. We had plenty of time, even time to sit down and order food, a beer etc. Only of course we didn’t have plenty of time. They don’t announce any plans for boarding over here, not even in Spanish, so we were without our usual prompts. You just have to be at the right place at the right time and, of course, we weren’t, we never are (I refer to my previous submission). I had in fact previously visited the gate to get a sense of the distance from the restaurant that we had to cross to get to the gate, and thank goodness, because it was the guy that I had spoken to before who recognised us gringos and found us in the restaurant. Never until now has someone actually come and fetched me to put me on a plane.
Fortunately, there was only one other guy travelling, so we did not delay too many fellow passengers. In fact, we had the plane to ourselves. We have a photo of this, which is quite jolly, but download speeds are not that fantastic from here, so we may have to wait.
Had a very jolly day on Monday. Desayuno at 830, then chilling around before a boat comes and takes you to a deserted island, but for kitesurfing and windsurfing headcases. What a co-incidence, I say, and head for a hut which looks to have some rigs laid out in the optimistic hope that some like-minded folk happen to wander past (this cannot happen very often).
So I left the team for an hour or so to windsurf while they poked at hermit crabs, snorkelled, and generally mouched about. 20 years since I had stood on a “sailboard” and designs have moved on a bit. The boards are now rather short and fat (ok, ok, very funny). I was handed a 5.0 and spent a good hour or so in 20 knot winds reminding myself of how this works. Very jolly. If the wind holds tomorrow (and it has, since they started recording it) I will get a bigger sail and a smaller board and hope that the rest of the team can forgive me this luxury.
Some photos of the day below, although goodness knows whether they will load from here.
Tuesday 30th June (Eliza)
We woke up and had breakfast, then we saw are boat coming and we got in it and then we went to the beach and went snorkelling in the sea then we went to warm and watched Daddy wind surfing and then we went to the lagoon and then we went back to the beach and daddy arrived and then me and Monty said hurray it is lunch time and we ate omelette and bread then me and Monty played then we went snorkelling with daddy and we saw lodes and lodes of fish under the boat and met mummy and Jemima snorkelling too, then we showed them all the fish and then we got out of the water and had some lunch then the boat came to pick us up and then we went on the boat and we got to are hotel and we went snorkelling again and there were even more fish so we tried to catch some but we couldn’t so then me and Jemima got the computer and rote the blog.
Monday, 29 June 2009
Eliza’s Sunday blog
28-6-09
We woke up at about 7 o’clock and then we went to breakfast and we had cornflakes and pancakes and then we had a omelette and then we went out to the shop and we bought a necklace and Monty got a keyring. Then we packed up for a little bit and we went in the place where you get hot chocolate then we went on the truck to go to the airport and we waited for a little while and we had some water. Then we went to the aeroplane and we had a hour long flight and when we landed we went into the airport. It was very hot outside. Then we gave the man our passports and then we went through the thing and gave the bags to the man and he put it through the thing and then we walked up for a little while and looked at the shop for a tincy bit and then we went to sit down. And then we had a diet coke and we sat down and we wrote the blog.
Daddy asked me what I thought was best about Waku and why. The best bit was when we went through the rapids on the boat - the big wavy bits. Another thing that I liked was seeing Angel Falls from the plane because the pilot went absolutely crazy and it was really fun and it was my first time at seeing the highest waterfall in the world. The lady Mikiza was very funny and she sang all the way through the jungle and we saw a really big taranatula nursery and it had so many spiders on it. And then we saw a big big big big termite nest on a tree.
Jungle Jaunts (Mummy)
Mikiza had a green umbrella that she took out when it rained like billio as we were going down the rapids. She is mad mad mad. Mind you, thinking about it, Eliza and I were in the middle of playing charades as we shot the rapids in the rain in the canoe. Were in the middle of acting out ‘The Jungle Book’ I think. It all got a bit hectic, especially when our canoe driver decided to race the other one downstream.
As we walked through the jungle on the way to Angel falls, whispering in a David Attenborough-like manner, we got an opportunity to be a real lifeTarzan…..
Mikiza found us a big long vine hanging across a pool and we took turns to shout “Aeeeaeeaeaeeeaeaaaaaa” as we swung across. Jemima was the fastest Tarzan and I was definitely the slowest and least travelled… not looking forward to that video being aired then.
And yes the big smelly spiney bush pig did have the audacity to try and make off with my hat. Jungle pigs are apparently known in the area for being verrrrrry fashionable.
Benji (Jemima)
We only just worked how to look at comments but thanks Jasmin that's great that you are riding Benji and making him happy!!!!!
We woke up at about 7 o’clock and then we went to breakfast and we had cornflakes and pancakes and then we had a omelette and then we went out to the shop and we bought a necklace and Monty got a keyring. Then we packed up for a little bit and we went in the place where you get hot chocolate then we went on the truck to go to the airport and we waited for a little while and we had some water. Then we went to the aeroplane and we had a hour long flight and when we landed we went into the airport. It was very hot outside. Then we gave the man our passports and then we went through the thing and gave the bags to the man and he put it through the thing and then we walked up for a little while and looked at the shop for a tincy bit and then we went to sit down. And then we had a diet coke and we sat down and we wrote the blog.
Daddy asked me what I thought was best about Waku and why. The best bit was when we went through the rapids on the boat - the big wavy bits. Another thing that I liked was seeing Angel Falls from the plane because the pilot went absolutely crazy and it was really fun and it was my first time at seeing the highest waterfall in the world. The lady Mikiza was very funny and she sang all the way through the jungle and we saw a really big taranatula nursery and it had so many spiders on it. And then we saw a big big big big termite nest on a tree.
Jungle Jaunts (Mummy)
Mikiza had a green umbrella that she took out when it rained like billio as we were going down the rapids. She is mad mad mad. Mind you, thinking about it, Eliza and I were in the middle of playing charades as we shot the rapids in the rain in the canoe. Were in the middle of acting out ‘The Jungle Book’ I think. It all got a bit hectic, especially when our canoe driver decided to race the other one downstream.
As we walked through the jungle on the way to Angel falls, whispering in a David Attenborough-like manner, we got an opportunity to be a real lifeTarzan…..
Mikiza found us a big long vine hanging across a pool and we took turns to shout “Aeeeaeeaeaeeeaeaaaaaa” as we swung across. Jemima was the fastest Tarzan and I was definitely the slowest and least travelled… not looking forward to that video being aired then.
And yes the big smelly spiney bush pig did have the audacity to try and make off with my hat. Jungle pigs are apparently known in the area for being verrrrrry fashionable.
Benji (Jemima)
We only just worked how to look at comments but thanks Jasmin that's great that you are riding Benji and making him happy!!!!!
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Wildlife in Venezuela & Monty's awesome day
Wildlife in Venezuela (Jemima)
There is lots of wildlife here most of it is quite friendly but some is scary: like mountain bees that look like Hornets, the big 24 hour ant that makes you sick for a whole day (before we new what they were mummy went and poked one), the water spider that is bigger than Daddy’s hand, a tarantula nest with thousands of little baby spiders on the nest we couldn’t find the mummy Tarantula though.
These are some of the calm things we found a toad that was so big and fast we thought it was a rabbit and a what I call a plastic frog but of course it was a real bright yellow and black frog, we saw a pig which smelt horrible and stole mummy’s hat (it liked daddy a lot) , we saw a coati which had a very long nose and liked eating bbq chicken, we found lots of wild parrots the hotel had seemed to make friends with them so we all got to hold one here is me holding one of the trained ones it never wanted to come of me so the man had to get cross with it.
A Toucan in our garden
The Tarantula nursery
Check out the cave spider that chased Mummy!
The smelly pig, and a hairy bore.
A parroty visitor
Look at my new friend!
The sandwich toad
The plastic frog
The coati (sp?)
Monty’s awesome day (Hugh)
Let me tell you, any favourable comparisons that you may have heard between Angel Falls and Devon’s Lydford Gorge are inaccurate. From the bottom, the Falls (“The Fairy Falls” – Monty) are nothing short of mind-blowing. The volume of water, the drop, the way the water tries as hard as it can to throw itself down in great swathes, only to break up hopelessly in the face of gravity, wind and speed, and arrive at the bottom as a cloud of spray and fog.
Today was a big day, complementing well yesterday’s aerial acrobatics over the Falls from above, because you can get no real sense of scale in a plane. It was an early morning wake up at 0420 – the French guide from hell tried in vain to wake the kids in Room 4, so in despair then knocked on our door at Room 6 and invoked our assistance. I then tried the same trick for 10 minutes (their door lock was bust from the outside for some reason, which was reassuring), by which time I had woken both Rooms 3 and 5 but still not Room 4. Finally Jemima came to the door a little bleary-eyed and I was eventually able to rouse the others.
After coffee we left in the dark in some kind of lorry, then we had 4 hours boating upstream, then a 3 hour round trip jungle walk up the Fairy Falls and back, then 3 hours back down the river again. With stops for coffee and pig baiting, it was a 12 hour trip and Sarah Goodfellow was sceptical beforehand that this would end well. It did in the end, at 1950hrs, a credit to the various Goodfellow small-fry who appeared to have impressed all.
Of course, when taking your money at the time of booking, all guides questioned are, to a man, optimistic that this adventure is an absolutely perfect trip for 5 year olds, nothing could fit the bill better. Independent tourist witnesses interrogated, that had taken the trip before (and even our guide for El Sapo on the first day), were unanimously of the opposite view, ranging between a verdict of assisted suicide and a silent shake of the head, but I judged them all a load of whingebags and so off we went anyway. Well-meaning scepticism from German tourists is, for me at least, as a red rag to the bull. The Health & Safety arrangements out here are almost non-existent (more on this later), so it’s up to the individual what risks one takes. These boats are mere hollowed-out trees with 48hp outboards on the back; a little tippy but fine if no one moves a muscle during transit; the whole camber and direction of the boat can be controlled by the driver at the back skewing the engine one way or the other. We had a very good one, who seemed not to want to go swimming any more than the next man.
Once on the water however, with the water so high after recent rain, even the guides appeared a little taken aback by the volume of water in the river, but as I say we had a good driver and no one went in during the day. Plenty of stories from the guides of chaps going in the water and not coming up again of course, and all these stories told in the boat rather than during the pre-booking advice stage, but there it is. Enough of that, or Mother will get worried.
The journey up the river was through thick rainforest choking the river on each side. Spectacular, and Jemima Goodfellow’s favourite part. The river begins wide, then as you take smaller and smaller tributaries, it gets much narrower, and the rapids simultaneously become more burly. Great skill from the driver, negotiating at times through gaps that required both the right speed and approach to get through without incident. Plenty of reassurance from our roly-poly guide “don’t worry, this is totally normal” and all-in-all very good fun. Jemima likes the look of the white water and I have great plans to get her in a kayak before long. Sarah and Eliza played charades, and seemed to erase this whole section from their experience. Perhaps for the best.
Once the river ran out, the jungle walk was great – we saw tarantula spider webs bigger than anything I’d imagined possible, like something out of an X-rated version of “Arachnophobia”. Mountain bees on a honeycomb; the now famous “24 hour ant” which, at time ignorant, Sarah baited with a leaf (one bite leads to 24 hours of unimaginable pain, fever and distress); termites galore; parrots; toucans; a white egret (I think); some catfish; a coapi (sp?); along the way a pet pig that smelt something like my feet.
To me, the very existence of jungle is incontrovertible evidence that woodland management is unnecessary in any form. The National Trust should take note. Not only would managing the jungle be a big job, it would also be an entirely redundant exercise. Things grow, then things fall down, and this allows other well-evolved things themselves also to grow, and others to step in and eat them. The same effect would work perfectly well back on Hindhead Commons and would end once and for all any discussions going around Cirencester College about what sort of management is best. None needed.
Back at base, over supper, once we had allowed the kids to go to bed (ha! that’ll learn ‘em) we were discussing Health & Safety, Venezuelan style. We are all home safe and sound, but not all parents would have enjoyed these recent outings. Thursday’s trip to the El Sapo waterfall was awesome; you take a boat, and then a path that goes behind a waterfall (a really burly one too). At one point you stand, a child’s hand in each of yours, as both children skid hopelessly towards certain death were you not to be there in your trusty espadrilles, with the waterfall cascading down trying to pull everyone’s hair out.
Friday’s trip to the Kavac caves was fine, although the massive case spiders and sandwich frogs wouldn’t have ticked everyone’s box. The flight out to the caves was spectacular, but uneventful. The flight home was awesome – the pilot fed off the screams from the back like a drug, and became more and more outlandish in his behaviour. The last 5 minutes was spent only a few feet off the water, buzzing the falls around Canaima then careering into the airport without so much of a mirror-signal-manoeuvre.
And today’s trip was cracking fun, although goodness knows what happens if you fall in, or if the engine fails.
I guess the reality is that in the UK, we can’t really get ourselves into much trouble because there are so many rules preventing us from going anywhere near danger. Cue Venezuela (Slovenia is also good for this) and there are suddenly no rules, just common sense, and the locals pretty much leave you to it – I guess their own kids have acquired a sense of danger over the years. So it was again interesting watching our own kids mucking about only inches from harm without a care in the world. Admittedly, all three have a certain in-built disposition that favours a disregard for their own personal safety (reckless, on occasion), but until this trip I think that even they were all of the view that no one would ever allow them the liberty to get themselves into serious trouble.
We move on today, to some islands called Los Roques. A windsurfing and kitesurfing mecca, I understand. Perhaps a chance to get myself into trouble, methinks.
There is lots of wildlife here most of it is quite friendly but some is scary: like mountain bees that look like Hornets, the big 24 hour ant that makes you sick for a whole day (before we new what they were mummy went and poked one), the water spider that is bigger than Daddy’s hand, a tarantula nest with thousands of little baby spiders on the nest we couldn’t find the mummy Tarantula though.
These are some of the calm things we found a toad that was so big and fast we thought it was a rabbit and a what I call a plastic frog but of course it was a real bright yellow and black frog, we saw a pig which smelt horrible and stole mummy’s hat (it liked daddy a lot) , we saw a coati which had a very long nose and liked eating bbq chicken, we found lots of wild parrots the hotel had seemed to make friends with them so we all got to hold one here is me holding one of the trained ones it never wanted to come of me so the man had to get cross with it.
A Toucan in our garden
The rabbit-toad
The Tarantula nursery
Check out the cave spider that chased Mummy!
The smelly pig, and a hairy bore.
A parroty visitor
Look at my new friend!
The sandwich toad
The plastic frog
The coati (sp?)Monty’s awesome day (Hugh)
Let me tell you, any favourable comparisons that you may have heard between Angel Falls and Devon’s Lydford Gorge are inaccurate. From the bottom, the Falls (“The Fairy Falls” – Monty) are nothing short of mind-blowing. The volume of water, the drop, the way the water tries as hard as it can to throw itself down in great swathes, only to break up hopelessly in the face of gravity, wind and speed, and arrive at the bottom as a cloud of spray and fog.
Today was a big day, complementing well yesterday’s aerial acrobatics over the Falls from above, because you can get no real sense of scale in a plane. It was an early morning wake up at 0420 – the French guide from hell tried in vain to wake the kids in Room 4, so in despair then knocked on our door at Room 6 and invoked our assistance. I then tried the same trick for 10 minutes (their door lock was bust from the outside for some reason, which was reassuring), by which time I had woken both Rooms 3 and 5 but still not Room 4. Finally Jemima came to the door a little bleary-eyed and I was eventually able to rouse the others.
After coffee we left in the dark in some kind of lorry, then we had 4 hours boating upstream, then a 3 hour round trip jungle walk up the Fairy Falls and back, then 3 hours back down the river again. With stops for coffee and pig baiting, it was a 12 hour trip and Sarah Goodfellow was sceptical beforehand that this would end well. It did in the end, at 1950hrs, a credit to the various Goodfellow small-fry who appeared to have impressed all.
Of course, when taking your money at the time of booking, all guides questioned are, to a man, optimistic that this adventure is an absolutely perfect trip for 5 year olds, nothing could fit the bill better. Independent tourist witnesses interrogated, that had taken the trip before (and even our guide for El Sapo on the first day), were unanimously of the opposite view, ranging between a verdict of assisted suicide and a silent shake of the head, but I judged them all a load of whingebags and so off we went anyway. Well-meaning scepticism from German tourists is, for me at least, as a red rag to the bull. The Health & Safety arrangements out here are almost non-existent (more on this later), so it’s up to the individual what risks one takes. These boats are mere hollowed-out trees with 48hp outboards on the back; a little tippy but fine if no one moves a muscle during transit; the whole camber and direction of the boat can be controlled by the driver at the back skewing the engine one way or the other. We had a very good one, who seemed not to want to go swimming any more than the next man.
Once on the water however, with the water so high after recent rain, even the guides appeared a little taken aback by the volume of water in the river, but as I say we had a good driver and no one went in during the day. Plenty of stories from the guides of chaps going in the water and not coming up again of course, and all these stories told in the boat rather than during the pre-booking advice stage, but there it is. Enough of that, or Mother will get worried.
The journey up the river was through thick rainforest choking the river on each side. Spectacular, and Jemima Goodfellow’s favourite part. The river begins wide, then as you take smaller and smaller tributaries, it gets much narrower, and the rapids simultaneously become more burly. Great skill from the driver, negotiating at times through gaps that required both the right speed and approach to get through without incident. Plenty of reassurance from our roly-poly guide “don’t worry, this is totally normal” and all-in-all very good fun. Jemima likes the look of the white water and I have great plans to get her in a kayak before long. Sarah and Eliza played charades, and seemed to erase this whole section from their experience. Perhaps for the best.
Once the river ran out, the jungle walk was great – we saw tarantula spider webs bigger than anything I’d imagined possible, like something out of an X-rated version of “Arachnophobia”. Mountain bees on a honeycomb; the now famous “24 hour ant” which, at time ignorant, Sarah baited with a leaf (one bite leads to 24 hours of unimaginable pain, fever and distress); termites galore; parrots; toucans; a white egret (I think); some catfish; a coapi (sp?); along the way a pet pig that smelt something like my feet.
To me, the very existence of jungle is incontrovertible evidence that woodland management is unnecessary in any form. The National Trust should take note. Not only would managing the jungle be a big job, it would also be an entirely redundant exercise. Things grow, then things fall down, and this allows other well-evolved things themselves also to grow, and others to step in and eat them. The same effect would work perfectly well back on Hindhead Commons and would end once and for all any discussions going around Cirencester College about what sort of management is best. None needed.
Back at base, over supper, once we had allowed the kids to go to bed (ha! that’ll learn ‘em) we were discussing Health & Safety, Venezuelan style. We are all home safe and sound, but not all parents would have enjoyed these recent outings. Thursday’s trip to the El Sapo waterfall was awesome; you take a boat, and then a path that goes behind a waterfall (a really burly one too). At one point you stand, a child’s hand in each of yours, as both children skid hopelessly towards certain death were you not to be there in your trusty espadrilles, with the waterfall cascading down trying to pull everyone’s hair out.
Friday’s trip to the Kavac caves was fine, although the massive case spiders and sandwich frogs wouldn’t have ticked everyone’s box. The flight out to the caves was spectacular, but uneventful. The flight home was awesome – the pilot fed off the screams from the back like a drug, and became more and more outlandish in his behaviour. The last 5 minutes was spent only a few feet off the water, buzzing the falls around Canaima then careering into the airport without so much of a mirror-signal-manoeuvre.
And today’s trip was cracking fun, although goodness knows what happens if you fall in, or if the engine fails.
I guess the reality is that in the UK, we can’t really get ourselves into much trouble because there are so many rules preventing us from going anywhere near danger. Cue Venezuela (Slovenia is also good for this) and there are suddenly no rules, just common sense, and the locals pretty much leave you to it – I guess their own kids have acquired a sense of danger over the years. So it was again interesting watching our own kids mucking about only inches from harm without a care in the world. Admittedly, all three have a certain in-built disposition that favours a disregard for their own personal safety (reckless, on occasion), but until this trip I think that even they were all of the view that no one would ever allow them the liberty to get themselves into serious trouble.
We move on today, to some islands called Los Roques. A windsurfing and kitesurfing mecca, I understand. Perhaps a chance to get myself into trouble, methinks.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Awesome (Sarah)
Okay so the spiders in the cave were the size of my hand and faster than a speeding bullet.
The sound of a raging thunderstorm approaching the landing strip over lunch did slightly make me anxious but I was totally unprepared for the fact that our pilot was a dancing-with-death flying stuntman / part time comedian.
Talk about 'scream if you want to go faster' the louder we shouted the more he swung those wings, we will never need to go to alton towers again.
Wow, that was trully one of the most exhilarating and frankly breathtaking days ever. I need a whisky. xxxxx
Okay so the spiders in the cave were the size of my hand and faster than a speeding bullet.
The sound of a raging thunderstorm approaching the landing strip over lunch did slightly make me anxious but I was totally unprepared for the fact that our pilot was a dancing-with-death flying stuntman / part time comedian.
Talk about 'scream if you want to go faster' the louder we shouted the more he swung those wings, we will never need to go to alton towers again.
Wow, that was trully one of the most exhilarating and frankly breathtaking days ever. I need a whisky. xxxxx
We go flying (Hugh)
Two pairs of binoculars purchased fresh from Snow & Rock. Low quality, admittedly, but I didn’t expect both to have broken on their first outing. The first pair, courtesy of Monty, has evolved seamlessly into a pair of telescopes. I am actually rather pleased with this development. By cutting the neck cord, I have now doubled their original utility as advertised, since two kids can now look at parrots without causing argument, whilst the third child copes with the remaining tool in the original stereo format.
Unfortunately, the remaining binoculars were apparently also not functioning properly either. Jemima marches up – “this pair is broken too Mummy – everything is really small”. Turn them round, chief.
The day started out with us eyeing up a heli, but they never left us alone with it long enough to make a clean getaway.
Later found a plane.
I was rusty, but this did not dim my confidence.
We were soon airborne, and flying through tepuys in pretty good weather, only a few clouds breaking up the view.
We landed at Kavac, a fake tourist village, but were then led by pretty genuine looking locals through some savannah, then up a river and into a cave. This cave contained said river, a few ropes guiding us up the torrent to end up at a spectacular waterfall.
Monty did well; they wouldn’t have allowed adults into this place in the UK. It was only on the way down that we spied some seriously big cave spiders, one of them scuttling after Sarah almost as if the guide had a remote control.
Lunch was in one of the fake huts, and was good. The flight back was just breathtaking though – up to 8000 feet to get over the scarp of the gran tepuy, then close enough to Angel Falls to get the wings wet.
I think the pilot (yeah ok we picked one up in Kavac) really fed off the screams, and his days in ‘Nam were coming back to him by the end as we buzzed the Canaima falls then the hotel before landing a lttle breathless back at the airport. Just awesome.
Unfortunately, the remaining binoculars were apparently also not functioning properly either. Jemima marches up – “this pair is broken too Mummy – everything is really small”. Turn them round, chief.
The day started out with us eyeing up a heli, but they never left us alone with it long enough to make a clean getaway.
Later found a plane.
I was rusty, but this did not dim my confidence.
We were soon airborne, and flying through tepuys in pretty good weather, only a few clouds breaking up the view.
We landed at Kavac, a fake tourist village, but were then led by pretty genuine looking locals through some savannah, then up a river and into a cave. This cave contained said river, a few ropes guiding us up the torrent to end up at a spectacular waterfall.
Monty did well; they wouldn’t have allowed adults into this place in the UK. It was only on the way down that we spied some seriously big cave spiders, one of them scuttling after Sarah almost as if the guide had a remote control.
Lunch was in one of the fake huts, and was good. The flight back was just breathtaking though – up to 8000 feet to get over the scarp of the gran tepuy, then close enough to Angel Falls to get the wings wet.
I think the pilot (yeah ok we picked one up in Kavac) really fed off the screams, and his days in ‘Nam were coming back to him by the end as we buzzed the Canaima falls then the hotel before landing a lttle breathless back at the airport. Just awesome.
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