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| Day One |
Our journey starts in Ciudad Bolivar towards Caicara del Orinoco, always going along the river. The landscape equals that of a soft desert, a few Mauritius palm trees “Moriches” here and there, and traversing small rivers from all directions. After one hour we reach the Aro River to take a rest at the last gas station before getting deeper into the jungle. The above mentioned dirt road will eventually take us to Las Trincheras village where we'll stay at a local lodge. In the afternoon we start our first trip riding a dugout motorized canoe. Our destination is the "Peña Negra", a huge granite rock laying like an island in the middle of the Caura River . Up there we have a great view over the river-course and the deep green jungle. To watch the sunset we go back to our Lodge, where our host already awaits us with a delicious BBQ on open fire. |
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| Day
Two |
Boat ride trip to “El Playon” next to the rapids. We'll have to travel about 80 miles ( 130 km ) up river and therefore use one of the local boats equipped with outboard motor. One of the village experts will take us with great skill over and around rocks as well as scary rapids. One of those we reach about ½ hour later, pass without trouble and go on, still some 5 hours ahead of us! At times we meet other boats along the trip, those are mostly Indigenous people who live further up the stream. Please, and BY ALL MEANS do not try to take pictures of them and respect their customs, quite different from yours! Far away we can see mountains and know that we are near our destination called “Playon” presenting its inviting white sand beach right in the middle of the jungle. |
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| Day Three |
| · Breakfast. Walk to Para Falls (about 2-2,5 hrs., 7 km , 250 m difference in altitude) Early in the morning dense fog embraces us until the sun finally wins and invites to have breakfast. After that we start hiking through forest which reminds a bit of Tarzan and always follow the course of the river. At one point we will lose sight of it, since it enters a canyon about 150 ft . ( 50 m ) away from us. Two hours later we can hear from a far the thunder of the powerful Para Falls . Almost impossible to believe that such beauty exists and to cool off from exhaustion as well as ecstasy we take a refreshing bath in the lake above the falls. |
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| Day Four |
| Return to our first night lodge. We return back the same way and arrive at the lodge around noon.
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| Day five |
| Trip back to Ciudad Bolivar Along the way we will stop at a place called “Jugo Caura”, famous for its delicious natural fruit juices. |
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