Venezuela #5: Almost the most fun you can have without dying

Alan helped us arrange a canyoning trip on Christmas Day. So after another fantastic breakfast prepared by Ricardo and his wife, we were picked up by our guides Topo (guy) and Milo (gal). They have both had years of experience, and Topo was involved in setting up the route we were canyoning that day-- down the Rio Santa Catarina. I had arranged for canyoning because folks on the LP forum said it was a must-try. I didn't buy a LP, so didn't realize that the guidebook described canyoning as "The most fun you can have without dying." Er. How can going down a river canyon bring one close to death?

I guess we were about to find out.

At the river, we squeeze into wetsuits, put on our harnesses. Wait. Harnesses? No time to think. Start zig zagging on foot across the river bed. The water is COLD. About 16 degrees Celsius. Sensory nerves in my feet complained ineffectually for about 5min, then gave it up as a lost cause. Forest on both sides of the river, very pleasant. River bed slightly slippery, but not too bad. We get to the first waterfall. It's a quick and easy rappel down. Later, some big boulders form a mini-water slide. We sit down, push off, and emerge giggling in the small pool below.

Second waterfall. Much taller than the first, with significant overhang at the lower part. It was slippery too. Really easy to lose one's footing, and slide face first into a vigorous spray of waterfall. This would make a very effective alarm clock. Nothing brings you to full alertness like a constant pummel of cold water to your face.

Whew. Rappel over. Continue down river. More walking. Milo stops at the edge of a cliff.

"Now we jump."

WHAT??!?

We see the river below. It's about 10-15 ft down.

"Sit and jump. Then swim right. Else you get carried down next section. Ok don't think. Bye bye!"

*Milo jumps*

The rest of us stare at each other in shock.

Clar volunteers to go first. (My respect for Clar went up by 100points.) Off she goes, and emerges, spluttering, in the pool below.

I take a deep breath, then push off.

HOLY MOG. What a rush! I bob up, grab a lungful of air, and see Milo. She reaches out and pushes me back down.

WT? The guide is trying to drown me. Oh wait. She's just pushing me into a calmer section of the pool.

Everything else was tamer than jumping off the cliff. Scrambling around the side of the canyon wall with metal handholds-- piece of cake; third and final monster waterfall with impossibly slippery walls-- all in a day's work. But I liked the water slides the best =).

Before we knew it, we were done. Hike back to the van, bask in the warm sun. What a fantastic way to spend Christmas. After inhaling our lunch of fried truncha (Andean fish) at a local restaurant, a deep feeling of peace and contentment descended upon the group.

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Next day, we set off to Los Llanos for wildlife spotting. Tour by Colibri Tours. Our guide, Alex, confessed that this was his first trip to Los Llanos as a guide. Hrm. Did not portend well for the future.

The van stopped at a few attractions on the way. A church, a lake. It's 1pm. Hungry. Alex said another 1hr to Barinas. But we finally got there at 3pm. Stopped at a bakery, Alex suggested we purchase some food. 2hrs more to camp. We had paid for a river kayaking option, and the 'river guide' Antonio said it was ok to kayak. Alrighty. By the time we changed, got to the river, manually pumped up the inflatable 2 man kayaks, it was 6/6.30pm.

I was in the same kayak as Antonio. It was really fun! Especially since he definitely knew what he was doing. Same could not be said for the rest. Water levels were pretty low, and we had to keep rescuing the other kayaks which were stuck on rocks.

It got darker and darker. At one point, my kayak was parked on a beach beside Clar's and Alex's.

Clar: Alex, have you rafted before?
Alex: Yes, but not in the dark.
Clar: How much further?
Alex: I don't know because I cannot see nothing!

In the end we aborted the mission because of low water levels. The two guides went off to find the van. The rest of us stumbled to shore from where we were marooned mid river, blindly dragging kayaks behind us. On the bright side, the stars were very pretty.

Every day brought a new adventure in Venezuela!