vexpot

Round 2 for the canoe ride back from Angel Falls

Arrivals at the landing strip in Canaima

That's not the end of the stairs...

Fish and rice at the marketplace

The food court at the marketplace

Ain't that different from a tomato... ugh

Made them try it first

Behind the clock tower

Grafittiing church property? Talk about one way ticket to hell...

Up to the Belfry

More stairs?!

Those don't look like gargoyles... (blue-footed boobies)

Looking back up the steep stairs up the Tower

At the top of the Basilica Church Tower

Jump attempt 2

Jump attempt 1

Cap'n heads the journey

At the gate of no return (cuz only one can go in either direction)

The Basilica Church

The up and down's are almost worst than SF

A little break outside in the sun

San Francisco Convent & Museum 3

San Francisco Convent & Museum 2

San Francisco Convent & Museum 1

The perpetual angel

The town of Rio Verde at sunset

Behind El Pailon del Diablo (anti-climatic)

Looking back at the bridge

Just happy to be off a damned bike!

Cap'n Koms says the negative ions released by waterfalls make us happy

The force of the falls throws a mist over the rocks below

El Pailon del Diablo, Ecuador's largest

Testing the rickety bridge

When in Rome...

In Ecuador, not only is the language different, so is the numbering system

Reaching the entrance after a long descent

The rock's supposed to look like it's going to crush her

A well-deserved break

A small bridge

Scouting the bridge

"Shhh... people crapping"

Yes, we get lost even on one-way roads on private properties

There seems to be something missing here

They may have thought it was food

A little dam

Break over... more murder on the way

Bravo, grafitti artist

Looking down from the walkway

The buildings of Cuenca

A flower market outside the church

I napped

Komal... stared at her bag...

The Carribean beachscape.... ghetto as it ever can be

A family affair of skin excess

A peek of the ocean and seaside going down 2,135m

Watching the bustle of Galipan

"Hello World... I'm hungry"

We waited for 30 mins after ordering before we were told the kitchen won't be open for another hour

At the back of the pickup on the bone-jarring ride to Macuto

Looking down at Galipan from the top of El Avila

The teleferico ride just kept going...

The city of Caracas before us in the teleferico

We had a hard time following instructions on how to get on this thing

The turnstiles getting onto the actual teleferico

Scoping the ride from below

Chipper from an overnight bus ride! Why is everyone else up??

Pre-Dinner

The first bridge to span the Orinoco

Sunset by the Orinoco 2

Sunset by the Orinoco 3

Sunset by the Orinoco 1

Yes, the fucker is reading a paper!

Canaima structures 5

Canaima structures 3

Canaima structures 4

In Spanish, it actually says "Be careful of the monkeys"

They were vicious little fuckers that kept hooting to instigate a fight

The one-armed monkey was the meanest

Beachside Canaima 3

Beachside Canaima 2

Beachside Canaima 1

Komal's salsa lesson... on the house

Sunset by the Canaima waterfront

Rak makes her mark

Behind Sapo Falls 7

Behind Sapo Falls 6

Behind Sapo Falls 5

With our other guide... check out my whopper of a wasp bite

The Swiss boys and Cap'n

Go team!

El Sapo 2

El Sapo 1

Philippe and Koms surf it

Joint forces to overcome the power of El Sapo falls

Team Aviators at El Sapo 2

Team Aviators at El Sapo 1

Nobody knew what to expect...

Working hard to keep those eyes open behind the force of water

The full force of a waterfall ahead of us

Looking back to the entrance behind El Sapo

"It's nice behind the falls"

The entrance to Salto El Sapo

We are told we are finally near Salto Angel... we've been misled the past 3 hrs

Freddy comandeers the boat

A little trek between canoe rides

Team Aviators + guest Freddy, our guide

Oh noooo, we're sinking! We're sinking!!

Our driver to Salto Angel

Laguna de Canaima

The map of our route... unhelpful

Laguna de Canaima: Ucaima, Wadaima, and Hacha waterfalls

The iron-rich water shoreline

Tepuis in the distance

Breathtaking views

One last pic before a suicidal ride aboard the 6-seater Cessna

The drugs they didn't discover in Colombia

We didn't look one bit suspicious in Bogota

It was a long busride with lots of sugar

Our wheels to Ciudad Bolivar

Cap'n takes a break

Sights outside the bus to Ciudad Bolivar 3

Sights outside the bus to Ciudad Bolivar 2

Sights outside the bus to Ciudad Bolivar 1

A little giddy in the morning

Ziplining break 2

Atop the Tower

Super happy going up those steep steps!

Drooling on the way to Quito

Giddy aboard our new set of wheels 1

Just a death grip on the rail... not scary at all

The rickety looking cable car across the valley

Thought, "Maybe I should have practiced riding a little more first"

Barely 10 mins in, I ate pavement

The cap'n was all business

Who she playin? She ate it anyway!

"This don't taste good"

Ups and downs in Cajas

Komal flashes a reassuring grin... we aren't lost!

Cap'n Koms eats it... hah, finally!

The peace before the storm...

Preparing for takeoff

*smile* "Are you prepared for certain death?"

Guanabana time!

Rak chows down

Komal takes her turn

"Ziplining"

Handpulled taffy... bloody fingers unimportant

Crawling to the balconey's at the Devil's Cauldron

Keeping as far away from the side as possible

"How much fucking longer?"

"Hello, ass"

A break for energy to quell those quaking legs

Right next to the ditch - if you don't look at it, you won't head into it

"Ewww, this is gross... do you want some?"

Trees out of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales

Team Aviators holds up the fort, even when lost

"I am certain we are still on 1"

"Well isn't this a steep cliff ride down"

A short hike to the landing strip out of Canaima

Angel Falls shrouded in morning mystery

Catching up on sleep disturbed by the drunken Romanian ruckus

Our only source of light... and life...

Highest in the world!

You know it, you KNOW it!

Seriko, Adamaka Charafu Kaikuse Endakuritupo, Kupui, and Dariku

The Team gathers atop Sapo Falls

Altitude warning!!

The only ice Komal could find for our ailing friend

The water was nice... the beach, not so much

Riding the teleferico to the top of Avila NP from Caracas

A sunset dinner overlooking the Orinoco

"Hey, can't talk, a little busy in here... but make yourself comfortable"

A true scout is always on the lookout for a recon mission

A comfy night out in the open

An attempt to hijack the boat... unsuccessful...

No amount of raingear can save you from this

We thought we saw the right falls... many times...

Trekking break in between canoe trips

Rainbows were reassurances of sure survival... and there were many

They desperately wanted to be souvenir pics

The brew of choice in these here parts

Komal lives out her fantasy

Quito in all its glory

Guanabana break!

You can never get enough!

The only guanabana suplier in all of Quito

Climbing up to the Basilica church's Tower

A rickety walk on the planks to reach the stairs

A common depiction of the Last Supper

Ordering good from the convent nuns

A sampling of menus at the Monastery of Santa Catalina

Trying to impress the locals at the next table

It doesn't matter how it's made, just that it's guanabana!

Handpulled taffy... bloody fingers unimportant...

She manages to soil the wrong side of her pants

No bikes allowed in THIS long scary dark tunnel

One of many breaks along La Ruta de las Cascadas

Rak ate dirt

The casualties of inexperienced bikeriding

The tunnel that did Rak in

Probably making sure I'm still alive

The ride started out at the edge of Banos... things were still fun then

Our cramped room

They claimed not to want it...

We survived Cajas National Park

Komal picks up the scent of the trail

Shit... are we there yet?

Taking it all in like professional models

"These damn things don't work"

"Hmmm... maybe we aren't on 1 anymore..."

The splendor of Cajas on a cold foggy morning

Our first Montecristi's

Lots of hats... lots...

Behind the falls

When skin hates sun...

Always at attention

The shops of Galipan

The top of El Sapo Falls

Getting ready to hike to Sapo Falls

We caught him scurrying about bailing out the water from the leaky boats...

Morning after a restless night

Pitch black at the camp at the base of Angel Falls

There was no way they could lose us

Everyone else definitely missed the memo

Canaima National Park

Claiming bags at the Caracas airport

Keeping a close watch on coke dealers in 5 hr Bogota layover

Public transportation ass early in the morning

Packed and ready to go!!

flying to oz