It's August...where is VE?

He's actually back in Portland....for two days.

Then he's off again to the Dominican Republic for 9 days.

Where has he been? Aruba and Venezuala

Ah...Aruba. Spectacular. I think they should rename it though. They have the vowels all wrong. It's shouldn't be A RUB A, it should be I ROB U. That would be more fitting speaking from the pocket book point of view...

Yes, where else can you get a five pack of beer for $25. An Italian buffet for only $28.95 per person. Burger at the pool side bar? Try $15. Ouch.

But I have seen and done amazing spectacular things in the last 10 days: Dove in a submarine, walked on the ocean floor, rode horses on the beach, explored caves, walked behind the veil of a waterfall so close you got drenched, flew in an airplane around Angel Falls, snorkeled with barracuda and huge blue parrotfish, swam in a natural ocean pool fed by huge wave coming through a natural rock barrier. And so many more...

Let me say that some of the beauty of the Angel Falls area just has to be seen to be believed. If that were in the USA, it would be one of the top national parks. I just cannot believe this isn't more visited...well I can...it was difficult and stressful to get to. But that is for a later story. When I get back from my next adventure. In the meantime, you'll have to suffice with the crib notes and some more potporri photos.

I'll be back Aug 13th with more photos and stories I am sure and I promise to catch up then.

Oh...and as for what went wrong. Hmmm, let's see:
- Heavy rains delayed NY flight to Aruba
- 3 hour delay leaving Aruba for Venezuala
- 2 hour mechanical problems leaving Curacas (missing my key next flight)
- Dive hotel for the night in Caracus (no way was I getting under those sheets!)
- Long boat's engine at the park broke down

All in all, that is pretty darn tame for me. So I am happy.

Yes...Aruba has the beautiful turquoise warm water and great snorkeling you would expect.
But the other side of the island is wild, windy and quite barren.
No, ostriches aren't native to the island, but they had a park of them there to see.
Here's more of what the inner island really looks like. A lot like Arizona.
These are everywhere. You would definitely think you were in the Southwest of the USA from this shot.

Here is the natural bridge on the windward side of the island.
I'm sitting in one of the caves located in their wildlife park. They are spectacular. Some have coral openings at the top that bring light into them
Riding on the beach is quite fun.
Here is the natural pool. The rough waves from the ocean flow over the rocks and fill the pool with sea water. There were an amazing amount of crabs hanging around the rocks there too. It was quite refreshing.
One of the parks in Venezuala. A long shot of how many different waterfalls flow out of this area.

This is Sapo falls. It is quite amazing. I barely have words to describe it and the pictures just won't do the experience justice. It must be 200 to 300 yards wide and have a horrendous volume of water at some points. The neat part about this is you can hike a trail right behind the veil.
When you get through the trail to the other side of the water fall, here's what you look back on that you have just walked under. There was a great little pool in the rocks you could swim right here and even a lighter trickling of water that made a perfect natural shower. The water wasn't cold at all either.
Walking under the veil...
Another look while walking under the veil. It was incredible thunderous here. Some points were so wet there was no way to take a shot with my camera.
Another angle of walking through the trail behind the veil.

And you could also hike to the top of the falls. It was a lovely spot to just sit and eat lunch.
Here is an aerial shot I got of the other waterfalls that spill out from the same source as Sapo falls. There were so many waterfalls around here. It was majestical.
An aerial shot of Angel Falls. The place was so incredible. So vertical. There were actually so many waterfalls around in the valleys and cliffs here.
Another example of the terrain around Angel Falls. My pictures from the small plane don't really do it justice.

See you when I am back from my next adventure.