Week 6 - Expedition Roraima

(Read previous blog before this)

We were up at 6 on Wednesday and met our guide Toni, and Porter Leo at the tour company, who were both really cool. Toni was a short and chubby middle aged man, who had surprisingly climbed Roraima 70 times, and also worked as a judge for the local indigenous population! Leo lived in Kumarakapay, and was younger and fitter, and could carry an unbelievable amount of weight as a Porter. The 5 of us, a driver, and 3 random people crammed into a big 4x4 Land-Cruiser with all our gear on the roof-rack. We set off at 8am, driving up a dirt-track for an hour to reach the town of Paraitepuy and the starting point of our hike. The road was rough, angled and twisting; only a large 4x4 could make it up here, and ours felt close to rolling over on several occasions! Anyway we arrived at a small national-park-office, signed our names, and began our 6-day 100km hike in the Gran Sabana.

We began slow with our guide Toni, but Me Nate and Ade had too much energy, so kept walking ahead, having to wait for him to catch up. In the end we set such a fast pace that we just left him behind, and walked on the clear path with the Roraima mountain emerging from the clouds directly ahead. The landscape around was, somewhat like the English peak district with open rolling hills and grey skies, with the exception of the enormous tepuis in the distance. After 4 hours hiking we arrived at the first camp, and had to wait over an hour for our guide Toni to catch up. We had hiked at an incredible pace with big heavy bags on our backs, but still had the energy to play Frisbee while waiting for him, and our porter Leo joined in. When Toni did arrive, we hiked another hour to the empty camp 'Kukenan', where we would stay that Night. We set up our tents for the first time and went in the Kukenan river right by camp to wash ourselves and our clothes. We ended up hilariously 'swimming' down some shallow rapids while the evening sky cleared and the two tepui mountains (Roraima and Kukenan) dramatically appeared from the clouds in the background. Messing in the river was a highlight of the trip, and after drying off we started a camp fire and ate our first meal cooked by Toni and Leo in the dark empty camp.

The next day started wet, overcast and miserable. After a carb-filled breakfast we smashed a '4-hour' hike to Base Camp, and to our suprise made it in 2! We had Energy and speed, and didn't stop once. The hike was shorter than the previous day but more uphill with steeper climbs and descents. The scenery became greener and the dramatic Roraima and Kukenan Tepuis got closer. Base Camp was at the foot of the mountain, so when the weather cleared in the afternoon, Roraima looked incredible.

Just after arriving at Base Camp, we were suprised to meet the other group of 12 who were making their way down! Joel and everyone from Caracas (who I saw in Puerto Ordaz) had made it, and had just descended from the top that morning. We caught up and spent a good hour chatting, playing frisbee, eating lunch and taking photos. They told us all about their trip, and when they left we were ready and eager to climb to the top! However, we had to wait for our guide and porter, who wouldn't arrive until the late afternoon. We were a little frustrated, but had a late second lunch when they arrived and set up camp for the night. We would have to wait for tomorrow to make the climb. In the meantime I had a wash in ice-cold stream-water and we played Frisbee target games before eating late dinner and stargazing in the clear night sky.

Friday. Today was the day. The big climb. 1000m gain in altitude to the top. Steep climbing on slippy rocks and dirt paths, through humid dense jungle under the heat of the tropical sun. It was exhausting, but made even more difficult by the size and weight of our backpacks. Again, we set a ridiculous pace and stopped infrequently, so i was constantly out of breath and tired. But, we all had the same 'challenge yourself' mentality, and kept going all the way to the top. We passed through jungle, forest, streams, and an incredible 'waterfall' that poured over the edge several-hundred feet above and cascaded down into a fine mist our a rocky path. Staring up in awe and watching the water fall from such a height was surreal. Equally, the views became more amazing the higher we climbed, until we made it to the top...

The landscape changed completely. On arriving at the top of Roraima I was suprised to be walking on a different planet. It was an enormous, flat, rocky plateu with little signs of life; no trees, insects or birds. There were small pools of water eveywhere, with some plants and fauna in places, and a constant blanket of cloud close to the surface, so visibility was poor. We managed to find the cave which we were to camp in (with the help from a random guy), and set up our tents. This cave was cool; it was set back from the cliff-edge and was a natutal overhanging rock feature sheltering us from rain and wind on 3 sides. The open side was facing over towards the edge and where we had come from, so when the cloud cleared, the view was spectacular. We had arrived, set-up, and eaten lunch before midday, so we relaxed, slept, and waited for Toni and Leo, who arrived 3 hours later!

That evening we hiked a short distance up to the summit, a point 2,800m right on the edge of the west-facing tepui wall. Peering over the edge was frightening; a sheer vertical drop of 1,000m, How long would it take to fall a kilometer? Everything below was so small, and you could barely see Base Camp at the bottom.  The other tepui mountain to the north, Kukenan, looked spectacular and dramatic battling with the low clouds. We took some great photos at this point and enjoyed the awesome view over the Gran Sabana; you could see for miles. Later, me and Adrian would climb to another high point and sit watching the sunset over Kukenan. Another incredible sight hard to describe, and Ade captured a cool sunset time-lapse on his go-pro.

Saturday was our first full day on top of this giant mountain. We would do a 25km-round hike to 'Punto-triple', a point where the borders of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana all meet. The walk there was a long 3-hours with no change of elevation or scenery, and a constant cover of cloud and mist. The point itself was just a stone monument, but nevertheless it was cool to be sat in all three countries at once. On our return we took a different route and visited 'El Fosso' (The gap). This was an enormous pool sunk 50ft below the surface, with a stream cascading into it. The only way to get down to the pool was a long and difficult clamber down some steep rocks into a crevass which led to a network of caves and eventually the pool. It was so ridiculous that Adrian dropped his new go-pro 5 down a deep crack, and although we crawled through dark underground caves trying to find it, it could have gone anywhere. An hour of searching was useless, and he'd lost all his footage of the trip...

We did still go to the pool, which was awesome, and showered in the waterfall before making the climb back out. The walk back to camp was long and the mood subdued, plus we were tired and hungry. It felt like forever, but we did pass through the 'valley of crystals' where there were thousands of natural large quartz crystals scattered everywhere in the pools. Much needed food awaited us on return at 5pm, and later we played cards in the tent before an early night.

Sunday was the long descent, and probably the hardest day. Before we made our way down the mountain, we took at 2 hour hike in shite weather to a popular viewpoint where we couldn't see anything. I was gutted, as Leo was describing a usual incredible view over Guyana, but low cloud and rain meant we couldn't see more than 10m. We were cold and wet, and wasted time and energy, so a great start to the day...

The way down was the same 'path' we took up, but it was more difficult going down on steep slippy rocks in the dense jungle, so we all fell a few times. Once we were off the mountain and out of jungle, the path was easier and the sky cleared, making a pleasant afternoon walk. The scenery of the dramatic sun-lit tepui mountain now behind us was incredible, and the sun was out the whole way to camp. We had to cross 2 rivers which were now at peak flow so we got wet feet and Nathan even fell in, lucky it was shallow. On arrival at our campsite 'Rio-Tek' we pitched the tents and went for a wash in the river. There was a bizare deep blue pool hidden  in the trees which we bathed in to an incredible  background of the Kukenan tepui in a now completely clear sky. It must have been the first clear sky of the trip, and it lasted all evening while the sun set and the stars appeared. We played cards and drank rum in a busy campsite, and made friends with a group of Venezuelans. However we were exhausted and had to be up at 4.30, so another early night.

We got up ridiculously early to start our final hike in the dark, and make it to the Base town before anyone else. We had a long 4-hour hike with wet boots and tired heads. The sun rose over the mountain and was in and out of clouds all day, but we paid little attention to scenery as we played verbal games the whole way, not stopping once. We arrived in good time, so relaxed and waited for Toni and Leo. Our transport (the same 4x4) arrived late at midday so we were back in Kumarakapay for 1pm. After much deserved beer and lunch at Lineker's place (again), we got to the car and on the road south to Brazil. What an incredible week...Read more