Camping en Los Tepuis

You might notice an absence of something from this photo set. Namely, tepuis.

There’s a few in there, but they are tough to spot in the near-constant cloud cover. We’re at 1200 meters and it’s the wet season, so you get what you get. Including, fallen trees.

We’re still struggling with our dizzy, but that story is getting old. Today, 10 km down a gravel road we were stopped by some fallen trees.  This is where the normal person might turn around and go back to the main road. It takes a special kind of kook to pull out an axe and start clearing the roadway. Keep in mind that I’m still sick, but I REALLY wanted to see some tepuis and get as close to Roraima as possible.

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It took about an hour. I think a machete and saw would have been more efficient, but we only had the axe. We tried our only rope – a roadside gift in Bolivia – but it shredded each of the 4 times we tried it.  It’s still there tied to the tree.

After we were down to just the trunk, I wished I had a set of those aluminum ramps that are always bolted over the windows of the European overland rigs. Normally, I snicker at them, but I guess they would have been useful here. That, or a winch. Or, some good rope.

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We made it out to the trail head for Roraima and there wasn’t much there. We set up camp next to a hut and decided to just wait and hope the clouds cleared. We made some dinner. We read. We met a guy who lived over the hill who came out of nowhere. That’s the place people come from when you’re camping ‘in the middle of nowhere’. There’s always somebody.

Anyway, he was a nice guy and was also a guide. He offered us quite a deal – 4600 Bolivars per person for a 6 day trek. 3 days up. 1 day on the top. 2 days down. That’s $180 bucks for a 6 day trek to the top of Roraima. All gear included. In the rain. I’ll send you directions to this guy’s house if you want.

He said that it’s best if kids are over twelve. Bode wanted to go… but a few more years might be a good idea. And, I’m still sick. Swinging an axe didn’t help. So, we’re not setting off on a six day trek just yet.

Anyway, we may just come back some day. Until then, we’ll just have to be content reading The Lost World.

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5 thoughts on “Camping en Los Tepuis

  • June 7, 2013 at 8:28 AM
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    Hope you feel better soon and that the clouds clear. I love that Bode is holding the kindle with his foot – modern technology meets primate. Cheers, S&L

  • June 7, 2013 at 2:04 PM
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    what are your Angel Falls plans? You guys need info? I assume you’re going in and not just gonna do the plane ride, right?

  • June 8, 2013 at 2:30 PM
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    We’re all in. We’ve got a guy…

  • June 8, 2013 at 6:56 PM
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    Incredible your aventure! I want! Kisses for your all family!

  • October 12, 2013 at 9:35 AM
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    Always have a machete. You can do everything with these, including cutting your toe nails….

    (on vacations trying to keep up with your blog)

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