We boarded this small 6 person plane for a flight out to Kavak (more on that in the next post) and flew past Angel Falls on the way there and back. I was "co-pilot" going and my wife got that seat coming back. Our flight took is back over the long day trek from the previous day but of course this was much faster. We flew low over the river and close to the falls next to the lagoon before getting a little more altitude. Angel Falls is set back in the tepuy (table-top mountain) so we made hard banking turns in what was essentially a canyon on the way out. The return trip had us doing the same but then pulling up above the mountain to see a little of the flatter top. It was a great way to see the area but you only get a quick look in a noisy plane so the boating and hiking is an essential experience.
These are the waterfalls we were inside of 2 days earlier
smaller waterfalls all around
Angel Falls with clouds underneath
banking around inside these rock walls for another look
There was another plane in front or alongside us with the rest of the group. It and everything else disappeared several times when we passed through clouds, but it looked like our pilot was in constant radio contact. It was too loud to hear but I watched the pilot's face each time we entered the clouds since there wasn't anything else to see. Based on his smirk I imagined it was something like: "where are you?" --- "flying blind in a cloud" --- "chévere, us too! isn't this exciting?!?"
pulling up and up, we need more balloons!
we popped up over the top of the table-top
our camp near Angel Falls is down there somewhere and you get a good view of the ground when we bank hard to avoid the cliffs around us to try to see the falls in the clouds
ah! I think I see our camp there!
the pilot tried to give us a good close-up view
I remember the boat making the turn from the left to the bottom
another trip over the mountain
We didn't spot a lake up there feeding the falls but we were told the rainfall is twice as much on the tepuy as it is in Canaima and the summit area of Auyán-tepui is 257 sq mi (667 sq km).
a quick low pass by the falls at Canaima Lagoon and then in for a landing
What a ride!
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