ANGEL FALLS EXPEDITION
VENEZUELA 2009

ITINERARY

Sun. Aug. 16:           Welcome to Caracas, Venezuela!  It is a city of contrasts: Glittering skyscrapers of the most avant-garde designs, interspersed with fingerlike hills where many dwell in makeshift shacks, leading lives of poverty.  Fine shops display Brazilian and Colombian emeralds.  There is a cultural complex with a plethora of captivating museums, restaurants and an international cinema.  We will be staying at one of the most luxurious and well-located hotels in the city.  The nearby Teresa Carreño Theater is a masterpiece of contemporary architecture that regularly hosts concerts, ballets, plays and recitals by performers from all over the world.  The nightlife is sophisticated to the point of decadence.
HOTEL: (CARACAS)

Mon. Aug. 17:          FLIGHT, CARACAS TO PUERTO ORDAZ.  One hour transfer to Ciudad Bolivar; “one of Venezuela’s most popular destinations… its historic core has retained the flavor of an old river town.”  The old quarter is perched on a hillside overlooking the might Orinoco River.  Lunch and a tour of the city will be provided.  Our hotel is in the historic center; which overlooks the mighty Orinoco River.
HOTEL: (CIUDAD BOLIVAR)

Tues. Aug. 18:         FLIGHT, CIUDAD BOLIVAR TO CANAIMA.  We will be met by our professional, English-speaking guide and boatmen for a short ride to where we board handmade dugouts with motors, to spend three days on meandering rivers in the midst of a vast, virgin jungle.  (We will get wet; plan on it.)  Around a bend, we are astounded by our first view of a unique geological phenomenon: Huge, mesa-like towers, called tepuis, rising thousands of feet through the mist.  They exist on this scale and in this quantity nowhere else in the world; perforated with caves, streaked by waterfalls, and covered with tropical foliage, they provoke the feelings of mystery and awe that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write The Lost World.  All meals on the river will be prepared for us.  We continue upriver to the remote Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, spilling 3,212’ down the sheer face of a mammoth tepui; wild, dramatic, beautiful.  We will sleep in hammocks under large, tin-roofed shelters with shower and toilet facilities.   Our camp directly across from the falls!
CAMP: (RATONCITO ISLAND)

Wed. Aug. 19:          We can walk for 2 hours on a path to the base of the falls, where the more intrepid can swim in a spray-swept pool fed by the thundering cataract.
CAMP: (RATONCITO ISLAND)

Thur. Aug. 20:         Returning downstream, we explore an unspoiled world, stopping to swim and play in Happiness Falls then continue downriver to Canaima.  We will travel by Jeeps and dugouts, then a short walk to Sapo Falls.  Those who choose to can walk behind the falls for their entire length; over rocks, with a chain to cling to for part of the way, while a massive amber wall of water roars between them and the outside world: Quite an experience!  This afternoon, we will board light aircraft for a spectacular fly-over of Angel Falls.  We will stay in one of the finest lodges on the lagoon; with large baths; hammocks on the porches; and private dining room and bar right on the water.
LODGE: (CANAIMA RESORT)

Fri. Aug. 21:             FLIGHT, CANAIMA TO CARACAS.
Tonight a Farewell Dinner will be provided with unlimited choices from the menu at one of the cities finest restaurants, featuring the cuisine of Old Spain.
HOTEL: (CARACAS)

Total cost of $1,990.00 (includes Caracas - PUERTO ORDAZ, Ciudad Bolivar – Canaima & Canaima - Caracas flights) per person, double occupancy except at camps; all transfers, all hotel and lodge stays; lunch and city tour at Ciudad Bolivar; 3 days on the rivers in dugouts with motors, and the services of boatmen, a professional English-speaking guide and cooks; all meals on the rivers; light aircraft flyover of the falls; and an unlimited Farewell Dinner from the menu.

A non-refundable payment of $995.00, payable to W.S. DONAHOO and received at:

Post Office Box 3415
Winter Park, Florida 32790, USA

is required for a reservation.

AVAILABLE SPACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS, UPON RECEIPT OF INITIAL PAYMENTS.

ALL PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE; Payments are not transferable to other passengers nor other trips.  Credit cards are not accepted.

Final payments will be due in May, 2009.  Failure to pay on time will result in the cancellation of your reservation and forfeiture of your initial payment.

Items in italics are not included, but are suggestions based on location and time available.  International flights, departure taxes at foreign airports, and gratuities are not included.

Passports valid for 6 months after the duration of the trip will be required.

Buz Donahoo, Condor Adventures
Post Office Box 3415
Winter Park, FL 32790,  USA
Tel/Fax (407) 645-0490
buz@condoradventures.com