Gran Sabana, Venezuela

A Real Jurassic Park


The Gran Sabana
The savannah dotted with buritis palms in which scenes from Jurassic Park were shot.
in a river of jasper
Family refreshes themselves on jasper, in the lake formed by the Kamá waterfall, one of the many imposing waterfalls on the Gran Sabana.
on the way to the lost world
Shippers carry provisions for an expedition up Mount Roraima.
Gran Sabana Guru
Guyanese leader and guide Alexis, who accompanies visitors on expeditions to Mount Roraima and shares with them the wisdom and stories of the Gran Sabana.
Kamá meru
The Salto Meru, one of the many stumbles of the Aponwao River on its way along the Gran Sabana.
Pemon Weapons
Showcase of small blowguns used by several indigenous people today called Pémon, displayed to captivate buyers at the top of the Salto Kamá.
seaweed on jasper
Green vegetation thrives on the polished jasper surface of the Quebrada with the same name.
above the savanna
Participants on an expedition to the top of Mount Roraima admire the vast Gran Sabana from an elevation of the tepuy.
blond parrot
Parrot hidden in the green vegetation around the Aponwao River.
enraged flow
A shower thickens the already voluminous flow of the Yuruani River and the force of another waterfall on the Gran Sabana, the Yuruani Fall.
football between tepuys
A grassy football field with a privileged view of the tepuis Roraima and Kukenam
Rest on Jasper II
The family relaxes in the warm, sun-kissed water of the Kamá waterfall lagoon.
Pemon Homes
Typical ethnic huts pemon who inhabit the Gran Sabana, in the vicinity of Salto Kamá.
little jump
Reduced waterfall compared to several other imposing ones north of Santa Elena de Uáiren.

Only the lonely EN-10 road ventures into Venezuela's wild southern tip. From there, we unveil otherworldly scenarios, such as the savanna full of dinosaurs in the Spielberg saga.

The cases of those who visit Venezuela with entry from its remote south will not be very frequent. It is true that we celebrated the convenience of flying from the Brazilian city of Belém to Manaus, complete the route from there to Boavista and then to à border instead of paying a lot of money for an international flight with several stops that would force us to go to one of the main Brazilian cities and, from there to Caracas, still far from the Venezuelan border stops we had in mind.

Only a pseudo-climatological incidence of the trip, in particular, undid the satisfaction generated by the existence of an alternative, reinforced by the fact that we didn't even have to stay overnight in Manaus. In the last six hours of the first bus segment – ​​there were 15 journeys, more than 24 if we count the waits at truck stations – the driver turned off the lights and secured passengers with freezing air conditioning. Even careful with long-sleeved sweaters, only a golden crunchy asbestos blanket that we were carrying to prevent hypothermias prevented us from getting seriously ill in that bus of Tartarus.

We reached the northern limit of Brazil, after the 18 hours. The Federal Police closed at six in the afternoon and not at ten at night, as we had been informed. Even without the stamp in the passport, we continued, illegally, to Santa Elena de uairén, a city generated by the discovery of diamonds some 100 km away in 1924, which developed much further when the only road in the vicinity, the EN-10 coming from El Gold, through her. Today, with almost 20.000 inhabitants and many Brazilian workers and visitors, Santa Elena it was the village that we chose as the basis for discovering the Spruce African Venezuelan.

The next day served almost only to sleep and recover from the fluvial, air and land torture that we had been subjected to from the remote Brazilian island of Marajó, in the delta of the Amazon River, and to return to the border where we obtained the missing stamps. On the second day of stay at a hotel named Augusta, we were finally able to prepare the expedition to Mount Roraima that had attracted us to those places. We returned to the hotel six days later, dazzled but with every muscle and tendon destroyed by the difficult journey to and from the top of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's “Lost World”.

Even in all this long walk, we have explored only a tiny part of the vast Gran Sabana, which extends over 10.000 km2 and invades the territories of Guyana and Brazil. The extension of this geological domain dotted with large rocky plateaus bequeathed by the prehistoric erosion of an infinitely larger rock platform and the fact that our time was counted, advised us to contemplate a road continuation of the discovery. We soon surrendered to the evidence.

The sun had barely risen. As agreed, Santiago was already waiting at the door of the hotel behind the wheel of an old white Cadillac. We greeted him, put our backpacks in what was left of the large trunk and set off towards the rue EN-10 and from Gran Sabana. Shortly after, the early risen beginning began to seem providential. “My friends, first of all we have to get gas”. Santiago communicates to us without any shame. We head for a service station on the outskirts of the city. As soon as we got there, we panicked. That was the time, but the main line for refueling was more than a kilometer long and, next to the pumps, it branched out into several others, by comparison, tiny. “Don't worry!” the driver reassures us. “With the guide charter and tourists on board, I don't have to wait. Who causes all this are the Brazilians who come here to enjoy! The authorities should have already done something to prevent it but there are too many interests behind it.”

It didn't take long for us to understand the phenomenon. Thanks to the benefit of Venezuela's huge oil production and the government subsidy, fuel in Venezuela cost four cents of Euros per liter or, as some drivers proud of the prodigy but angry at the abuse of their neighbors summed up, less than water or oil. air. “We pay a lot more for a bottle of water and even to put pressure on the tires! But, in Brazil, it costs almost a dollar and a half per liter (practically the same euros) and candongueiros enjoy more than us, both Brazilians and Venezuelans. They enter here with double tanks and hidden jerricans, bribe the military and gain enormous amounts from smuggling. Just to give you an idea of ​​how much, in Santa Elena, on account of this, we are running out of teachers and people from various other professions.”

Unless he did it part-time, Santiago had not yet sacrificed his own. Compromised with an agreement, the driver and guide returns to the comfort of the car's old leather and leads us towards the north, away from Santa Elena and any other urbanization.

We traveled along an endless savannah and among tepuys (the so-called plateaus) of different sizes and shapes, there, especially the brothers Kukenam and Roraima from whom we had just returned. The Yuruani River accompanies us, capricious in its tight meanders but also in its wider path. We crossed it the first time. Shortly after, we turn off the asphalt and go to the Quebrada de Jaspe, a small waterfall that flows over the rock that gives it its name, polished and bright red that contrasts with the green of the algae that, here and there, the they cling.

It rains heavily when we reach the new intersection of Yuruani and EN-10. The low clouds and mist blur the shape of the tepuis but don't disturb the intermediate view of the Yuruani Falls, which makes the caramel-colored waters of a platform six meters high and sixty meters wide crash.

A few more kilometers and we stopped again. This time, before the only scenery of the Gran Sabana almost as impressive as the tepuis.

The road, elevated there, reveals a viewpoint à your left. From this point to the west, a verdant plain dotted with palm trees unfolds. buritis that follow the course of underground currents. In the grandeur of the framing, they look more like bonsai. only the indigenous Pemon can inhabit these lands. From time to time, they burn areas of the plain so that the rain makes new shoots bloom, which in turn attract tapirs, armadillos and deer, their hunting.

That's the setting that inspired Steven Spielberg to create many of the scenes from the original “Jurassic Park,” starring Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and the late brother of “Life on Earth” mentor Richard Attenborough.

This same scenario that we continue to explore remains and will remain for many more millennia between islands in the time that shelter, in their summits, fauna and flora from that geological period between the Triassic and the Cretaceous. Santiago is no longer enthusiastic about it.

At a certain point along the route, we felt the car deviate from the long straight line it was traveling. We didn't react right away, but the descent of two of the wheels to the curb and the sight of the driver with his head down make us scream at him and take control of the steering wheel.

Santiago wakes up and apologizes lamely: “I was looking for something that I dropped to the ground”. It was a lie and the third time we saved ourselves from sleepy drivers in Venezuela, land of a lot of partying and nightlife.

We arrived alive at the surroundings of Salto Kamá, another imposing waterfall, 50 meters high and which forms a reddish lake on slabs of always abundant jasper.

some huts pemons they flank the top of the river and the indigenous people use them as a base to sell handicrafts. Before going down, we still experienced the incredible precision of one of the blowguns with which they usually shoot poisoned arrows. A little later, we took advantage of the last rays of the sun falling on the lagoon, we refreshed ourselves and stayed to relax in the warm water in the company of a big-tongued Venezuelan family.

Santiago despaired for a few more moments before we inaugurated the return to Santa Elena. On the way back, we had to wake him up twice more. Even so, the old man admitted that it would be better to give up the wheel.

Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

At the top of Mount Roraima, there are extraterrestrial scenarios that have resisted millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never got to step on it.
Mérida, Venezuela

Merida to Los Nevados: in the Andean Ends of Venezuela

In the 40s and 50s, Venezuela attracted 400 Portuguese but only half stayed in Caracas. In Mérida, we find places more similar to the origins and the eccentric ice cream parlor of an immigrant portista.
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Mérida, Venezuela

The Vertiginous Renovation of the World's Highest Cable Car

Underway from 2010, the rebuilding of the Mérida cable car was carried out in the Sierra Nevada by intrepid workers who suffered firsthand the magnitude of the work.
Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa

In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Believers greet each other in the Bukhara region.
City
Bukhara, Uzbequistan

Among the Minarets of Old Turkestan

Situated on the ancient Silk Road, Bukhara has developed for at least two thousand years as an essential commercial, cultural and religious hub in Central Asia. It was Buddhist and then Muslim. It was part of the great Arab empire and that of Genghis Khan, the Turko-Mongol kingdoms and the Soviet Union, until it settled in the still young and peculiar Uzbekistan.
Skipper of one of the bangkas at Raymen Beach Resort during a break from sailing
Beach
Islands Guimaras  e  Ave Maria, Philippines

Towards Ave Maria Island, in a Philippines full of Grace

Discovering the Western Visayas archipelago, we set aside a day to travel from Iloilo along the northwest coast of Guimaras. The beach tour along one of the Philippines’ countless pristine coastlines ends on the stunning Ave Maria Island.
Rhinoceros, PN Kaziranga, Assam, India
safari
PN Kaziranga, India

The Indian Monoceros Stronghold

Situated in the state of Assam, south of the great Brahmaputra river, PN Kaziranga occupies a vast area of ​​alluvial swamp. Two-thirds of the rhinocerus unicornis around the world, there are around 100 tigers, 1200 elephants and many other animals. Pressured by human proximity and the inevitable poaching, this precious park has not been able to protect itself from the hyperbolic floods of the monsoons and from some controversies.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Sculptural Garden, Edward James, Xilitla, Huasteca Potosina, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Cobra dos Pecados
Architecture & Design
Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Edward James' Mexican Delirium

In the rainforest of Xilitla, the restless mind of poet Edward James has twinned an eccentric home garden. Today, Xilitla is lauded as an Eden of the Surreal.
Full Dog Mushing
Aventura
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
Correspondence verification
Ceremonies and Festivities
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
Key West Wall, Florida Keys, United States
Cities
Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Lunch time
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Djerbahood, Erriadh, Djerba, Mirror
Culture
Erriadh, Djerba, Tunisia

A Village Made Fleeting Art Gallery

In 2014, an ancient Djerbian settlement hosted 250 murals by 150 artists from 34 countries. The lime walls, the intense sun and the sand-laden winds of the Sahara erode the works of art. Erriadh's metamorphosis into Djerbahood is renewed and continues to dazzle.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Meeting of the waters, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Ethnic
Manaus, Brazil

Meeting the Meeting of the Waters

The phenomenon is not unique, but in Manaus it has a special beauty and solemnity. At a certain point, the Negro and Solimões rivers converge on the same Amazonas bed, but instead of immediately mixing, both flows continue side by side. As we explore these parts of the Amazon, we witness the unusual confrontation of the Encontro das Águas.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

Zorro's mask on display at a dinner at the Pousada Hacienda del Hidalgo, El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico
History
El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico

Zorro's Cradle

El Fuerte is a colonial city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. In its history, the birth of Don Diego de La Vega will be recorded, it is said that in a mansion in the town. In his fight against the injustices of the Spanish yoke, Don Diego transformed himself into an elusive masked man. In El Fuerte, the legendary “El Zorro” will always take place.
Santa Maria, Mother Island of the Azores
Islands
Santa Maria, Azores

Santa Maria: the Azores Mother Island

It was the first in the archipelago to emerge from the bottom of the sea, the first to be discovered, the first and only to receive Cristovão Colombo and a Concorde. These are some of the attributes that make Santa Maria special. When we visit it, we find many more.
Horses under a snow, Iceland Never Ending Snow Island Fire
Winter White
Husavik a Myvatn, Iceland

Endless Snow on the Island of Fire

When, in mid-May, Iceland already enjoys some sun warmth but the cold and snow persist, the inhabitants give in to an intriguing summer anxiety.
Cove, Big Sur, California, United States
Literature
Big Sur, USA

The Coast of All Refuges

Over 150km, the Californian coast is subjected to a vastness of mountains, ocean and fog. In this epic setting, hundreds of tormented souls follow in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and Henri Miller.
Nature
Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

The Maori coastline on which Europeans landed

Abel Janszoon Tasman explored more of the newly mapped and mythical "Terra australis" when a mistake soured the contact with natives of an unknown island. The episode inaugurated the colonial history of the New Zealand. Today, both the divine coast on which the episode took place and the surrounding seas evoke the Dutch navigator.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Meares glacier
Natural Parks
Prince William Sound, Alaska

Journey through a Glacial Alaska

Nestled against the Chugach Mountains, Prince William Sound is home to some of Alaska's stunning scenery. Neither powerful earthquakes nor a devastating oil spill affected its natural splendor.
Sigiriya capital fortress: homecoming
UNESCO World Heritage
Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

The Capital Fortress of a Parricide King

Kashyapa I came to power after walling up his father's monarch. Afraid of a probable attack by his brother heir to the throne, he moved the main city of the kingdom to the top of a granite peak. Today, his eccentric haven is more accessible than ever and has allowed us to explore the Machiavellian plot of this Sri Lankan drama.
Couple visiting Mikhaylovskoe, village where writer Alexander Pushkin had a home
Characters
Saint Petersburg e Mikhaylovkoe, Russia

The Writer Who Succumbed to His Own Plot

Alexander Pushkin is hailed by many as the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. But Pushkin also dictated an almost tragicomic epilogue to his prolific life.
Mangrove between Ibo and Quirimba Island-Mozambique
Beaches
Ibo Island a Quirimba IslandMozambique

Ibo to Quirimba with the Tide

For centuries, the natives have traveled in and out of the mangrove between the island of Ibo and Quirimba, in the time that the overwhelming return trip from the Indian Ocean grants them. Discovering the region, intrigued by the eccentricity of the route, we follow its amphibious steps.
Sanahin Cable Car, Armenia
Religion
Alaverdi, Armenia

A Cable Car Called Ensejo

The top of the Debed River Gorge hides the Armenian monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat and terraced Soviet apartment blocks. Its bottom houses the copper mine and smelter that sustains the city. Connecting these two worlds is a providential suspended cabin in which the people of Alaverdi count on traveling in the company of God.
Train Fianarantsoa to Manakara, Malagasy TGV, locomotive
On Rails
Fianarantsoa-Manakara, Madagascar

On board the Malagasy TGV

We depart Fianarantsoa at 7a.m. It wasn't until 3am the following morning that we completed the 170km to Manakara. The natives call this almost secular train Train Great Vibrations. During the long journey, we felt, very strongly, those of the heart of Madagascar.
Buffaloes, Marajo Island, Brazil, Soure police buffaloes
Society
Marajó Island, Brazil

The Buffalo Island

A vessel that transported buffaloes from the India it will have sunk at the mouth of the Amazon River. Today, the island of Marajó that hosted them has one of the largest herds in the world and Brazil is no longer without these bovine animals.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Cliffs above the Valley of Desolation, near Graaf Reinet, South Africa
Wildlife
Graaf-Reinet, South Africa

A Boer Spear in South Africa

In early colonial times, Dutch explorers and settlers were terrified of the Karoo, a region of great heat, great cold, great floods and severe droughts. Until the Dutch East India Company founded Graaf-Reinet there. Since then, the fourth oldest city in the rainbow nation it thrived at a fascinating crossroads in its history.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.