The journey to reach Santa Elena (Gran Sabana – Venezuela) entailed a very long 24 hour journey by coach from Caracas, but with half the journey taking place through the night, it didn’t seem so bad. The most unnerving part of the journey was when we reached one of the final check points and the National Guard ordered everyone off the bus in order to check documents and all baggage. Considering we were in the 23rd hour of this journey, it did feel a big inconvenience, but actually we were lucky to be stopped only the once, it could have been many more. Apparently it is just procedure, but looking at the guards with their powerful guns, and “cold” faces, I couldn’t help but wish the process to be over as quickly as possible. As my turn came, I emptied the contents of my bag and attempted to answer the guard’s questions in broken Spanish, but in the end my guide from www.autana.org, Igor, came to my assistance and answered the questions on my behalf. This is one struggle of travelling both alone, and without the language, it can make such moments pretty difficult to handle, so I was lucky to be travelling with the tour guide, Igor, this was an option offered by the tour company, and a very wise choice for single travellers, especially female. My passport was checked thoroughly, and this is the part that makes me the most nervous, since security services are always completely suspicious of the number of countries I have visited and thus number of stamps in my passport. However, I was relieved to be hushed away and in no less than an hour and I was back on the bus.

The views from the bus were spectacular, I was seeing an immense and beautiful landscape, and finally I had arrived to the ‘Lost World’, better known as Gran Sabana, an area used for the filming of the second Jurassic Park film. The scenery meeting my eyes was so spectacular, as far as the eye could see there was no civilisation, the only feature that stood out and caused you to raise your head were the enormous table top tepuis. It was as though I was looking out at an ancient world, completely untouched by humans.

After a couple of days in Santa Elena, the time arrived to head out to the Indian Pemon village. Here I met the rest of my team, all Venezuelan, but to my relief all able to speak English. On this first night, Igor, and myself, headed to the Indian village for some home cooked food, and it was delicious. It was also a real privilege to have the chance to become more closely involved with the people of the village. Igor and I even headed to the local bar (a small mud hut devoid of electricity) for a warm beer, which tasted good enough, so we even went for the second.

After star gazing for some time, it was time to jump into the tent and to try to get some rest before the big adventure began. I woke in the night fearing some sort of catastrophe as I was hearing a very disturbing sound, but as I gained full consciousness, it became apparent that the noise was in fact snoring, but my god; I had never heard anything quite like it. Eventually the culprit did stop, and I got a little more sleep.

I awoke the next day very early and very excited. After breakfast, and packing, it was time to set off. The sun was very strong and the mosquitoes were aplenty, so I covered up as much as possible. But trekking in such intense heat was very difficult, since I was coming from the UK, and was are not exactly accustomed to the sun gleaming down on me, and so my struggle against this tremendous environment began.

Our first camp was to be Kukanan River, and we arrived at around 3pm. We stopped on route for some lunch, and it was necessary to cross two rivers, Tek and Kukanan, this was a very refreshing moment, as my feet were already beginning to feel the strain. The journey was all the time in the direction facing Roraima, the views were astounding, every time I looked up, I was drawn to the summit, and I knew it would be a tough challenge.

On arrival to Kukanan camp, the first and most important thing to do was to strip and to take the plunge into the wonderfully cool waters. Taking the bath in the open river was something so refreshing, and even felt so natural, it was a real treat after a full days walking. By the time I closed myself into the tent, I was extremely tired and looking forward to sleeping. However, just as I put my head back I caught sight of something that usually causes me to scream like a girl, it was a rather large cockroach. I was in the tent alone, but at the camp were a number of people, none of whom I felt I could call upon in this moment of distress, so I decided to be brave and take action. With about half a roll of toilet paper in my hand, I captured the giant beast, and escaped from the tent, running as far from my tent as possible. Fortunately nobody saw this strange behaviour because if they had of done, it may have caused me some difficulties in bonding with the group, since I clearly looked like a crazed woman. The nightmare over, I reached my tent once again, and zipped myself in the sleeping bag for a few hours of blissful rest.

The next day began, and it was to be both one of the toughest and funniest days of my life. I was by this time starting to form friendships within the group, and I wanted to walk with them in pursuit of base camp. Well, my good intentions lasted less than five minutes because this group were extremely fit, and they were flying to the summit of Roraima with rockets up their arses. I accepted to walk alone, and at my own pace. However after some time, some other guys caught up with me, and we reached the base camp together. The heat was incredibly intense, and it was impossible to find shade as we were walking through the open land of Grand Sabana.

My tour leader thought it rather amusing to let me think base camp was much further away than in reality, and when I turned the final corner, and realised, there would be no more walking for the day, I was so relieved, and Igor had a very satisfied and bemused expression, knowing that he had managed to get another one over on me! Well, at least he had a sense of humour.

The river at base camp was extremely cold, and the entertainment came from watching each other step into the waters and attempt to wash. After walking in the heat, there was no alternative but to jump in, it was a relief that most people didn’t understand the involuntary expletives coming from me.

After the bath we had some lunch, and there still seemed to be a lot of the day in front of me, and for about one minute I did wonder what I would do with myself for the rest of the day. Well the answer to that question came quicker than expected, and I was to spend all afternoon and evening laughing so much that tears rolled down my face. It had been a long time since I had laughed in this way, and I can’t explain what happened, the sheer emotion being released during this trip was incredible, and this was one afternoon I would never forget. Myself and other members of the team shared story after story, and sometimes the translation English to Spanish and Spanish to English would take us to very amusing moments.

The views from base camp were to say the least, very impressive. Not only could you see the Gran Sabana, but if you turned to face the other direction, you had the full effect of Roraima in front of your eyes, the cloud surfacing midway, created a very mystic ambience, and I found myself respecting the immense mountain, I knew it was going to present to me, one of my biggest challenges, but my spirit was gaining strength and I felt ready for it.

The most remarkable day of the trip had arrived and I woke up with a feeling inside my stomach similar to that of when I used to compete in athletic tournaments. After breakfast we set off, and this time I was not alone, for at least part of the journey, the rest of the group were behind me, encouraging me and pushing me, for it was obvious to them, how hard I had been finding the trek. For the second half of the ascent, I was with just a couple of others, and we all supported one another. There was a tremendous sense of accomplishment awaiting us, but in order to reach that point, there was to be a tough journey.

The climb entailed a short walk through a forest, which was extremely humid, and then we would continue ascending until we hit what is known as the “wall”, at this moment, it is appropriate to look up in order to fully comprehend the distance to be covered. Although the climb was tough, it was nowhere near as difficult as anticipated. And once we reached the last stretch, it was necessary to scramble, using hands and feet, due to lose rocks, but this last section doesn’t last for very long, and once you take the last step and the realisation hits you that you have made the summit. All emotion explodes, as does the cheers and congratulations from fellow climbers, what an overwhelming moment. After taking five minutes to get my breath back, I went to the edge, to look out at what I achieved, and I found that I had tears running down my cheeks, I couldn’t really explain why I was crying, but the emotional release was more than welcome, for I was not sad, I was so proud of myself for facing up to the challenge, I had made it to Roraima!

We set off in pursuit of our “hotel”, a modest cave on the summit, which offered protection from the wind and rain, here we set up the tents, and actually, it was one of the nicest hotels I had ever stayed, the views were fantastic. Then after lunch, it was time for a bath, even though it seemed too early for a bath, you had to take into consideration the time it took to reach the natural cold Jacuzzis. The landscape on top of Roraima was how you might imagine another planet to look, it seemed so alien. The rock formations were so incredible, and with a little imagination you found yourself looking at a turtle, or a dove. Then of course, there was a lot of sand, and sometimes, you could be mistaken for thinking you were at sea level, when in fact we were more than 2000 metres above. Upon arrival to the Jacuzzis, I stripped and took dived in as quickly as possible, the water was intensely cold, and I washed myself as quickly as possible. On route back to the hotel, we lost light pretty quickly, and Igor had to navigate us back in the dark, it seemed that it was possible to get lost very easily, and only a couple of people thought to bring a torch. However, we returned back to the hotel safely and just in time for dinner. After dinner we all headed to the edge of the mountain to enjoy the views and to share stories, however, the temperature on the summit dropped very quickly and after such a hard day, it was definitely time to take some rest.

The following day was spent visiting a number of sights on the summit, in all we were walking for nine hours, and it was very tiring, but all the same, it was definitely worth the hard work. One of the highlights of the whole trip was, for me, was the Triple Point. This is a simple stone marker, which indicates the frontier of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. I found this very exciting, the rest of the group were not quite as impressed, and I guess my enthusiasm, stems from the fact that I come from a small island, whereby to cross into another country, some mode of transport is necessary. At the Three Points, I ran around like an excited child, screaming, “Now I am in Venezuela, now I am in Brazil, now I am in Guyana”, well, I had great fun! Another wonderful place on top of the summit is the valley of the crystals, a place, bustling with the natural crystal formations, and believed to exhume a lot of energy; it was certainly a beautiful place. Running alongside the crystal valley, is one of the world’s highest rivers, Arabopo, and it is amazing to see a river so far from sea level. Following this, we were to visit another Jacuzzi, situated in a cave, this was to be the coldest bath I had ever taken in my life, but it was sensational. Finally, our last sight of the day was a spectacular cave close to our hotel, we penetrated fairly deep into the cave, and Igor pointed out some of the bacteria growing inside the cave. And it was very impressive to think that any form of live could survive in such extreme conditions. Finally we reached the hotel, enjoyed a dinner together and even a bottle of rum.

The day to descend Roraima dawned, and so we set of towards our final camp; Tek river. Before we began the descent, we made one final ascent to the highest point on Roraima at 2810 metres, a place known to the Indians as House of Devil, but better known to others as El Maverick, due to its similarities to the American car, something which can only be seen from afar. We were given the option of making this last ascent or to begin descending, and for a moment, I considered to start the climb back down to summit. To my absolute relief Igor persuaded me to make the ascent, and for this I am so grateful. On top of El Maverick, I felt the most overwhelming energy around me, the view was simply spectacular, and before I knew it, I found I had tears once again streaming down my face. It should be noted, that I never considered myself as person who can easily be reduced to tears, but this was twice in one week, and I had no explanation for the intense emotion, but I did not fight it, instead, I looked out on what felt like the rest of the world, stood alone, and cried, and it felt fantastic. After this special moment, it was time to start making our way down, and even throughout this day, I was feeling many things, happiness to have faced the challenge and to have succeeded but also sadness that it was coming to an end. My life for nearly a week had been lived in a very simple way, no technology, just the outside world, and the company of good friends, what more does one need?

After lunch at base camp, it was time for another few hours back out in the intense sunshine, but the return seemed much easier than the initial journey. For the last hour, when the sun was setting, I walked alone, enjoying the tranquillity of the moment, every time I turned my back I could see Roraima, and it was astounding to think, that earlier that day, I had been stood on the summit. At this hour of the day, late afternoon, always the colours outside seem more beautiful, and that could certainly be said for this sensational environment, everywhere I looked I saw warm and blissful colour.

On arrival to Tek River, I did not hesitate for even one second to strip and to jump into the fresh water; I stayed under the water for quite some time, until I finally felt my body temperature return back down to something related to normal. In these hours, everybody was in such elevated moods; we were all talking and laughing. Before dinner a dance session even broke out, of course I was among Latin Americans, and each and every one of them knew how to move. The dancing caused quite a stir and our group had attracted a large audience, it was a brilliant atmosphere. One thing really stood out about this final night, something that to me, seemed so special, and added to the energy around us all, we had a full moon. And it looked stunning above Roraima, what a perfect last night to a perfect trip.

So, the final day arrived, it seemed such a shame, I had become quickly adapt to this way of living that I felt I could have continued forever. And as the walking back to the Indian village began, I could not help feel apprehensive, about my return back to reality. It did not excite me and I was not happy for it to end. I had company for the whole mornings walk, and that friend did an excellent job at keeping my mood high, and distracting me from the impending reality. In many ways I felt to cry again, and this time it was for the fact this was journey ending. Of course I did not cry, like I said, I am not one to cry so much, and I kept my head held high, right until we arrived back to the village, and we were greeted with clapping and cheers. I even had a very cold beer placed into my hand, which was gulped down in seconds, the beer seemed to taste even better than usual, and I guess some commodities were nice to have back.

And so, we ate the final lunch and our first fresh meal in six days, in the village of San Francisco. Then it was time to say goodbye, and of course I was to be alone once again, ready for the next adventure to begin, the guys all left together, and in that moment, I felt so sad to say goodbye to a group of people that had come to feel very close. I’m not sure that any of them understood just how much they had contributed to making that trip a life time experience for me. I have travelled all over the world, but I can honestly say, that this is a part of the world that should never be lost.

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