Whole
day at top of Kaieteur Falls
[stay in Guesthouse]
Monday, April 1st, 2002 - Sunrise. Despite our weariness, we all were rather excited to hang out around the falls. As usual, the day started out with a bath in the river approximately 20 feet from the falls though for some like myself, something a little more up close and personal was in order. Noticing my clumsiness while on the hike, one of the porters was a little concerned and asked me to step away from the edge of the falls. But the grandeur of the falls doesn't hit you unless you're up close and personal. It was a beautiful morning.
Mornings at Kaieteur are misty. It's almost magical. I constantly felt like I was in Lord of the Rings. It's composed of primeval rainforest and areas that very few human beings have traversed. The quiet is remarkable and all you can hear is the sound of the rushing water plus an occasional eagle, toucan, or monkey.
The area that contains Kaieteur Falls is a national park visited by more researchers than tourists. Still there is a sign that states - This magnificent waterfall's width varies from 250 feet in the dry season to 450 feet in the rainy season. It has a perpendicular drop of 741 feet before it cascades a further 81 feet to the gorge below, thus travelling a total distance of 822 feet. Kaieteur is twice as high as Victoria Falls and almost five times as high as Niagara Falls. The park ranger who lives in the Guest House took us on a tour of the grounds and highlighted some of the foliage that surrounds this magnificent site.
This tiny golden frog lives in the crevices of one of the rainforest trees. It is a highly poisonous frog so our park ranger warned us to jump back if it jumped towards us. Administered in the right dosage, the poison of this frog can put you in a state of trance almost indistinguishable from death.
This bright red fungus is a flesh eating fungus!!! Yeah, me too - I jumped back and moved far away until the ranger mentioned that the flesh it regularly consumes is that of mosquitoes, flies, and other bugs.
After our casual hike around the top of Kaieteur, we head back to the Guest House and change into our bathing suits for an afternoon dip. The warmth of the sun contrasted well with the coolness of the flowing stream. Sun bathing was definitely in order after 2 days of hiking in rain. Boy was this a treat!
