I’ve been back from Guyana for a couple of months now.
(Sorry for the blog hiatus – I’ve been trying to get my life in order. Key word: trying, lol.)
I just want to start this post by saying that I *fully* recognize the wisdom and insight that is TLC’s 1994 hit song “Waterfalls” …
Parachute pants, crop tops, 90s hair – and wisdom.
But my FAVORITE thing we did in Guyana, as far as *traveling* and *exploring* was go to Kaieteur, the world’s largest single drop waterfall by volume.
So thanks, TLC.
I sincerely appreciate the warning about chasing our intangible dreams without regard for the consequences.
But in the case of Kaieteur and actual waterfalls… we’re gonna have to agree to disagree.
Because it was amazing and 100% worth chasing.
And lemme tell ya – some pursuit was necessary. Because Kaieteur is pretty much smack dab in the middle of nowhere.
It’s in the Amazon rainforest, and even though it’s located less than 150 miles from Georgetown (the capital of Guyana), the journey takes FIVE DAYS by land (+ boat).
But this short distance becomes an almost week-long journey because there’s a major lack of roads and infrastructure in the country.
And also because a majority of Guyana is still relatively unexplored!
So instead of taking 5-6 days to machete our way through broccoli trees, we took a day trip with Evergreen Adventures that reduced our travel time to an hour. (Yes please.)
We boarded a tiny airplane that fits about a dozen people and made our way to the Potaro-Siparuni region of Guyana.
I (obviously) took the opportunity to record a Dubsmash.
As we took off, it was really cool to see the city of Georgetown from above.
And of course, as we got close to Kaieteur, it was SUPER COOL to see the waterfall from the plane.
Just try to imagine – Kaieteur is four times higher than Niagara Falls!
So even though our tiny airplane seemed more like a toy than a thing that should be allowed to transport us across great distances of unexplored territory…
When we landed – I was feeling like we just took an extravagant jaunt in a luxury G6.
When I first showed my mom this video, she thought it said “like a cheese stick” 😂
When we landed at Kaieteur National Park (feeling so fly), we grabbed some water (sippin’ sizzurp), and met up with our guide.
And then we got started with our hike through the Amazon rainforest.
Yes, it rained. (Hellooo the *rain* forest.)
But it was remarkably cool compared to the roasting temperatures of Georgetown. And mosquitos were practically non-existent due to hangry, carnivorous plants. (A thing I never thought I would be grateful for.)
Plus, while hiking through the Amazon rainforest, I (obviously) chose to record a Dubsmash.
We saw ants the size of quarters, ridiculously loud native birds, and teeny frogs the size and color of yellow M&Ms.
(Note: They may look like M&Ms, but do NOT eat the golden rocket frogs.)
And of course, after a relatively short tramp through the underbrush…
We got to see the magnificent Kaieteur!
I may have gotten a liiiittle over-excited. (Shocker, I know.)
But it was *~gorgeous~* and totally worth the trip in a tiny plane over large swaths of untamed land.
Kaieteur is 822 feet tall – which, for the record, is crazy tall. (That’s four times the height of Niagara Falls and twice the height of Victoria Falls.) But it’s actually a combination of the height and the amount of water flowing over the edge that makes it one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world.
The average volume of water flowing over the falls is somewhere around 23,000 cubic feet per second (a thing my brain can’t fully comprehend).
And even though we all know how astute and insightful TLC is…
Idk y’all – maybe *DO* go chasing waterfalls…
Sometimes it’s pretty worth it!!
Leave a Reply