Trip report for Windjammer Cruise s/v Mandalay - Grenada to Venezuela June 9-18, 2000
By Ron Mullenax
Friday 6/9/00
Left my home in Cleveland at 5:15 for 7:10 flight to Miami. From Miami on to San Juan, then on to Grenada.
Arrived in Grenada at approximately 8:00 PM. Long Day!
Mandoo (Mandoo@caribsurf.com - http://www.grenadatours.com ) was our tour guide and also picked us up at the
airport. Customs were no problem. Short 15 minute ride to the Flamboyant. Check-in was smooth.
Dinner at the restaurant at the Flamboyant was also good (BBQ mahi-mahi).
A couple of Caribs after the long day then off to bed.
Saturday 6/10/00
Mandoo picked us up at the Flamboyant at 8:15 am....Off on a day long tour of the island.
Visited a spice plantation, Concord Falls (great swimming there), a rum distillery (free sample...very strong),
the rain forest, and a home cooked Grenadian Meal at Champfleurs. The food and service were very, very good!
I highly recommend Mandoo to anyone visiting the island....he showed us just about everything and was very knowledgeable
and patient with our requests. Saturday evening was spent back at the Flamboyant...more Caribs
and dinner (again very good).
Sunday 6/11/00 (STOWAWAY NIGHT)
Walked the beaches on the Grand Anse Bay side for a while. Walked down the street about a mile (maybe less)
and bought pastries and coffee. Came back to the Flamboyant and walked further up the hill and down
the other side to Mourne Rouge Bay and Beach....very nice. It rained some, but that didn't stop the
Caribs from going down. We also ate lunch on the beach. Very nice beach...came recommended by Mandoo.
3:30 - Rode back down to St. George's harbor to take photos and look around before boarding Mandalay.
5:00 - Stowaway party is beginning. Rum swizzles....(watch out for these...got me this time).
Yankee Clipper was docked beside Mandalay and Capt. Neil visited during dinner. Band played onboard
Mandalay and passengers from both ships partied. Toured Yankee Clipper while docked and had a few
drinks there as well. Had way too much fun this night and paid dearly for it the rest of the night
and most of Monday....oh well, guess I still haven't learned that lesson!
Monday 6/12/00
Still docked in Grenada. Seems 40 of our fellow passengers flight from San Juan was cancelled...so we
are waiting for them to arrive. They arrive around 10:30 am and we set sail around noon. First leg of
the trip to Los Testigos is long...about 100 miles. Sailed all evening and all night arriving early the
next morning around 6-7 am. Ride was definitely rougher than anything I experienced on the Poly last
June. Many passengers are a bit queasy and the rocking didn't make my recovery any easier. But by early
evening (snack time 5:00) I had to try the BBQ wings. They were excellent and I was well on my way to
a full recovery. I swore no more alcohol the rest of this trip.....(well, at least it made me feel better
to say it at the time.)
Tuesday 6/13/00
Los Testigos (FINALLY) - We did the Death March to the top of the mountain (very aptly named...be ready to
work and sweat...take plenty of water). Not all who started the trek finished and for those who did finish
the last hurdle was even more challenging (a climb over a boulder by pulling, tugging, kicking or using
whatever means you could use to get to the top. About 20 feet straight up. Once on top the views were
spectacular. You could see neighboring islands and beautiful remote beaches. It was worth it! Then the
hike down the mountain, not as hard, but loose rocks and cacti make caution necessary. At the bottom a
refreshing swim in the clear waters.
Back on board Mandalay and another launch later we are on the beach in Los Testigos. It is a very nice
beach some snorkeling was done, but the wind was relentless. Sand was pelting everyone so it was somewhat
hard to enjoy the beautiful surroundings. After the beach back on board and set sail for Margarita. More
rocking, but a shorter sail tonight only 40 some miles. Dinner was good and held in the galley.
Wednesday 6/14/00
Woke early for breakfast...today is Angel Falls. Because of the fact that we left a day late from Grenada it seems
the tour for Angel Falls can now accommodate as many people as want to go. 40 people decide to go (3 planes).
I was somewhat concerned before taking the tour (mostly about the aircraft and their safety records), but I highly
recommend this tour. We flew on a 14 passenger single engine aircraft. Two hour flight over main land
Venezuela was mostly cloud covered. We were told on departure that there was a 60% chance of seeing the falls.
The cloud cover on the way in didn't look very good for our chances. Two hours in to the flight the pilot
signaled Angel Falls 5 minutes. Everyone had cameras and video recorders ready. We see it! It is somewhat
cloudy, but not enough to block our view. Spectacular sight! We circled 3-4 times (no one seems to be really
sure how many times with all the 4G turns) but I was able to use 3 different cameras (video, digital and 35mm).
After the falls we flew down over the rain forest and did a low level (tree top or below) flight over the river
before landing in Canaima. The landing and flight were all very smooth and exciting. The excitement shadowed
any danger that might have been felt. After landing we were taken to a location to store our extra clothes and
any extra equipment we had. We then went to a canoe staging area to cross Canaima Lagoon. Two spectacular
water falls dump in to the lagoon (this site alone is very impressive). We cross in front of them and land on
the other side of the lagoon (short ride of about 7 minutes...safe with life jackets). We then exit the
canoe and hike to El Sapo Falls (about 20 minutes through rain forest terrain). No extreme heights or
extremely strenuous hiking. Just a little wet and hot! About 10 minutes in to the walk you can begin to hear
the roar of El Sapo. It is another huge waterfall with millions of gallons of water pouring over (mostly in the
rainy season). You stow all cameras with a guide who will carry them in a plastic bag. You'll need both
hands to hold on to a rope and guide yourself along the cliff under the falls. I don't have an exact measurement
as to the distance, but it was further than I had expected (maybe 70-100 yards). Not sure about that though
(at times it seemed much longer then that!!!) Most of the walk was rather easy...just water spray and the
deafening roar of the falls, however three different areas within the walk were much more difficult. This was
due to the high volume of water or spray or the narrow area of passage. At times it takes your breath away and
is impossible to see or communicate and hard to breath. Just face away from the falls and use your hands to
find the rock ledge. I used one hand to shield my eyes and mouth as our group seemed to move slowly and I kept
getting stuck for periods of time longer than I desired in these more difficult areas. It was very exciting
and you get very wet!!!! After passing through the falls you climb a wet hill to get to the top so that you
can get a good view of the falls and the surrounding valley. Very pretty, nice photo opportunities here.
After photos are done...its pack up the cameras, down the hill and back under the falls again. This time I
know what to expect and I pace myself away from the slower people. Much easier (still lots of water, but no
getting stuck in bad areas this time). Don't let my description scare you away from this tour.
It is very exciting and will be remembered for a lifetime. Just use some common sense and listen to the
guides....face the wall, don't walk if you can't see and use the rope when it is available.
Our flight back was smooth and we landed back on Margarita in time to enjoy the costume party on the ship.
Dinner and drinks for all who enjoyed the Angel Falls experience (there I am drinking already)!!!!!
A band came on board and played during the activities (good band).
Thursday 6/15/00
Short sail from Margarita to Playa Blanca. "White Beach" Great spot, nice snorkeling, cold Polars (beer) and
great lunch on the beach at the local restaurants (Logastinos...spelling?) Large shrimp were very, very good.
We had lots of sun, snorkeled to the right side of the beach. I seem to always sink, but the buoyancy here was
very good. Just float along and watch the fish. Dinner was brought a shore. We had a great BBQ on the beach
with a local band. Very nice.
Friday 6/16/00
We are in Mochima National Park, dolphins are a long side Mandalay as we sail through. We stop at Arapo for more
beach time and snorkeling. Later in the afternoon we sail in to Puerto La Cruz. We go a shore and have Dinner
at the Besaro Grille. Dinner was long (about 3 hours...very big production). Food was ok, steaks very, very rare.
After dinner we walked along the shops and vendors. Even at 11:00 pm little children are out playing. A little
different than my usual experiences. Nice items (pearls, crafts) can be purchased from the vendors. Midnight
is the last launch back to Mandalay. Capt. Matt informs us on Friday that our Air Aruba flight on Saturday has been
cancelled. We now have to fly from Barcelona to Caracas and Caracas to Aruba. This causes us all (about 28) to miss
our connections. Air Aruba and Windjammer arranged our accommodations and provided for dinner and transportation
on Aruba. (more on that later). Friday night is also crab races and the raffle. Both are lots of fun and we do
good in both events. Almost too good in the raffle as some of the other passengers groaned each time our room
number was selected (oh well, guess that is what $40.00 in raffle tickets will get you!!!)
Saturday 6/17/00
We leave Mandalay and say our good-byes. Two short flights later we are in Aruba.
We stayed at the Sonesta Resort and Casino. Very nice...took the boat over to the private island owned
by the hotel. Went around to a few of the local establishments, lost money in the casino and bought the customary
T-shirts. Very good for a free night stay!
Sunday 6/18/00
Flights from Aruba to Miami and Miami to Cleveland go smoothly. Back home after a great adventure (9 flights, 9
different airports and about 17 hours of total flight time).
