kaieteur/orinduik

i went to kaieteur and orinduik falls today. it was lovely. it's too bad i like boys so much, because i think i could totally enjoy a life by myself, doing my own thing. when i got picked up from my hotel this morning, there were already two boys waiting in the cab i was to get into. i immediately asked if they were german. yeppers. they were so big and blonde and volleyball-ish - if not german, they had to be dutch. but germans seem to travel more than the dutch. anyway... at the airport, i saw a girl named catherine from toronto, who i had met on the bus last month. she was going on the tour too! nice to hang out and chat. it was really good to talk to someone who understood about needing space, and not liking to cook, and not liking being hassled in markets (she and i both prefer north american supermarket shopping).

kaieteur falls (the highest single-drop waterfall in the world, at 741 feet) was pretty amazing, but when we got right beside it (we had gone to a few spots further away to take pictures), i was more interested in a puddle with hundreds of tadpoles (who were all eating something egg-sac-looking) than the giant waterfall itself. there's a neat documentary featuring the waterfall, called "the white diamond." you should watch it. the falls are named after a patamona chief, "kai," who threw himself off the falls to appease a spirit, "makanaima." "teur" is just patamona for "falls."

we ate lunch, and then flew to orinduik falls. i got to sit right in front of the plane, next to the pilot! he even let me fly for a little bit! i know that sounds childish. but it was neat. and as if y'all aren't jealous.

orinduik was rad too. we got to swim in the falls and climb all over them! i love love love swimming and exploring. one of my most favorite things is when grown ups get to explore the world like they are kids. there's this cute image in my head from my ghost river rediscovery training, when some of the girls (my age) were all in this canyon-y thing that was usually host to a waterfall, but that part of the year it was dry. they were all crouched down and hushed, examining the rocks like little girls, and the rocks in the mountain (which we had been taught are our "grandmothers and grandfathers") were all watching. so neat. so anyway, i liked swimmin' around and climbin' on the rocks and hiding underneath a rock and watching the waterfall from behind. it seems like in north america we're not really allowed to play in waterfalls. they are all behind metal fences, with big signs that say "DO NOT LITTER" and "STAY BACK" and "SLIPPERY WHEN WET." there are souvenier shops nearby. not here. i like being trusted enough to enjoy nature, and given space enough to learn how to respect it. *pictures on facebook. go there.*

the bina hill truck won't get its licence/regisration until tuesday, which means i can either spend $9000 GUY on a bus back to the interior, or $9000 on a hotel room for two nights. i think i'm going to stay here, though, because "phagwah," a hindu holiday, is happening on monday. basically the holiday is all about running around wearing white, and everyone throws powdered paint and water on everybody else. they do it in georgetown, but there aren't a heck of a lot of hindus in the rupununi. fun times.