In 2010 I set off for five months of travel in South America. I had only made a few plans of where I was going to go, and they were very loose plans too! One of the places I never planned to go to was Venezuela.
I knew nothing about Venezuela, I mean nothing at all. During the last two and a half months of my trip, I travelled with one of my best friends. We planned where to go next as we went along and one day sat down with our Lonely Planet to roughly plan out the last bits of our trip as we were running out of time. It was then, that we decided to go to Venezuela, still not really knowing much about it but knowing it was a long overland trip from where we were.
But sometimes, going somewhere with no expectations can be the best choice you make.
We were in the Bolívar region of the country and the natural beauty felt so untouched, so bright and simply beautiful; blue skies, fluffy clouds, lush green and waterfalls were to greet us. 
After a couple of days exploring around Santa Elena, we headed to the famous Canaima National Park. Famous as it’s home to the largest free falling waterfall in the world; Angel Falls. At the time we didn’t quite realise that the beauty of the park wasn’t just down to the waterfall, in fact it was brimming with beautiful sights and the fact that we didn’t see anybody other than the people we were with, made it even more special.
And then, of course there is Angel Falls, which is enough to make your mouth drop open at first sight because it really is amazing!
Venezuela was never on my list but I’m so glad that it was by the end!
Where have you been that has surprised you?
Marcella xx
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Linking up with… Emma, Angie, Jessi & Carolann for #TravelLinkup
WhatAWonderfulWorld 
great post
Thank you!
welcome
This brings back memories. Visited Canaima and Angel Falls on my first trip to SA. Had wanted to see Angel Falls for years and it was worth it.
I loved it too and definitely agree that all the travel to get there was worth it 🙂 Have a great Sunday!
Wow! This makes me realise that I don’t really know much about Venezuela, either! Your photos are all stunning though, as per usual, so now I’m desperate to visit too. I kind of didn’t realise that’s where the Angel Falls are, they look absolutely breathtaking. What a trip!
I think it’s like a hidden secret 🙂 Especially as Venezuela isn’t a great place to visit at the moment due to the political and economic issues, which is so sad!
why is the water red? stunning photos!
Thank you! A very good question, but one I don’t know the answer to… maybe something about the minerals but really, I’m not sure!
ok:)
Amazing!! I can’t believe how free of people all of your photos are! It looksl ike you really had the place all to yourself… Nothing better than that! I would love to go to Venezuela, although right now it doesn’t seem like the safest option unfortunately 😦 For now I’ll live it through these pictures!
It really was deserted, it felt so amazing to be totally in nature. Though, as you said Venezuela at the moment isn’t a great place to visit, which is so sad!
These photos are breathtaking!!! Now, Venezuela is on my bucketlist, too, thanks to your amazing photos! That red sand looks fantastic!
Thanks so much!! 🙂 Venezuela was incredible, but not the safest place to visit at the moment, which is sad. And yes, that red sand really was so amazing!
I’ve always wondered about Venezuela…..what beautiful photos!!
Thanks! It’s nice to show somewhere that isn’t on many people’s radar 🙂
Wow Angel Falls looks incredible! I went to South America last year for 8 months and was a bit too scared to venture into Venezuela alone, heard so many stories about how dangerous it was! But that being said, it surely looks beautiful! I hope I get to visit there one day!
It really is beautiful, but not the safest place to visit at the moment, I agree. I had nothing but great experiences there though and loved the natural beauty of the place! 😀
I dated a guy from Venezuela so went there a couple times, and it’s a pretty incredible country! With very kind people and gorgeous landscapes. We went on a trip to the Grand Savanna instead of doing Angel Falls and I loved every minute and we even got to go part of the way into Brazil. It was a very unexpected place I loved as well!
That’s great, bet you had a really great experience 🙂 I loved it and it’s calmness and beauty, it was definitely a highlight of my trip, and unknown to most too!
Canaima National Park, and Angel Falls in particular, is simply amazing. Beautiful photos and thanks for sharing this, Marcella. I now have another place that I would like to visit some day 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it! I keep putting so many places on my list from blog reading 😉
I’m a sucker for a waterfall — I’ve been known to organize entire days around seeing them, and I love those pictures of Angel Falls! I do think that going somewhere with no expectations can make for a great experience. This past December, my husband and I decided to meet my sister-in-law in Denmark kind of at the last minute. We didn’t have much time to plan or research, and we ended up having such a great time and learning so much. I would hate to miss out on a trip because I didn’t feel like I was prepared enough — it’s so important to be open minded to last minute trips like this!
Aren’t waterfalls so amazing and magical? Totally agree with you; I have done lots of trips with little planning and I’ve never been disappointed, it’s definitely the type of travel that suits me best 🙂
I visited Laos last year on a whim and I was shocked at how much I loved it! I’d never even thought about visiting and now I recommend it to my friends. I can certainly see why you impressed with Venezuela.
I’d love to go to Laos one day, I’ve heard only good things!! 🙂
What an incredible place – absolutely perfect for this month’s #travellinkup!
Thanks Emma! Always love the monthly prompts 🙂
Looks like one of the most beautiful places on earth!
I think it could totally be described as that 🙂
As always, beautiful photographs. What a wonderful place to go with few expectations! Thanks for linking up 🙂
Thanks so much Jessi! Really love your link up as I get so much inspiration from all the amazing posts 🙂