Wanderin' Waldo

“I’ve visited some of the world’s greatest waterfalls,” Waldo said. “I enjoyed my visit to Niagara Falls on the border of New York and Canada. I was amazed by its volume and the roar of its waters. I was impressed when I saw Iguazu Falls during a visit to Brazil. I was astounded by Victoria Falls in Africa. But my all time favorite has to be Angel Falls in South America.”

Waldo just returned from a trip to southern Venezuela where he joined a tour group traveling to the famous Angel Falls.

“What impressed me most about Angel Falls was its overwhelming height,” Waldo said. “It’s the highest waterfall in the world. It drops off a rock gorge and plummets for 3,212 feet. That’s almost 18 times higher than Niagara Falls.”

Waldo filled in a little history about the discovery of the falls. “An American pilot was flying around the region in search of gold back in 1937. He was flying along a gorge when he began spotting a series of waterfalls. He was impressed by the beauty of many of the falls, but was absolutely astounded when he saw one that dropped for more than half a mile.

When the pilot told others about the waterfall, few people believed him. So he gave precise direction on how to reach the gorge and the falls. When people followed his directions they found the falls and found that this pilot was not making up stories.

“The Angel Falls gets its name from the unique shape they make as they cascade down the gorge,” Waldo said. “The intense mist spreads out in the shape of wings and the rest of the falls appear to be the flowing robes of an angel.”

Did you catch Waldo’s mistake?

While the falls could easily be described as having the shape of an angel, the name actually honors the pilot who found them…Jimmy Angel.