The big excitement two weekends ago was that one of Cesar's pigs (yes, Cesar raises pigs) gave birth to a bunch of piglets so we went to the ranch (about 30 minutes away by car) to see how they were doing. While we were there, we took advantage of the opportunity to ride horses, something that I had not done in at least ten years. It was awkward at first but I seemed to get the hang of it quickly. I think I look like a natural on the horse (hint of sarcasm.... I know you like the hat). Cesar and I just rode the horses around the ranch which is mostly pasture where cows graze but also has wooded areas scattered about where all sorts of animals live. At one of the ponds there lives a baba, which is a smaller version of a crocodile - I didn't try getting too close to take a picture of it (almost in the very center of the picture you can see her little head sticking out of the water). And then the highlight of my day was that I saw a monkey family, which was my first time ever seeing monkeys in the wild! (hidden in the tops of the trees, found here in the very center of the picture, note the tail... it was hard to get a nice shot while on a horse) It was a nice to be in a different environment and enjoy being in the outdoors, something I should do more often.
After not seeing Cesar for about two months (due to travel and work), and as a celebration of Cesar's birthday, we decided to get away for the weekend with some friends. In many ways it was quite a contrast to our trip to Pui Puy this time last year where we camped out on the beach. This year we decided to see what the "VIP" version of the Caribbean coast would be like. Situated in the mountains/ rain forest/ beachy area in the state of Sucre, this is a unique way to appreciate Playa de Uva. The remote location was beautiful, but the attention we received (i.e. breakfast delivered to the cabin Sunday a.m.) completed the experience. We enjoyed the view of the beach and valley area from the cabins along the ridge of the mountains above. Despite the overcast, rainy weather due to some neighboring tropical storms, we still had a great time. We just missed seeing the sea turtles that nest all along the beaches by about a month and a half. Next time we will stay longer, make time to see the turtles, and of course check the weather first!
Since my arrival to Venezuela, I have been introduced to a variety of new foods. From arepas (sort of a corn bread patty commonly eaten with cheese) to empanadas (cheese wrapped in corn bread and then fried), tequenos (breaded cheese) and cachapas (corn bread pancakes), I have found some delicious options (and yes, corn and cheese are a common theme). Other everyday eats include various cheeses (especially fresh natural cheeses), tomatoes, plantains, beans, yuca, potatoes, eggplant, squash, eggs, etc. I have been "reintroduced" to something called quesillo, which when I ate it in Nicaragua was a tortilla filled with cheese, onions and sauce, and eaten out of a plastic bag, but here quesillo is what we recognize in the US as flan.... they share the same name but are very different foods. Going to the grocery store, I am able to find new things I've never heard of before, as well as some items that I am familiar with from home. Unlike the US, where you can go to the store at any given time and find exactly what you're looking for, it's taken some getting used to walking in and never knowing whether you will find what you are looking - I've seen shortages on basics like sugar, coffee and milk (thanks to a certain socialist president) and other changes in the kind of stock they have. As far as a sort of "hometown favorite" like Skyline, I have yet to find anything that would equate. The national dish, a favorite across the country, includes shredded beef, black beans, rice and fried plantains. I have been served this dish with shredded plantain skins to substitute the beef..... mmmmmm, interesting. Meat is a dominant item in Venezuelan dishes, so it has been a challenge to adapt to, especially when people here have such a hard time understanding the concept of vegetarianism (I have come across only one native Venezuelan vegetarian in the past year). The topic of my vegetarianism comes up frequently at social gatherings (barbecues, etc) and restaurants, and it was especially awkward going to the hamburger stand across the street for the first time. You may ask why I would be going to such a place, but it turns out that Venezuelans eat much more than beef, lettuce, ketchup, cheese and pickles on their burgers. Ingredients range from fried eggs, bacon, shredded carrots, crushed potato chips, various sauces, etc. I of course ordered everything but the meat items. Well, it was a memorable experience.... And just this past weekend we made our own version of hamburgers at the house - this time Cesar invented a sort of veggie burger made with beans. Needless to say, it has taken some creativity and patience to come up with options and I am still trying to figure out how to feel normal as a vegetarian in a country full of meat-eaters.
I don't know how much news about Venezuela you all may get, but this is a big topic of discussion here these days. I came across this article that does a good job of summing up the situation: International groups worry over Venezuela's stance on free press ...I'll let you form your own opinions. I would have posted yesterday, but with the power going on and off all day yesterday, there wasn't much I could do.... more stories about that later. I'm still open to topic suggestions and will be posting about them soon.
So I realize its been a while since I made my last post.... recently it has been relatively quiet for me, and it looks like this weekend will be more of the same. Things are wrapping up for the school year and I will be heading home to Cincinnati in about a month, which I am very much looking forward to. Before my return, however, I would like to do a few more posts. Maybe regarding everyday sights, the new foods I have been introduced to (a.k.a. how a vegetarian has survived in a country where anything meat is the main part of the meal), reflections on my year in Venezuela, etc. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to hear about/ if you have any topic suggestions.
As if I haven't had enough adventure during the short amount of time that I've been in Venezuela, the four days that I spent in La Gran Sabana (the Grand Savanna, a.k.a. Canaima National Park) opened my eyes to yet another great part of Venezuela. Located in the southeastern part of the country, La Grand Sabana is a national park known for landmarks like Angel Falls (the world's tallest waterfall) and Mount Roraima (a tepuy which is believed to be one of the oldest land formations on Earth) which people from all over the world come to experience. We were only able to cover a small area of the park, which is said to be the fourth largest national park in the world. Cesar and I set out last Wednesday after work driving about 2 hours to Puerto Ordaz where we stayed the night at Cesar's grandparents' house. We woke up bright and early the next morning to drive more than six hours to reach the park itself. It was amazing to see the change in landscapes as we drove, from farmland to mountains to rain forest and finally savanna. Our original plans involved visiting El Pauji, but the rain and dirt roads did not permit, so instead we stayed at Kama Meru, a place along the main road that Cesar has been to on each of his visits to La Gran Sabana. Here we set up camp and met up with some of Cesar's family friends. In the height of the tourist season, it was very crowded and it was hard finding the right spot to place our tent among all the others. Our second day we enjoyed swimming and taking pictures of the huge waterfall at the camp and set out in the afternoon on a short hike near the camp. Upon returning from our hike we met some friends who were brave enough to take on a trip to Mount Roraima. The third day we enjoyed a nice big breakfast and made our way to the Brazilian border, which was a relatively short drive away from where we were staying. We crossed just long enough to take some pictures and buy a few souvenirs. I can now check off another country from my list of places to visit!! And to keep with the international theme of the day, we stopped at an authentic Chinese restaurant to eat dinner on the way back to our camp. We stopped along the way back to camp to see the sun set - incredible to see all the colors across the savanna. Upon returning, we found that the campsite had calmed down quite a bit as many campers began heading back home. Our final day in La Gran Sabana began with a big breakfast and then packing up to make our way back to Maturin. We couldn't resist making a final stop along the way to go swimming at a site that has a much smaller waterfall and swimming hole. Altogether this was another amazing trip and I hope to return to La Gran Sabana soon because there is so much more to do. Anyone like to join??
Living in Maturin puts me in a great location to travel to nearby towns on weekend trips. A two hour-car ride north takes us to a mountainous region where we can do some great hiking. A few weeks ago we went to las Puertas de Miraflores, which invloves crossing a river several times to reach a scenic area where you can go swimming. Unfortunately the river was too high so we were not able to make it all the way to the end of the trail, but it was nice to just be outdoors. This past weekend we did a bigger trip in the same region to hike through the mountains to a huge waterfall called El Chorreron. Day 1 we hiked up to the top of a mountain where we camped out overnight. When we made it to our campsite, we were literally surrounded by clouds, which blocked out our view of the surrounding mountains and small town below us. Within a matter of minutes though, things cleared up and before I knew it we could see mountainside farms, rainforest-covered mountains, a lake in the distance, and the waterfall that we would be going to the next day. We tested out our camp stoves, avoided getting rained on, and rested under the stars. Day 2 we made our way up and down mountainsides (with packs) to reach El Chorreron, where we stayed just long enough to take pictures and turn around. According to the GPS, we covered about 20 Km (about 12 miles). A very exhausting trip but certianly worth it to be outdoors and see more amazing parts of this country. Here are some pictures from this past weekend.
So this is a couple of weeks late, but its still worth posting. I had a very nice birthday celebration with a homemade dinner and birthday cake. Here are some pics...
Carnaval was celebrated this week and most people got at least Monday and Tuesday off from work, so Cesar and I took advantage of this free time to get to know a new part of Venezuela - The Autana Tepuy. The Autana is a sacred site to the Piaroa (indigenous people) that live in the region, who believe that the Autana is the Tree of Life, from which the well-being of the society and its surroundings originate from. For its sacredness, those who are not members of the indigenous community are not allowed to climb the tepuy itself. Instead, we are allowed to climb a neighboring hill, which in itself is an awe-inspiring experience. This became the central purpose of our trip, but we saw many other amazing things along the way. The trip was not only incredible in terms of the landscapes we were surrounded by, but also the people. Such an experience would not be possible without the openness of the Piaroa community, which is incredibly in touch and thrives off the earth as it has for thousands of years, but in modern times has opened up to outside influences - everything from cell phones to Direct TV, but most significantly, tourism. Our tour group stayed in two different areas that belong to the indigenous community, and our tour guides were Piaroa. Not only did these guides speak their native dialect, but also Spanish, English and in some cases more languages depending on where tourists come from (mostly Venezuela and Europe). Few tourists come from the US out of a misguided fear of the presence of the FARC in bordering Colombia - so I was one of the lucky few who got to see such an amazing sight! Our travels began Friday night, driving 3 hours in the rain to make it to the bus station in Puerto Ordaz (the closet one that has a bus going to our destination). We barely made it to the bus in time, but 12 hours later we were in Puerto Ayacucho. From that point we left on boat, where our adventure officially began. Our Boat
We spent most of the day Saturday navigating upriver to the site where we would stay the first night.
Sunday morning we woke up and continued upriver until we reached the indigenous community that is situated on the river and has a perfect view of the Autana.
View of the Autana (far right) from where we were staying:
In the above picture you can see both the Autana Tepuy and the hill that we climbed up is just to the front/left of it. Sunday afternoon was the intense 2 hour climb through the rain forest to the top of this hill. This picture (below) is taken from the top of the hill, where you can see where we were staying and where we began the walk (shores of the river, as close to the hill as possible).
And finally, the Autana as seen from the top of this hill:
For as much traveling as we did, I just wish we had had more time to enjoy what we saw there. We left the next morning with many pictures and stories to return home with. Its hard to explain everything that we experienced, but this at least sums up some of it. *more pictures and details about the trip can be found on facebook ** not sure why... this was posted months ago and then somehow went back to draft status
So the big news in Venezuela is the upcoming elections on Sunday. You may have heard that Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez is again trying to get to vote to amend the constitution so as to remove limits on the number of times an elected official can stand for election - a move that even Chavez's "idol" Simon Bolivar would disapprove of. The idea is that Chavez wants more time to be able to carry out his 21st Century Socialist Revolution, whatever cost to Venezuela's democratic constitution that may take. Both sides seem to be passionate one way or the other. Everywhere I go, cars, walls, buildings are covered in either signs for SI (those for the amendment) or NO (those against the amendment). Many indicators are showing that the NO vote will likely win, but whatever the results, the future of the country will be significantly impacted. More background info
I have come across an English language website that offers news and opinions about current events in Venezuela (I must point out that there may be a good deal of bias in some of the articles, but its better than no news at all) - www.venezuelanalysis.com
While baseball is still considered the national sport of Venezuela, soccer has been gaining popularity. I've never been to a real soccer game, so I took advantage of the opportunity to see the Venezuela's under-20 team play Colombia this week. It was a close game, but in the end, Venezuela moved on to the next round of the tournament.
This past weekend we went on a fishing trip where we camped out on a farm and fished on Rio Tigre. It was nice to do something different and spend time outdoors. The river, from our campsite
Well, classes have started back I've been quickly reminded of how much of a handful the first graders are. While it can be difficult at times to get 21 kids to listen and cooperate, it has been a lot of fun to get to know the personalities of each of these kids. This is a picture for a rare day when not only all the kids got to play a game, but the director of the school was able to join in as well. More pics from around the school...
I was fortunate enough to make it home for the holidays and spend time with the family. While I've stepped way out of my comfort zone in my travels, it's always nice to feel at home. I ate some of my favorite foods, caught up with friends, and just enjoyed being able to take some vacation time. I returned to bitter cold weather and even saw snowfall on a couple of occasions - quite a contrast to the 80 degree tropical weather that I have become accustomed to. One of these days the travel will be smooth... on the way to Cincinnati, I was on 4 separate flights in less than a day - Maturin to Caracas, Caracas to Altanta, Atlanta to Lexington (diverted after a delay getting into Atlanta), and finally, Lexington to Cincinnati. On the return to my "second home", I managed to not miss any flights, but had to rush through the airport to avoid that, again, after a delay getting into Atlanta! I made it to Caracas around 11:00 that night, stayed the night, went to a mall and saw a movie, and took a very uncomfortable overnight bus ride to Maturin. Since then, I've been catching up on rest, unpacking and preparing myself for school, which starts back on Wednesday.
