Saturday, June 27, 2009

Los Llanos

We crossed the Andes again, back to the eastern side. We headed into the region called Los Llanos. This is an area that is very flat and most of it floods in the rainy season. (we're at the beginning of the rainy season). It is cattle county, with vast ranches. But it is home to incredible wildlife, especially birds. But we were also able to see anteaters (which were much larger than I imagined, with a great furry tail), caimen, capybara (very large rodent), river dolphins and iguanas. We went fishing for purana, but caught nothing, though one night we did have them for dinner.

We spend two nights in this region. Afterwards we headed to Cuidad Bolivar (this took two days), where we are now. The next week will be full of activities. Tomorrow we leave for a three day, two night, exploration of Angel Falls, the highest waterfalls in the world. Then I'll be doing a six trek to Roraima, the high plateau, with its unique environment.

ps. Because this isn't a tourist country for Westerns, postcards are not available so probably none will be sent out from Venezeula.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Merida Adventures: Catatumbo

All of the group chose the two day optional trip to go from Merida (where we had three days of options) to Catatumbo. This is on the largest lake in South America. There was an hour on a river before we reached the lake. On the river, we went on a leisurely pace to view birds, monkeys and other wildlife. On the lake we went 1.5 hour at full speed to the place where we stayed the night. This is part of the country that few tourists ever go. (Overall there are very few Western tourists in the country--we always seem to be the only ones here! And very few people speak English, but I´m getting by.)

The villages here are on stilts and fishing is the main occupation. The main reason for coming here is to watch the nightly lightning show. We slept in hammocks (with mosquito nets). We went early to sleep--9 pm, because at midnight we were woken to see the lightning show. The night sky is full of lightning. After an hour, we went back to sleep, only to be woken again just past 2am when a huge downpour came down. Again the lightning was amazing. After another hour of viewing nature´s show, we headed back to bed. At this time of year, this lightning show happens every night.

The next morning, we went butterfly hunting. Our guide, Allen, has discovered two new subspecies of butterflies here. He manged to capture one, now named after his grandfather. The color of blue in its wings was very beautiful. He was unable to capture the one, now named after him, because it flies in the high canopy. But we did glimpse it.

Afterwards, we took a tour of slilt village. (Venezeula gets its name from these villages, because in Spanish the name means little Venice). You can tell no tourist come here, because there were no tourists trinkets for sale. This is real deal--seeing how local people actually live.

On the return trip on the lake, we encountered a rain storm. We got totally soaked and the waves were larger than the day before. It was like a free amusement ride. We arrived back in Merida after 9pm. What a contrast between the noise and grime of the city versus the wonders of the nature world.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Beach & Travel Days

On Wednesday (June 17)we left Caracas to Puerto Columbia, which required going through a high mountain pass. We arrived there by 2pm. Our goal here is to enjoy the beach, which is what we did that afternoon and the next day. The waves were awesome to play in--it was like we were kids again. It was a great place to chill out.

On Friday (June 19) we left to go to Barinas. While it was only 530 km, it took us over 13 hours. Why so long? Because of the mountain pass we had to cross again, the traffic in the cities, our breakfast and lunch stops, as well as a grocercy stop. Saturday was another long drive--only 230 km, but we crossed the Andes. As a result, it took 7 hours. But the scenery was specatular--where we had lunch was simply amazing. We´re now in Merida, which will be our base for activities for the next several days.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Caracaus Concrete City

Well, I have managed to figure out how to log in on a computer, with Spanish instructions.

As I mentioned in the comment section, I arrived safely. The plane landed around midnight and by the time I went through customs and did the taxi ride to the hotel it was 2 AM when I could hit the pillow. But at least, I survived the taxi ride. While you do have to be careful around the city, I am staying in the safest part of the city. At nights, I have been people watching at the Plaza (public square) till 8pm, without any sense of danger. The metro (subway) is also clean and efficient.

The biggest challenge has been the cost of things in Caracas. It´s very expensive here, especially at the official bank exchange rate (about 1US to 2.1 Bolivar), while the black market rate is 1 to 5. So for example, a Big Mac meal is 35 Bolivars, which at the offical rate is over 15US dollars. That`s typical. Even at the black market rate it is 7 US dollars. It should become cheaper once we leave the city.

As for Caracaus, it is a Concrete City--a very busy commerical city. The old heart of the city has very little of the colonial era. While a few churches do date back to the 1600's, most of the buildings around them are modern buildings, in poor conditions. Today, I went up Mount Avila by cable car (with fellow travellers) and got a great view of the city. But I will ready to leave the city tomorrow.

I have met my fellow passengers. There will be eight of us, plus two leaders, in this leg of the journey.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Sabbatical Sojourns

It's the day before I leave on my 11 week journey to South America. The office has been cleaned, as well as the house. The bags are nearly packed. And the summer student has arrived. I'm ready to go. But why this Sabbatical Sojourn? Why to South America?

I have developed this itch for traveling. It really only began in 2000, when I did a five week exploration of Europe and Egypt. Since then I've done some major trips, including southern Africa for nine weeks and Australia for three months. Each time you think you're in the trip of a lifetime and that this trip will be the last major trip. But one trip just spurs you to do another.

And so now I'm on my way to South America--Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina. Why here? Because it was an area of the world I had not explored. (I have been in Peru but that will be very different than this region). Asia is the other part of the world I need to visit, but the climate fit better for SA. (Asia is heading into Monsoon season). But after SA, South-East Asia will be high on the list of areas to explore--perhaps Thailand some winter.

Why now? Well, I've been in Williamsburg for 4.5 years. A good break will allow me to come back refreshed and rejuvenated. It's like getting a new start, but already knowing the lay of the land. A good break allows me to break some of the ruts I've been in (eg. like my messy office), and come back with renewed vision to work on certain areas of ministry.

I hope to update this blog at least once a week, depending on availability of Internet access. In this way, family and friends can follow my sojourn. I don't know whether I can post any pictures. That requires too much time and high speed connection. Besides, I don't want to spoil the Dessert Social.

For those who want to know more about the trip, they can check out the Dragoman Website. The journey code is JBV and I am on the June 16th departure from Caracas. (I am arriving in Caracas a few days early in order to acclimatize to the 30 degree plus weather.)