La Tercera Semana

The past week has been fairly uneventful since the beach, but here are a few thoughts. I have been making many adventures al Centro as well as some other spots in town in an attempt to get to know the city, which has been pretty successful. I have gotten to know the bus system pretty well and it´s actually kind of fun. Instead of a few buses that run on fixed routes and go down main streets at fixed times, there are infinitely more smaller buses that run on pretty much every street except the most side of side streets. They belong to about five different companies rather than just the one transit company that most US cities contract with, so they have some of that good ol' capitalistic competition going on. Although there are official stops, you can usually jump on at an intersection or wherever the bus is stopped. When you want to get off you yell “la parada por favor” (stop please) or “donde pueda” (where you can) if you are not at an official stop and then pay 2.5 Bs. or about $.17. They usually play some pretty good tunes so it´s a very entertaining ride. There is a young couple that rides the buses and plays tunes on the cuatro so it's always exciting when you get on those buses. I thoroughly enjoy going around town via the buses, shopping for fruit or vegetables, and using my Spanish skills.  My favorite new fruits are parchitas and guayabas, which are both pretty citrusy. Supposedly you can find them in the states, but I have never come across them. Unfortunately you need to wash all fresh produce with hot water and vinegar to get rid of parasites. The other day I was feeling low on veggies, so I bought a couple broccolis at the Mercado Principal and have been eating those and some cashews for lunch. The lunches at VENUSA are pretty good and only cost about $3 a piece, but I like to switch it up. We ate lunch at McDonalds the other day, so I have been apologizing to my body ever since. The McDonalds sandwiches actually resemble the advertisements, which caught me off guard. It was about as expensive as in the states, even with the good exchange rate, meaning it is extremely expensive for the locals. Last night we went to an heladeria (ice cream store) known for its hundreds of flavors, including salmon, tuna, and viagra. They usually only have about ten on display at any given time. I was not feeling like whiskey, rum, or coconut, so I opted for the old standbys coffee and chocolate. I´ll be more adventurous next time. The ice cream here tends to be grainy and less creamy, but still tastes great. For this weekend, we had been thinking about making a trip to Parque Nacional Sierra la Culata, one of two national parks close to Mérida. We went to the other one, Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada a couple weeks ago (see Páramo post), but only really spent a few hours there. Since this would be our first trip without a guide, I wanted to get a map that I could use with the compass I brought. I went to about four different places without success, but finally had some luck yesterday at la oficina de INparques (Instituto Nacional de las Parques). I think in an attempt to boost their tourist industry and the money that goes to guides, they do not make maps as readily available as in the states. They told me to come back at 9AM this morning, which I did and got a very detailed map for $3! It took about five minutes into the conversation for them to ask, “¿De dónde eres?” which is my new record. However, last night one of our group members decided this would be a good weekend to climb Pico Bolívar, the tallest mountain in Venezuela (16,300 feet) since it is about a four day trip and we have next Monday and Tuesday off of school for Carnaval / Ferias del Sol and would not really have another chance. Most of us agreed, me included, so that trip might be happening this weekend. We are still waiting to hear back about guides. It would only be about a two day trip if we could use the teleférico, the longest and highest in the world. However, about six years ago, a support pole broke and many tourists and locals alike died in the accident. They are still working on fixing it, but I am not trying to get near it anytime soon. Anyway, we´ll see what happens this weekend. If we don´t climb the mountain, we´ll spend a couple days trying to get the best out of Carnaval (basically a five day weekend of bull fights and drinking), and then head up to la Culata on Sunday and do some camping. Either way, I´m excited!