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| View from my walk from town to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 17 August 2012 |
On Friday (17 Aug), after taking the bus out of Chirikayén
for the last time, Kelvis and the two ‘new’ (for me, anyway) Peace Villages volunteers,
Heather (UK) and Laura S (Germany) kindly met me in Plaza Bolívar and drove my
stuff to the foundation grounds for me. Meanwhile,
I chose to stay in town for most of the day so as to take advantage of my last
few moments with some friends from Chirikayén.
Shortly
after I hiked up to the foundation grounds later that afternoon, Kelvis drove
me, Geder, Heather, and Laura S to town to celebrate la Fiesta de Santa Elena, a local, yearly festival celebrating,
well, Santa Elena. First, we stopped by
Tuma Serö for some tapioca (not
pudding, but wraps – see picture below) and frozen jugo de parchita (passion fruit juice) – which turned out to be the
best I had in Venezuela!
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| Tapioca mixta (not pudding, obviously, but a meat/veg wrap), Tuma Serö, Santa Elena de Uairén, 17 August 2012 |
Thankfully,
it stopped raining by the time we finished eating, so we had a chance to walk/dance
through town with the Calipso parade – a huge group of people of all ages, accompanied
by a live band, meandering, shouting, and grooving through the streets of Santa
Elena, bottles in hand. It was a great
time (and I was sober, by the way), but my short videos (Part 1 & Part 2) don’t really do it justice. :/
The next morning (Saturday, 18 Aug), Manfred (the foundation’s
director) and his daughter, Nilaya, led me, Heather, and Laura S on a short
hike through the forest which neighbors the foundation grounds. Following the path of the water pipeline, we
eventually reached and swam in the refreshingly cold, natural pool from which
the foundation’s tap water flows. I’m so
glad I finally got a chance to check out this beautiful area before leaving Venezuela (video here)!
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| Baby tarantulas in their huge web, forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Tarantula web (at bottom of tree), forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Rubber tree – marked by the indigenous so that the gum drips down the tree for collection later on, forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Me (and Manfred, in the background) hiking the small river to the natural pool in the forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| The natural pool where we swam in the forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Trees and vines, forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Enormous (2.5-meter wide) tree, forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Laura S, Manfred, and Heather crossing a ‘bridge,’ forest next to the Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Groucho the cat + snake, Foundation Grounds, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
(Click
here for a video of bachaco ants I made that day, and here for one of the cat/snake
battle…).
That
evening, Kelvis very amicably dropped me, Heather, and Laura S off at the Toros Coleados (another part of the fiesta) – basically, a rodeo wherein the
object of four or five horseback riders is to grab the tail of a crazed bull. There were no seats in the arena, so all the
spectators had to perch on the fence – with one leg on each side, so as to
avoid getting knocked off by the crazed horses or bulls as they rushed by.
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| Hamburger + Polar Light beer (just like a stone), Toros Coleados, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| It may not seem like it here, but that bull was going crazy, Toros Coleados, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Note how all the people are sitting on the fence into which the bull rams its head… Toros Coleados, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Looks like something exploded, not sure why; guess my camera couldn’t handle all the excitement, Toros Coleados, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
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| Hats for sale, Toros Coleados, Santa Elena de Uairén, 18 August 2012 |
It
was an exciting, at times nerve-racking, time; plus, we got to fill our bellies
with plenty of fatty ‘fair food’ – from hamburgers to donuts to tequeños con queso (fried sticks of
dough filled with cheese) – it was almost like being back home in Texas. Later that night, we brought a new volunteer,
Leah (UK), to the foundation grounds, and then I returned to town with Geder
and Kelvis to watch a live folk music
concert (click for video excerpt).
On
Sunday (19 Aug), Manfred took all us girls to a natural pool in Maurak (incidentally,
the same spot where I swam on my first Sunday in Santa Elena) – which turned out to be the last time I got to swim in Venezuela.
:/
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| Look familiar? Same old swimming spot in Maurak, 19 August 2012 |
That
night, we all made pizza together, and the next day (Mon, 20 Aug), I shared
kitchen duties for the last time at the foundation (cooked lunch with Laura
S). That morning, we girls went to the Casa de Cultura (Cultural House) in town
for Spanish class with Karla (apparently Ruben doesn’t teach class at the
foundation anymore…), which was great fun (:.
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| La Casa de Cultura, Santa Elena de Uairén, 20 August 2012 |
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| Heather, Laura S, and Leah in the local biblioteca (library), Santa Elena de Uairén, 20 August 2012 |
After
lunch, a largely new (for me) group of kids came to the foundation for English
class and horse riding, and they returned for more of the same (plus swimming)
the following morning (Tues, 21 Aug). I
was happy to find that not only was the schedule much more organized than
before (at the end of June), but also, the kids were significantly better
behaved. Plus, I could communicate with
them in Spanish incredibly more effectively than when I first arrived in Venezuela!
On
Monday night, I taught my last English class to Kelvis, Geder, and Nilaya :(, and
the next morning (Tues, 21 Aug), happened to wake up bright and early to the
screams of guacharaca birds in the
nearby jungle, which you can hear in this video.
After my last full day at the foundation, Kelvis drove
me, Geder, Heather, Laura S, and Leah to town for my ultimate salida.
We of course had dinner at Tuma Serö
– that time, enrollado mixto (mixed meat – as in, ham, beef, and chicken – pita
wrap) – and then hung out at the Plaza, etc.
I had a blast, and am so happy to have spent my last night in Santa
Elena with them! Thanks again, guys!
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| Enrollado mixto (mixed meat – as in, ham, beef, and chicken – pita wrap), Tuma Serö, Santa Elena de Uairén, 21 August 2012 |
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| My final salida: Leah, Geder, me, Kelvis, Laura S, and Heather, Tuma Serö, Santa Elena de Uairén, 21 August 2012 |
After saying goodbye to everyone on Wednesday morning (22
Aug), I took the 1 pm (24-hour) bus back to Caracas.
We had to take a detour through Los Llanos, a part of Venezuela which I
hope to visit some time next year, due to a broken bridge somewhere on the
normal route, which lengthened the trip by four hours or so…
However, along the way, I soaked in the views, was
extremely comfortable, and met many friendly people, including someone related
to most of my friends back in Chirikayén!
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| View of Chirikayén Tepui from the road on the way back to Caracas, 22 August 2012 |
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| 10 pm dinner: cachapa with cheese and coca cola, Sintillo, Venezuela, 22 August 2012 |
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| Thursday brunch: broasted chicken with black beans, salad, rice, tejada (plantain slice), on the way back to Caracas, 23 August 2012 |
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| Typical Chávez (Corazón de mi Patria – “Heart of my
Fatherland”) poster on the way back to Caracas, San Juan de Morros, Guárico State, 23 August 2012 |
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| View from the road on the way back to Caracas, San Juan de Morros, Guárico State, 23 August 2012 |
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| View from the road on the way back to Caracas, La Victoria, Aragua State, 23 August 2012 |
After
arriving in Caracas
around 3:30 on Thursday afternoon (23 Aug), I stopped by the Centro Comercial El Recreo (a mall – I
basically rode the escalators then left) and then wandered around Avenida Sabana Grande (Grand Savannah Avenue). The latter – a large shopping area blocked
off to auto traffic – was packed with
pedestrians and popcorn vendors – quite the contrast to the toddler-trodden
dirt roads of Chirikayén.
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| Entering Caracas, 23 August 2012 |
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| Back in the big city, Caracas, 23 August 2012 |
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| Caracas, 23 August 2012 |
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| Leaving South America…flight from Venezuela to Trinidad, 24 August 2012 |
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| Entering Trinidad, 24 August 2012 |
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| Leaving Trinidad, 24 August 2012 |
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| Leaving Trinidad, 24 August 2012 |
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| Flight from Trinidad to Florida, 24 August 2012 |
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| Flight from Trinidad to Florida, 24 August 2012 |
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| Entering the United States…home, sweet home? Fort Lauderdale, FL (where I then stayed overnight…), 24 August 2012 |
…Rather
than closing with a juicy bit of info about my next entry so as to entice you
to check back next Friday, now I have to say goodbye – for the time being. Now that I’ve returned to the States, I am on
blog-hiatus, and back to writing articles for Courthouse News Service, until I
return to Venezuela/visit other countries in the same region some time in the near future...
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| Second-to-last flight! from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Charlotte, NC, 25 August 2012 |
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| Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, NC, 25 August 2012 |
And
so, to all my readers, thank you for reading my blog over the past three months
– I hope you’ve enjoyed it; I’ve definitely enjoyed writing it! If you have any questions about my experience
with Peace Villages,
my stay in Chirikayén, or my time in Venezuela in general, please feel
free to leave me a comment or two.
Thanks again and take care! ¡Chau!
