Venezuelan traffic

We witnessed a small traffic incident the day before yesterday in La Guardia. A car turned left on a street came in on the left lane and hit a motorcycle. No one was hurt and the car driver quickly came out and helped the motorcyclist on his feet, and then returned to drive away.
During the whole operation the car driver never put down his open beer bottle from his hand.

La Guardia

We have moved for a week to the coastal village of La Guardia, where we live confortably in the posada of an ex-pilot. Yesterday we had a great day, touring the mangrove swamps in a tour boat and visiting the marine museum.
You can check out the posadas home page te see how we live:
http://www.posadadelcapitan.com/
The posada is situated just outside the national park of La Restinga.

Dont mention cheese in Juan Griego

We have spent three days in the soft little coastal town of Juan Griego to watch the sunsets. Nice town, the chinese own and run all the supermarkets, but here there is also a substantial number of arabs owning the shops with clothes. However, since we realized there is no fridge in our posada, we will move on tomorrow, to Posada El Capitan, in the coastal town of La Guardia a few miles down the coast.
Venezuelan food culture centers around the panaderia, with fresh bread, cakes, cheese, ham, coffee. I bought some groceries yesterday and was about to pay at the counter when I spotted the cheese "La vaca que rie".
- How much is that cheese? I asked in Spanish.
The cashier bent down and took up a bar of chocolate and put it in front of me.
- No not chocolate. I wonder about that cheese, in the round box.
She bent down again and took up a different bar of chocolate.
- No the cheese. Queso. La vaca que rie. The round box. How much?
- I dont know, she answered.
- You dont know?
- No, no idea.
- But maybe someone else who works here knows? I tried.
- Maybe. I have no idea who that should be.
- OK, just the bread and ham then, thankyou.
She looked very relieved.

Keeping it clean

We have a cleaning lady at the posada who is absolutely marvellous. Not because she loathes cleaning, but that she manages to keep her full time job without executing it. She has only been in our room once in two weeks, and that was merely because we almost forced her into it. However, the job she made then was so feeble (changing sheets and towels only), that we quickly realized there is no point in putting pressure on her. She has probably leant that if you dont clean the rooms for some days, the guests will inevitably do it themselves. Now we have bought our own broom, and Emily borrows the cleaning ladys untensils, when we need it. She is happy to lend us the stuff, and has somewhat excused herself by explaining that she has a bad back, that refrains from doing her job. Only in Latin America, friends, only in Latin America.

Animal farm

The day before yesterday we noted that big flying ants in large numbers were making their way into our bathroom. It turned that the outside wall of our flat was covered with thousands of fleeing ants, stirred from their home by an afternoon irrigation effort, and now desperately looking for a new home. The hotel management allowed us to change room, and when I returned to our old room to pick up things, a lizard was sitting on the table sticking out its yellow tongue towards me. Blimey.

Blackout by the beach

Yesterday we had a electricity blackout after dark. We lit candles and had supper in the dark, listening to the waves against the shore. In 2 hours the power was back on. We have also had a gas stop for some hours another day and several water stops. These incidents certainly are healthy reminders of the half modern conditions that so many in the world live under through the years. Most live in a distortion of modern western ambitions of infrastructure. Power, gas, water, its all installed, but not maintained and not sturdy enough to have functions that you can trust.

Under the palmtrees

We have spent this week lounging by the beach. In the mornings we eat breakfast outside our room, ten meters from the sea. Tea, but without milk, since president Chavez has introduced popular and populist price controls on goods like milk and eggs (cheered by the crowds) until it has predictably resulted in that these goods disappear from the shops. So far we have only been able to buy two litres of milk during our time here. Its a lottery, if you happen to pop up in the shop when there is a delivery, you grab two subsidised packs of milk and smile.
Otherways our days are nice here in Pampatar. The fishermen maintain their boats, bring in their catch and a nice mix of families play in the sand. The atmosphere friendly, relaxed. Several rich people from Caracas return regularly to the posada La Bufonera, to relax from the tension in the capital. We spent an hour one morning watching one of the posadas house cats play with a cockroach. One of the house cats look like Hitler.
The girls love to play in the sand and in the sea, and Lily has made some friends by the beach, but unfortunately only day visitors in Pampatar. The children in the public playgrounds are nice, but the playgrounds rusty and littered. Alice´s world is smaller, with more limited need for friends in her age. Emily has been marvellous in adapting to the simple life, her experience from Oyugis has made it possible for her to make excellent meals on our simple stove. We have found a nice flat to rent in the rather elegant and guarded block of flats named Terrazas de Pampatar, overlooking the Carribean sea and with a big private swimming pool. We are scheduled to move in the 1st of Nov.

Chavez show every night

El presidente, Mr Chavez is on television every night (almost). He rants for hours about the Revolution, that Venezuela is to create a new socialism, do away with individualism and capitalism, and actually create a new human being. Yesterday he even sang a capella for several minutes. Lily complains and demands to see the childrens channel. I tell her this IS a childrens program. The chubby geezer in the red shirt is telling fairy tales.

On the beach in Pampatar

Alright, yesterday we moved from our suite on the 6th floor to La Bufonera, a posada situated on the beach in Pampatar, about 10 km from Porlamar. The settings is very much classic carribbean dream, a soft, sandy beach, palmtrees shading a couple of beach restaurants serving fish that the fishermen in wooden boats catch at dawn. And we wake up in the morning overviewing the sea. Plus around 80 cable channels on a small TV. However, should one take away the beach and the sea one would notice that the room we live in has a kitchen and sanitary standard probably levelling the Abu Ghraib prison in Bagdad. Coming from the jaded luxury we experienced in Porlamar, it will take a while to adapt. Anyway, we plan to stay here for two weeks, and during that time make efforts in getting a more permanent place with more advanced facilities.
Some time ago the Chavez government inposed a fixation of prices of several goods. That has now resulted in several shortages of classic socialist style. The shops seldom have fresh milk. But prices are very cheap of most goods, food, living, taxis etcetera.
Anyway, Charles and Amber, the San Francisco couple we met on the boat from Trinidad and reconnected with in Cumana, have their own travel blog:
http://charlesthelucky.blogspot.com/
Check it out, and fat big ups to you both, Charles and Amber, I hope you´ll make it all the way throught the Amazonas without serious problems. Well keep checking yout blog!

First day in Porlamar

We have arrived in Porlamar, Isla Margarita, and are spending our first four days in Howard Johnson Tinajero Suites. It is a hotel built in the seventies, with swanky suites that have maintained a marvellous seventies atmosphere. You feel like Roger Moore will slide through the corridor any moment, on his way to the pool bar. And our view is amazing, 180 degrees, where we can see the carribbean sea as well as some poor peoples backyards with water pumps and corrugated roofs, just beside our hotel. Following the bad hangover from yesterdays problems, our matrimony had an irritated morning, but we eased up somewhat after being able too book three weeks living at a Lonely Planet-recommended posada with kitchen, situated right on the beach. The posada is called La Bufonera and is close to restaurants but a few miles north of the bustling downtown Porlamar, in the neighbouring village of Pampatar.
Even though we have been distressed about the mishaps, we are greatful that the girls are so happy and feel well. No stomach problems or diarrea, even though Alice has this kamikaze behavious of trying to chew much of what she can get her hands on.
And the atmosphere in Porlamar is better than on the mainland, the security is better, but most of all, the air is a lot cleaner. In Cumana, perhaps every second car was an old US car, with no catalytic exhaust cleaning, and the city itself rather resulting in a rather unhealthy atmosphere.

A terrible day on the mainland

Yesterday was completely disastrous. Not only is the loss of my Nikon camera (forgotten in a taxi) a enduring grievance, we have now realized that a substantial lump of dollars have gone missing. The only place it could have happened was when i was strip search by the military police three times the first day in Venezuela. The rest of the week all the dollars was in the safe. When we realized what had happened yesterday, we were very depressed, irritated, and on top of that, when we were to take the ferry to Isla Margarita,we had gotten the departure time wrong, and had to wait for another four hours before taking the late ferry. However hanging by the Marina Plaza in Cumana wasnt to bad for Alice and Lily, they enjoyed one hour with teletubbies in an internet cafe and let them play in the advanced and air conditioned MacDonalds playground. Here in Venezuela, the MacDonalds is a rather expensive middle class reserve. In the US its completely different, where people who go to MacD are what you might call the riff-raff. La chusma! Here in Venezuela simple people cant afford MacDonalds hamburgers. They eat arepa, which is the local staple carbohydrate, flat buns of maize and potatoe meal, that are normally fried. Its like fried ugali (the ever-present revered east african staple food) Anyway Nelson, big thanks to you for helping us with everything, and patience while driving us here and there.
This has been a costly adventure. Maybe Richard Branson feel like coming to our rescue.

By the poolside

We have spent five days in Cumaná, are getting to know the place and people. On the ferry to Gúira we met a young american couple, Charles and Amber, who came to see us in Cumaná yesterday. They had remembered the name of the hotel (San Francisco) and since Charles had taken sick, they stay in Cumana for some days to rest. It was great fun to talk to them again. We spent the evening in a nice restaurant and will se them again today. And today the manager of the posada (hotel) called Betsaida, who is hooked up with the swiss owner, let us use her card to lounge in at the swimming pool in a five star hotel, Cumanagoto.
However, we have also had some problems. Alice had stomach pains yesterday night but she is over it now. And I have lost my camera, probably forgotten in a taxi. This is a great setback.
Anyway, we have decided to move to Isla Margarita on Thursday. The reasons are three, well four actually: 1. We are in desperate need of lodging with our own kitchen, to be able too cook our own food. 2. The air in Cumana is bad, because of to much heavy traffic, and it limits our lives. 3. The infrastructure for tourists is almost nonexistent in Cumana. 4. We want to get a place closer to the sea.
Sunday, in the marvellous Mochima park, with its fascinating archipelago, was a taste what we want to get more of. We got there thanks to the steady flow of tips from Nelson, a venezolan who answers most questions, has shown us a lot and even knows a smithering of norweigan.
Anyway, on Thursday, we will take the ferry to Isla Margarita, and from there on we will be staying in Howard Johnson Tijuanera suits in Porlamar (the main town). However we will try to look for some other apartment, that is a bit cheaper than Howard Johnson.