It shouldn´t be this difficult...

So yesterday I went to Valera to get a few things. I got a late start because I was supposed to go with Francisco at 11, but at 10:53 he decided he couldn´t make it. So, I set out by myself.

Anyways, to get there from Carorita requires catching a transport jeep to La Puerta and then a van or bus for Valera. It’s pretty simple, but it takes about an hour and a half with all the stops. After I ran my errands and visited the internet café in Valera, I headed back home.

Every time I’ve made the trip from Valera I’ve gotten on a van that then drove straight to La Puerta. So when the van pulled into a town, I assumed that it was La Puerta. This was confirmed when I saw the town square next to the church and police stations. As it is most convenient for me to get off at the last stop in La Puerta, I stayed put in my seat. Of course, then the driver proceeded to steer the van back onto the highway and head straight out of town. I was a little confused, and by the time I got him to stop and let me off we had gone at least a mile up the hill. So I began to hoof it back down.

So 30 minutes later, I walk into the town square in La Puerta. Only, it looks a little different. That’s because it is the wrong town. It´s Mendoza, which I´m guessing had the same city planner as La Puerta. At this point I started to curse. So I figured the only thing I can do is turn around and start walking in the direction I just came from and hope that another transport van drives by and picks me up. An hour later, at least 10 of them have driven by, but the problem is that none of them have picked me up. Are they full? Not all of them. Do they hate gringos? Maybe. Is giving the thumbs-up hitch-hiking sign and waving your arms really offensive in Venezuela? It´s entirely possible.

So at this point its pretty dark, I´ve nearly been hit by at least 5 cars, I´m pretty sure I´m not even close to La Puerta yet, I´ve got flip-flop blisters between my toes, and I´ve already missed the last transport up to Carorita. Oh, and at one point a little dog attacked me.

Finally a truck responds to my waving and slows down. I ran up and saw a middle aged guy with his family. I ask him if he can drive me to La Puerta, and he responds, in perfect English, ¨Of course, no problem!¨. He is exactly the 4^th Venezuelan that I have met who speaks English. I hop in the back and after 10 minutes at 60 mph have confirmed my suspicion that I was not even close to La Puerta. Then, when I get to the transport stop in La Puerta, I see a man whom I had met before who also happens to be going up to Carorita. He tells me there is another kind of transportation that will take us, which turns out to be I think an old army truck.

Anyways, I made it home. The best part was when I explained what happened and Emilio made me set it out.

I’m not sure yet if this affects my plans to take a long and complicated trip to the coast by myself. I mean, how hard can it be?

More Photos

Hola. I was able to post some new photos today when I was in Valera....check them out through the link on the right.

This week Adones and his wife Patricia returned to the house with their 4 year old Santiago and their newborn Isabela. There are now 12 people living in the house, and Auxi is pregnant with number 13. I love having the new folks around, especially Santiago. It just doesn´t get old watching him slug Stewart.

There was a request for more details concerning the food, women, and pets. Well the food is pretty good. I´d say at least 70% of what goes into my mouth is an arepa (The law of diminishing returns does apply here....but when in Rome....). Besides that there is lots of rice, plaintains, chicken, potatoes and other hardy stuffs. Not a lot of salads. (a bit surprising given most people make their living farming lettuce, spinach, and cabbage) My favorite thing is a bowl of corn flakes with powdered milk and previously boiled water. Also, the hamburgers are good, but it always throws me off when they ask if I want a meat or a chicken hamburger.....why would I order a hamburger if I wanted a chicken sandwich?

There are tons of dogs around. At our house we have a german shepard and a rottweiler who like to fight each other, so they have to stay penned up separately....definitely not part of the family. But other people treat their dogs like we do in the states, only they tend to keep the dogs outside. My favorite dog is called Beethoven....i think he got into a fight last year so now one of his ears is always flopped over like a lab´s and the other sticks up like a boxer´s.

In other news:

• It seems to be pretty funny for the locals every morning when I go jogging. I don´t think they do much of this here, plus the road is really steep and I´m always wheezing, so I get lots of ¨that gringo is strange¨looks. (For those that aren´t aware, I´m running at least a mile a day for 2007 to raise money for my friends at Orphanage on the Rock in Haiti....if you want to contribute, let me know!) But yesterday, about halfway up the hill, I came upon a couple of local guys. One of them (we didn´t exchange pleasantries) was still passed out in the muddy dirt road at about 10. The other guy, Nelson, had removed his friend´s watch and seemed to be under the impression that it was a cell-phone. I´m not sure who he was speaking to on the watch, but I ended up having a nice conversation with him/her as well.
• I will always laugh when somebody meets Stewart and says, ¨¡oh, Estuart Little.....el ratón!¨
• There´s probably not a better value out there than a dvd including 5 Chuck Norris movies for the equivalent of $2.30.
  
• One advantage of having a really old car is that if you are turning around, and there is a wall of earth behind you, you can just back up until you bump it....no problems.
  

Ok, hope everyone is well. Until later....

-Coop

1-0!

So the college football season started a few days late down here, on Monday. That was when Stew and I were able to get to Valera to watch the first Auburn game on the internet. We were lucky to get a ride in the back of a friend’s pickup truck for the hour-long drive. At the time Stew remarked that it is a different way to get to the game, although now I realize that traveling via truck bed isn’t that unusual in Alabama. Anyways, at least watching the game in an internet café is a different way to watch. The game had been over for 2 days, but I had no idea who had won. I managed to get the game playing even though I was shielding 95% of the screen so as not to accidentally see the score. About 10 seconds later, the final score scrolled across the bottom of my screen. I spent the next three hours pretending to be really tense for Stew’s sake. Even though the surprise was ruined, I was really glad to be able to watch the game. I’m also glad to be in a place where I don’t have to hear what I can only assume is a ridiculous amount of over-optimism by the bama fans.

Ok, on to the more important stuff.

• I never thought I’d see it, but it is possible for a man to wear a white denim jacket and be a cool guy.

• Every time someone here wants to get on a public transportation vehicle, they first open the door and peer inside as if they are asking themselves, “is this thing full already?”. Then, every single time, they crawl in. I understand them getting in, but what’s with the curious gaze? Come on people, you’re not fooling anyone.

• Acceptable going-out attire for guys here includes capris, a sweatshirt, and a fannypack in case the pockets of the capris aren’t large enough. Also acceptable is a nice shirt tucked into adidas soccer shorts.
  

• One day I tried to take a shortcut from my friend Alexandro’s house back to my house. Within those 150 yards, I was attacked by one dog that fortunately was chained up, I fell in the mud, and then I was attacked by another dog who was also tied up. Thanks to everyone who was pointing and laughing.
  

• The other night I was sitting around talking with some friends when one girl made some kind of dumb comment. Then, without any hesitation, another girl looked at her and told her to set it out. At least now I know that I’m giving something back to the people here.
  

Ok, thanks for reading, I´ll write again soon.

-Coop-