Spa Weekend

This past weekend I had a fabulous spa weekend in the mountains. I am quite sure that all spa weekends are probably fabulous, but this might be my only chance to ever experience it.  I spent the equivalent of $70 on a two night stay with all meals included, two anti-stress massages, and a full body exfoliation/hydration. I can't even imagine how much that would cost in the States! So I am thankful that I get to experience it here.

Why didn't I do this every weekend???

Romantic Dinner 

Walli and I, yes obviously I went with Walli, left for Colonial Tovar after school on Friday. We split a taxi with two other teachers, but our arranged driver canceled the morning of. Luckily, we were able to snag another one at the last minute and we made good time to the old German town. Our spa was outside the city and we were the only ones there that night. They gave us a snack as soon as we arrived and then we got to have dinner by an open fire.


In the morning, we got up and did yoga before breakfast and we were still the only ones in the whole place. It was amazing. The grounds at the Renacer Health Spa Center are beautiful and it's quiet and extremely relaxing. I got an anti-stress massage after breakfast and then lounged in a hammock and read until lunch time.

My spot for most of the weekend

After lunch, we got a ride into the town of Colonial Tovar, which has German roots. It is really strange to feel like you're in Germany, but in reality you're in Venezuela. Colonial Tovar is a confused place. We walked around so I could see the city, but there isn't much to do besides shop and eat so shortly after we left the craziness of the tourist town and walked back to our oasis.

The Church

The afternoon was just as relaxing as the morning. They served us smoothies in the jacuzzi and cake with hot chocolate in the hammock. Because it is located up in the mountains, the temperature there was so cool where you needed a light jacket. It was perfect for reading all day! I got a full body exfoliation and hydration treatment and then we ended the day with a live violinist during dinner.

Everything was outdoor

Sunday morning we woke up for yoga before breakfast again. I got another anti-stress massage so I could gather the courage to pack up and get ready to return to Caracas. After lunch, the same taxi picked us up and drove us back home without any problems.

Back to reality: Four more weeks until summer!

The Dreaded Clinic Visit

I just have to illustrate what it's like to go to the doctor here…again. Without giving you too much information, last week I thought I might have a bladder infection and so wanting to avoid the clinic as much as possible, I self diagnosed myself and started taking antibiotics (that I had been saving incase of another sinus infection). When my symptoms were still present a couple days later, I decided I should probably see a real doctor. So I asked the secretary at school to schedule me an appointment as soon as possible with a general physician because it's near impossible for me to do with my limited Spanish. She got back with me telling me she couldn't get an appointment until nine days later… and recommended that I talk to the school nurse… That was unacceptable for me. So I had to request that she try another doctor or another clinic so that I could be seen earlier. She came through and got me an appointment for two days later, but forgot to ask if the doctor spoke English… (Luckily he did).

The main reason I want to avoid the clinic is because it is not unusual for one appointment to take 4-5 hours of waiting, as has happened to me the past three times (and I don't want to be sick). My appointment this time was scheduled from 3:00-5:30pm because in Venezuela you don't get a scheduled appointment time, you get a block where you put your name on a waiting list and it's first come first served. I think this is a cultural thing because Venezuelans are never on time but I find it extremely annoying and very inefficient. Anyway, I was hopeful this time because I figured the office must close around 6pm so the most I would be waiting was two and a half hours, not too bad! I took my book and I was mentally prepared.

I was second on the list and I only waited an hour and a half! I was so impressed. The doctor was really nice and wanted to do a thorough job so even though I did not have to wait long, I was at the clinic until 7:30 pm. And in the end he said I should just finish out the week taking antibiotics. After that I went to the pharmacy to get an over the counter med he recommended but they didn't have any. I felt so bad when they didn't have any medications the old man next to me needed. There were about six on his list and they said, "No hay" to every single one :(

Another issue I have with going to the clinic is the insurance claim following your appointment is also a pain. Before you can get refunded for any money you spent, you have to go back to the lab and pick up your results (which involves waiting of course) and then get another appointment with your doctor so he can fill out the paper work stating the results (which involves significantly more waiting). I'm debating if it is worth it this time for me to file a claim. They probably won't even have it processed before summer anyway.

In the end, I am glad I went to confirm that I did not have anything seriously wrong with me, but I do hope to avoid the clinic for the next 25 days that I am here. The trip was not a complete fail either because I got the following pictures that are a bit amusing:

My "Pee into a Cup" Kit - Notice the
mysterious clear liquid that I am supposed to clean
my lady parts with that is covered with foil and tape…

"Please do not take the toilet paper thanks!" - Dated so they
can keep track of it

The Filing System...

...Seems legit to me

     

Puerto La Cruz

May 1st is Workers Day in Venezuela (it's basically the rest of the World's Labor Day) so we had a three day weekend! So a few weeks before I tried to get some plane tickets to go to the east coast, but there weren't any… The flight situation here is just annoying. Luckily a friend was able to arrange a taxi for Walli and I to go visit friends in Puerto La Cruz. It was about a five hour drive and we left right after school on Thursday to avoid as much traffic as possible. Our driver was out of a Fast and Furious movie and we got there in five hours despite hitting the always unavoidable traffic. You might be thinking how expensive it would be to take a five hour taxi ride because in the rest of the world it would be unaffordable. It cost us $15 each (one way) and we reserved two seats each so we wouldn't be squished in with strangers. It turned out to be easier than taking a flight anyway. Our driver, Erik, picked us up at our apartment and dropped us off at our friend, Gwen's apartment. We passed seven military check points along the way, but only got pulled over once. Erik took care of everything and we just sat in the car silently and there weren't any problems. He was very nice; once, while we were in stopped traffic for 30 minutes he wouldn't let us get out of the car (probably didn't want to bring attention that he was driving two gringas) so he got Walli's sweater out of the trunk for her. So we shared our snacks with him. Most of the drive was in the dark so we didn't see much, but there were so many fires along the side of the road and in the mountains because everything is so dry. The smoke was pretty thick in the air and you could even smell in from inside the car. It was pretty disgusting, but I guess it's a normal occurrence when there hasn't been any rain.

Gwen teaches at the international school in Puerto La Cruz and her apartment was so nice! It had all new appliances, nice furniture, and air conditioning (how luxurious!). Right outside her balcony was the canal and behind that, the mountains so it was a much better view than we have too. She lives close to a strip of stores and restaurants so we were able to walk to dinner before bed. It was nice to be in an area that is considered safe enough to walk around even after dark. It really didn't feel like we were in Venezuela still.

I wouldn't mind this view everyday!

Friday we walked to the beach near her house, rented an umbrella and some chairs, and spent the day lounging there. It wasn't the nicest beach I've ever been to, but it just made me realize how happy I am with my decision to move back to Jacksonville Beach, I miss living by the water so much. The mountains that surround Caracas are beautiful, but the water is just so calming.

On a nearby jetty

Puerto La Cruz is a heavy oil area so out in the bay, there were about twenty oil tankers waiting their turn to be filled at one of the two filling stations along the coast. They ruined the view a little bit, but I was still relaxed to be by the water.

Flying the flag

Saturday we had rented a yacht for the day! Apparently, in general, Venezuelans do not like to share bad news... So it was Friday evening and our friend Erin, who had reserved the yacht, called the company to check if it came with coolers and ice or if we should bring our own and the man nonchalantly says that the captain was in a car accident and will not be able to take us on the water anymore. Was he planning to let us know before we waited all morning for the boat to come? Who knows, but luckily some other teachers at the school have a boat and offered to take us out instead. It wasn't a yacht but it was still a lot of fun.




First, we drove out of the bay area and went into the waters of Parque Nacional Mochima. We followed the dolphins for a while, they were so playful!

Dolphins!

Rough Life

Then we stopped in an area of the park called El Morro and dropped anchor for the day. We had lunch and made drinks and soaked up some sun. There was some coral so you could snorkel around the boat. Well while the owner of the boat and his son went snorkeling, the anchor must have come loose because the boat drifted quite far from shore and since us ladies were chatting away, we didn't even notice until someone said, "Umm does anyone know how to drive a boat?" Around the same time, the owner of the boat noticed from shore how far we were and had to swim out to save us.

El Morro

We returned the boat back to the private marina that the teachers have at their apartments, which were even nicer than Gwen's. Their complex has three infinities pools and they have an uninterrupted view of the bay. I had to say, if I taught at their school, I would probably be staying another year.

I really miss having a view of the water

On Sunday we went up to into the hills of Los Altos de Sucre to a local pottery barn. An artist couple runs their business out of the barn by their house and everything was just so unique and beautiful. We all stocked up on one-of-a-kind pieces. I got five pieces of ceramic art for a whopping $30.

Pretty tree

Speaking of inflation, before Erik took us home (he was two hours late to pick us up so we weren't going to share our snacks, but in the end we gave in and did), he had to fill up his gas tank. For a full tank and a tip to the gas station attendant, it cost a total of $0.03! Yes, three cents. Even at the official exchange rate, it's only fifty cents. It is truly just unbelievable.