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.