Hotel Don Juan Merida

... beans will do very nicely later on. We ate the menu del dia
at a little place in the bus station yesterday, soup, fruit juice and
a main meal (we both had steak with rice and fried plaintain) and it
was very reasonable, 14 bsf each, that's about 2.50 usd.



Fruit and vegetables do seem to be
fairly reasonable and abundant. The avocados are HUGE and bananas,
(yes, we've managed to get over our south east asia over ...

We arrived off the night bus from Maracaibo at around 6.30am. Throughout the night the air-conditioning was on so low we had to put every piece of clothing we had in our day sacks on just to compensate, fortunately there was no-one trying to sell anything on the bus. The last bus we took to Maracaibo had a guy who stood up for 40 minutes, like a market trader, selling toothbrushes and toothpaste. No joke. Merida is a university city and is also the adventure capital ...

... are protesting for everything. If it rains - they protest. If it shines - they protest just the same. This is a university town with a students' problem, among other. I don't want to be a drama queen, for I still remember the way things were in Bulgaria when I was in my twenties. There were street protests, and buildings (notably the Communist party headquarters) set on fire, and gang members being shot in broad day light on ...

... Bier, Rose, Tintefisch, Schinke-Chaes¨Sandwich.... ALLES D-eli und ich sind daenn au ganz muetig gsi und haend ois en Baecher mit 4 versch. Sorte teilt. Schwarzi Bohne, Gurke, Muesli und Dattle. Toent so harmlos wies isch. mir sind ebe doch es bitzeli z-aengschtlich gsi zum oeppis wie Fleisch oder Fisch probiere... Nach dene zwei Taeg, woni wuerkli sehr gnosse han, simmer daenn wieter zoge. und zwar richtig Maracaibo

... and son on a self-maintained and self-sufficient plot of land...where they grow all their food. They decided to cut themselves off quite significantly from society, and are followers of Sai Baba - a Hindu spiritual teacher/leader. I couldn´t believe that in all places, I found devotees of Sai Baba in a small mountain village of the Venezuelan Andes. I had a tough time explaining to her what the NGO I will be working with actually do...as she was very ...

... I was totally winded and had the metallic bloody taste in my mouth that I have only gotten previously from running too hard. We descended to the third station at 4045 metres, next to the beautiful lagoon, and began our walk over the saddle and down to a little mountain village called Los Nevados, passing up the offers to go by mule. The third station is only a bit lower than the fourth and walking up to the saddle peak was a real struggle. Never in my life have I ...

... off to have a look at another hostel, which we eventually find a space in, and we drop the bags in order to see what Merida has to offer, later finding out that it is the holiday season for Venezuelans, thus why the place is so busy!. We spend the afternoon looking at a number of different tour companies, trying to decide what to do. Kev is up for "EXTREME" stuff whilst Rachel is a little more wary. Finally we arrive at Arassari Tours, and are met ...

... is being erected right in front of you. "Hey Omar, I´m thinking about putting in a second garage," or "Yo, Omar, do you think these stilts will support a third floor?" After chatting a bit longer, we eventually give up, retiring to our hammocks for the night. But we were both pretty silent the next day. Sara craved the lightning bolts we saw pictured at the tour agency and I couldn´t stop thinking about El Congo. Do they have a ...

... til en bjergsoe hvor vi skulle fiske vores aftensmad. Desvaerre var det kun Kristian, som fangede en fisk. Saa vi blev noed til at koere ned og koebe noget mere mad. Fredag var vi igen ude at ride, men denne gang paa nogle lidt stoerre ponyer og i nogle mere flade omgivelser. Jeg har aldrig redet saa staerkt i galop foer. Helt fantastisk! Efter planen skulle vi tilbage til Chichi efter rideturen, men stoerstedelen af gruppen valgte at blive i Merida for weekenden ...

... the courtyard was swiftly turning into a large pool. The little old lady who lives at the posada asked me to clear the drain cover so as to let the water escape quicker (another use for the multitool). Luckily the rain lightened up as quickly as it began and no big damage was done. Still in darkness I took off the top bit of my torch and stood it on the table and ta da! Instant lamp. We settled in with some of the other travellers on the covered part ...