Pamplona and area

15.05.11

Here's another university city right up there in the mountains. Here, wwe're 2600meters up in the andies. I can really tell and feel I'm back in colombia: people are nice, and wearing traditional Ruanas in the streets. Since I lost my Qantas airlines traveling blanket at Caracas international airport, I'm thinking about getting a woolen ruana for the rest of my trip. Its goignt os tart getting cold as I make my way down south, and this city seems to be the perfect place to find one.

I'm makig the most of this place to go walking up in the hills. With the company of a 25 year old engineer in electronics that i met here, I walked up to a lagoon where we found a boat just sitting there on the bank. We hoped in for a ride to get across to the oods on the other side. It was only on our way back doown the mountain that we came across a farmer ho told us that the boat was no longr in use since they had to go fish it out of the lagoon. Ita had already sunken once....

W were starving by the tie we got back to the vilage we'd started from; So the same farmer invited us into his house for some food. He'djust been fishing in the lagoon and had caught a huge red fish that i'd nevr seen before. We did't get to eat the fish that time. instead, his wife offered us this really thisck soop made with the usuall stuff they eat here. So rice, potato, platane, and yuca allmixed together. There was also a bone foting in my bowl, but with no meat on it at all!

Contact me

15.05.11.

Got a new charger for my phone. I'm now reachable again on my french mobile phone number.? hone will be on constantly.


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In order to contact me:

- it can be as simple as leaving a message on this blog. You don't need to have your own blog to do this. You could just type your name in so that i know whos writing. Or you could just write anonymoyusly.
- you can send me an email> ally7567t_ACSJC@hotmail.com
- I use both a colombian and a french sim card here. I can receive text messages sent onto my french telephone> it will cost you no more than sending a text message to any other mobile phone in Europe. I can also receive messages sent to me from websites such as www.textograto.com. Using this will cost you nothing except for a bot of time. don't forget to sign your message after typing it in, so that i know who it is actually giving a damn about where i am!!!!

I hope to hear from you all very soon!

Back in Colombia: Cucuta

Got back to Colombia. Suddenly feels like home. Im more acustomed to the way people behave, I know what to expect from people in the streets. Feels much safer for one thing. And I have a bit more money to spend here.

I'm in cicita. Its a city on the border with Venezuela. Not sure there's anything interesting here. People are nice that0s for sure. I'm thinking about catching a bus to a small mountain village called Pamplona, then move on to Silos: only 1300 ihabs. Should be able to camp there. But above all, there're some anciant pre colombian graves there I d like to see!

Will let you know. Loads of fotos on their way, Just that people don t seem to have computers at home for me to use....

Merida

10.05.11.

I arrived in this city yesterday. Its a small city of 400 000 inhabitants. most of which are students. Did really inmteresting stuff here too. To start with, I live up in the hills, in the country side. View is fantastic.



Cool things I did here in less than 24 hours, most of it is experiencing student life in an extra socialist country:

- went to a union cinema that cost 1BsF for a ticket, You never know which film its going to be, but apparently, its always interesting. This time, it was a french film. Josiane Balasko was speaking spanish. "Le Herison." Strongly recommended. There were two electricity cuts in the city during the film. The organisors went out to find an electric generator to finish playing the film

- Introduced to an old lady of 90 years old, who livesin a century old house in the country. We had a good chat about her fascinating life as a religious missionary in the venezuelian jungle.



- assisted a university seminar of a very fameous philosopher called José Manuel Briceño Guerrero, from Universidad Los Andes de Merida. HE masters something like 20 different languages, including amndarin, hebrew, latin, persian etc... During the seminar, he spoke to me in absolutely all the languages I can speak, and he speaks them all really well. Topic of the 4 hour course was a poem by Goethe. Erlkonig, which will certainly remind William and Christopher of the years spent with Madame Couloumie.

- Ate lunch at the student union. HEre in Venezuela, not only is education COMPLETELY free for everyone, but food at the uni restaurant is free as well. And since everybody here is so good at making the most of the system, they all eat two or three servings!

Caracas

08.05.11

I left caracas. So many things to say that here is just a list of what happened. Will give more details upon request, or you ll have to wait for the pictures.

- visited a Bario (thats the venezuelian word to say "shantytown") called "23 enero". 350 000 inhabitants live there. Even had luch there in someone's house!
- celebrated my birthday party with more than 30 people singing some sort of Venezuelian birthday song.

I ended up staying there much longer than i d originally planned.


In the Bario









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04.05.11

I've been in Venezuela for the past week, and my opinion about this country has changed radically. Here's something strange that I've only ever experienced in this country: people that at work are despicable. But the same people in the streets, outside all working conditions, are the nicest in the world. While working, people will never ever give you clear directions, when they're off work, they could litteraly drive you to the place you want to go to.

After the plane landed from Cuba, I was able to check my email at the airport. No internet in Cuba... people don't have it coz it still costs what it used to cost in europe 15years ago. 10 dollars a minute or so. And well, reeived this eail saying i had this urgent piece of work to hand in. and ince i don't have quite the right conditions to write, I stayed four days and three nights at the airport, just coz it seemed like the better place to stay for it. Free access to th internet, food outside sold by epeople from the bario, and toilets were clean! i niw know what tom hanks felt like stuck in the USA...

Since I've figured out that people were atually nice here, I've decided to stay a few days. I didn't have many american dollars when i got here. pitty coz the rate of change is really interesting. 8 BsF for a dollar instead of 4.50bls if you got o an official exchange office. After the death of Bin Laden, value of the dollar even went up to 12bsF, and the euro went up to 15!!!! Anyway, another new experience: I was robbed for the very forst time of my life. Guess what?! It was the police who robbed me! I only had the equivalence of 30dollars US to have ripped off me - a rather good and interesting eperience for what I payed for it., but that would have enabled me to live another 2 weeks here! Now I have to use my credit card, and the place is suddenly much more expensive...

However, I'd like to stay till saturday before I head down to Merida. There's a party on friday I want to attend. I've made friends here and they're inviting me to it. Meanwhile, I've been visiting museums. Since this is an extra socialist country (that uses Cuba as a model of society), well everything is free of charge. Paradise for a bakpacker! I really don't get why there are't more visitors here. But better off that way, I'd rather people were afraid and didn't come, rather than having foreign people walking around with ice cream cones and sun glasses, speaking loud voice in the metro.

It's raining today. I was meant to go out with an urbanist to take some pictures of the "barios". (Venezuelian equivalent of the Favellas inn Brazil). i real pitty it was cancelled coz of the rain. would have been a unique opportunity to see wht life is like for the major part of venezuelian population.


Picture of some buildings in the center of Caaracas. Made me think i was in the Fith Element (Luc Besson)




Metro de Caracas





Center of Caraccas, old city - Capitollo

Traveling tips - lesson 1: dealing with the police

I've encountered many strange situations while traveling, and one of the main issues of any traveler is most likely to be the risk of being robbed. There are thieves like you see them in movies with knives and stuff, and there're the ones you come across when you're really traveling. The first ones probably do exist. Fortunately, I've never encountered them before, but I reckon you find them in particular places, like dark streets, large cities in the middle of the night, when nobody is watching. Best is just to avoid those places. Most likely, the thieves that will rob you will be completely unsuspected. All they need, is a good excuse to get close to you. The police in uniforms for example, are the perfect undercover to get close enough to rip your money off you. After several years of traveling experience, I've formulated the following tips that have been useful in many situations.

1 - The first thing that the police should ask you when you're traveling, are your documents. If they ask you too many other questions before, you should be start being alert. Foreigners are usually convinced that the police has no right to touch you. I think that when you're in a foreign country, there's no way you can really know what the local behavior should be when approached by the police. For this reason, the first thing you should do during a police control, is ask for the police man´s working ID. There are two reasons why you should do this. First, you can make sure that the person you're dealing is actually is a police man. Secondly, it make's the policeman understand that you are in possession of his personal information, information that you could potentially report if ever he had any bad intentions - like robbing you for example. If ever he refuses to show you his ID, be really suspicious, call for help, or do what's necessary to be taken to the police station. Find the reason for this in the following paragraph...

2 - The second tip against the risk of robbery is only theoretical, and issued from my studies in sociology. But it just seems to have worked so far. People in their natural or usual social environment have a reputation. They're in an area where they have a name - where people know them - because simply, they live, work or just hang out there. Therefor, there are other eyes to look upon them, and make sure that they aren't doing anything stupid. For this reason, you should be able to trust the common street person, especially if he seems to just be hanging out, or just sitting there looking at people and cars go by. On the other hand, the police patrol is NEVER in their natural environment. Therefor, it is more likely for them to do something silly -like robbing your for example - , especially when there's only a small number of them, like in the case of a motorcycle patrol. This is valid not only in the case of the police, but for any individuals that don't seem to be at home. Therefor: trust more the locals who are socially controlled - trust less the aliens who have nothing to loose, and less at stake if they rob you! Borders and stations are therefor also spots of potential risk. For this reason, if the police won't cooperate, call for the locals to help. If you're taken to the police station, then the policemen will all be in their natural environment, where they must all behave!

3 - In case none of the previous pieces of advice prove to be efficient, then you ought to have respected this third tip, which is usually natural to any traveler. It is essential to separate the locations in which you keep your money. Not only does it make it more difficult for the police to find it. If you're lucky, they might miss out on some spots, but more especially, you'll notice if they start showing some suspicious interest in the places where you keep money, when they start collecting your bank notes and other means of payment. In this case, turn back to the basics reaction and scream for help!

Cuba

03.05.11

Right, It's been 5 days or so sine I'm BACK from Cuba. I actually made it there. What an adventure it was to get there.
Cuba is a fantastic place. Very tourist friendly. They have all the infrastructure there.Not like Venezuela! I'm currently in Caracas and I'vve met loads of people here. So instead of waisting time sedning info here that nobody reads anywy, I'll send a few pics this evening.

But for sure: Cuba is a place to visit before it changes.

PS: Special thanks to those of you (Ms. M) who have inspired me to go there!!!



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18.04.11.

Yeah well I'm meant to be in Cuba right now. I never left Venezuelian soil. It would be a mirracle if I actually got there within the next 48 hours...