El sol es gratis

June 2, 2009

I made it through my first full week of school. Doing this eight-hour of school a day thing, really is not for me especially since the classes are all in the afternoon.  But, to celebrate the first full week of school, I went to the beach this past weekend.  Getting to the beach itself was an experience.  All week there had been talk of people wanting to go to the beach but no one was really doing much about it.  So Wednesday a group of us decided to go to Choroní and Porto Colombia.  The bus one-way cost 75 B.S or about $12.  Not bad for a twelve hour bus ride.  
    We left Thursday nite around nine…  Lets just say we were happy to be on the bus.  We got to the bus terminal and couldn’t find our bus.  The bus company did not tell us that we were actually talking a bus that goes to Caracas but stops in Maracay first.  Let me repeat that one more time, I did not go to Caracas, I got off the bus before Caracas.  But before we even left the terminal, we ran into the problem of not paying the exit tax.  So one of the guys we were with had to go off the bus to pay all of our taxes.  If I remembered one thing from orientation, it was NEVER get off the bus, so that is why I didn’t volunteer myself.  Oh, all the busses never turn their air conditioner off, so the bus was freezing cold even by Minnesota standards.
    We made it to Maracay around ten in the morning, there we grabbed some brunch and got ready to set out to Choroní.  When I signed up for this trip I had no idea that the road from Choroní would first be so long, second so hot, sweaty and cramped and thirdly driving on the tinniest and windiest road I have ever been on.  This drive puts the Hills of Northfield and the road up the Andes Mountains to shame.  The road goes through a national park and you go up and down the mountain to get to the beach, while the bus is driving 40 mph and almost falling of the cliffs while honking the horn to warn cars that it is coming.  Words really can’t describe how terrible it was.  
    But I made it, safe and sound and with out throwing up.  When we got to the beach we found a posada (hostel) to stay in. It only cost roughly $6 a nite.  We unloaded our stuff and headed straight for the beach.  The beach was absolutely beautiful, the nicest beach I have been too.  The water was completely clear and mountains surrounded the beach.  After the beach we all went to dinner and hung out by the waterfront for the night.
    The next morning we went to breakfast and I had the most amazing oatmeal ever.  After breakfast we went to the beach.  I know this is going to be hard to imagine but I actually went into the water and loved it. I know after all those times about freaking out about fish and jellyfish, it is really hard. The only reason I did was because the water was so clear (meaning I could see no fish) and there was no sign of animal life in the water. After the beach we went to got ice cream and walked around the town.  We all got dinner at a restaurant, which we ended up eating three times at.  After that we called it a nite because all of us were so tired.
    Sunday, we left for Merida and ended up getting back at eight this morning.  It has been a long couple day, but it was totally worth it.  A couple of friends and I are finalizing plans to now go to Argentina instead of Peru for our week break. Mainly the reason for the switch is because it is cheaper to go to Argentina than Peru (which I never thought would happen and still don’t really understand).  Needless to say I am already practicing  “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”.  The only complaint I have is that even after a weekend at the beach, my teacher today still referred to me and my paleness.  It must be because of all the sunscreen I wore.