Venezuela

Having decided to return a few days early, to attend Virginia's 50th birthday celebrations, we had changed our flights and were looking forward to going home. Not 24 hours after all the new arrangements were in place, we get a call from Clare that she has been selected for the Australian team and will be travelling to Venezuela in three weeks time to compete in the biannual World Cup Baseball Tournament. What to do? We have never missed one of her tournaments yet, so why stop now. Back to our very good friends at Qantas and Martin the local tourist agent.

It had been getting a bit cool in Buenos Aries so we thought it might be nice to go to Venezuela a bit early and soak up some of their Caribbean sunshine. Be careful what you wish for. It is very hot and humid here.

On arrival to our hotel in Caracas, we were immediately warned not to go out walking at night and to be careful on the streets. Security at the hotel is a premium with iron bars on all doors and windows and electric fencing around the top of the building.

Even the police cannot be trusted. During our stay a couple of tourists in our hotel were accosted by the police and asked for their passports. When they produced them, they then had to pay to get them back. Apparently a common occurrence.

The Venezuelan women have their own particular shape. A walk along the very busy main plaza shows 99% of the women here have very large thighs, huge bums and big boobs which they love to flash. The dress of the day is tight jeans and tight fitting low cut t-shirt tops that show every bulge and they are proud of it. They are very beautiful and well dressed but big girls.

The poverty here is obvious. There are lots of homeless people sleeping in the streets including women and children.

Caracas is the only city in Venezuela that has a metro but it works beautifully and is very cheap. Once we found it, we were using it all the time.

There is always a noise factor living in the city but the noise that seemed to affect me the most here was the numerous ice cream vendors. They push a little cart along with a series of bells attached to the top and they tinkle them nonstop. The noise is very high pitched and goes right through you. I must be getting tired because it was driving me mad. I would cheerfully have shoved it somewhere unpleasant given half a chance.

Rubbish in the streets is horrific. There are no bins and people just throw their bags of rubbish on the street corner for collection. It is collected every couple of days but not before the homeless and stray dogs have pulled it to bits and strewn rubbish all over which of course doesn’t get picked up. Added to this problem, I am told, is that after the rubbish has been collected it is dumped anywhere in the countryside because they don’t have official rubbish dumps.


THE LOST STADIUM - Jose A. Casanova Estadium
We found it at last, hidden deep within the Caracas military barracks.
(Venezuela's answer to the nuclear war??)
During our first week in Caracas, before the tournament started, we spent three days looking for the stadium. When we asked anyone, they had never heard of it and when we googled it we came to a dead end. Finally we went to the Minister for Tourism (Mintour - a bunch of true public servants). They knew of the tournament (considering they were handling the tourism for it) but had no idea where the stadium was. After spending an hour trying to find out for us, they said they would endeavour to find more information and we should come back on Thursday.
We spent the next two days finding our way around the metro and getting used to the city. On Thursday we went back for the promised answer. The information we got was "ring this number - they have some information, but not much" and of course they only speak Espanol. This from the department who are responsible for tourism for the tournament (they have huge posters advertising the tournament all over the airport and metro stations). On our way out of the government building complex, on a whim, we decided to pop into one of the other Tourism Departments (Intour). The people there were a little more helpful but only because another customer at the service counter overheard the conversation and said that if it was in Feurte Tiuna (which we had already established) they knew where that was but not the stadium. So with their instructions, all in Spanish and lots of hand waving, we spent the next day getting to Feurte Tiuna (a military base in the outskirts of the city - and a very nice area). We took the metro, arrived at the correct stop and started walking in the given direction. After about 6 km in the hot sun we found the Feurte Tiuna sign and a very long military parade area. We came to a hotel near a beautiful lake with huge turtles, fish and lots of ducks and birds - time for a rest and lunch. We asked at the hotel and they pointed us in the direction of the closest baseball field which turned out to be a softball field (I must say, this field would be a great disappointment if the tournament were to be held there). There were some men there about to start a game. We asked them, and they had no idea. We were starting to get very tired and frustrated by this time. By chance I overheard one of the men, speaking in Spanish, say ‘if it's a baseball tournament it will be at the Casanova Stadium’. Hearing the word "Casanova" I spun on him for more information. With a lot of difficulty they gave us more directions. After about another 2 km along the military parade area (which is huge) we saw the lights of the stadium in the distance. When we eventually got there we were wrapped - it was a very impressive stadium, in immaculate condition. We walked around it and sat and had a coffee in one of the small cafes attached to the stadium and just wallowed in our good fortune at finding it at last.

FEURTE TIUNA
This military area is so different to the rest of Caracas that you would think yourself in a different country – none of the poverty is obvious and all the roads and buildings are in good condition. It is a place to educate the military services – air force, navy, army, military police and special forces – and there has obviously been a lot of money put into developing the area. A full military parade on the parade ground would be a magnificently huge display of military might and power. Puts you in mind of war time Russia.

Colonia Uruguay

Could have spent a lot longer in this lovely little town. Unfortunately we had already prepaid our tickets back to Buenos Aires. There is a beautiful historic area on the tip of the peninsula with Portuguese background. It was lovely to walk around the area and sit in the old plazas. We took a long walk (6km) along the beach to the old bullring further around the bay. Watching the sun set over the marina was very beautiful and theraputic.

We stayed in one of the nicest hotels so far. It was a lovely renovated building with old world character and very good facilities. They put on a BBQ dinner for guests, it was a great way to meet people. We thought Australians eat a lot of meat. It was a lovely meal.

We wondered why our Spanish seemed to have taken a dive. They speak Portuguese here.

Montevideo Uruguay

Took the 3 hour ferry across Rio de la Plata to Uruguay for a few days. Bused it to Montevideo. Nice city with an old port area, some lovely plazas and lots of nice beaches. We were there for Ray`s 61st birthday. Unfortunately he had the scare of his life (a great present). To explain: we had gone to the 24th floor for a panoramic view of Montevidio, which by the way was a fabulous 360 degree view. As we stepped into the lift to go up and it became obvious by the 2nd floor that the glass lift was on the outside of the building. Bad enough for a person with a fear of heights. But, to make matters worse, on the trip down, the lift stopped at the 22nd floor. We rang the emergency bell but no answer. After about 5-10 minutes of shear hell waiting, continual ringing of the emergency buzzer and no answer, we decided that the red stop button had to be flicked. Making that decision was a nightmare (would we start free falling?). Fortunately the lift continued on it`s way and we got off at the bottom with absolutely no one aware of our dilemma. We thought at the very least there would be emergency paramedics and police emergency abseilers at the ready. The lift didn`t even have an emergency phone in it.

Happy Birthday Ray. Where are the baños?

Iguazu Falls

Took an overnight bus (very comfortable with airline service) to Iguazu to see the falls.

Spent the first afternoon indoors because it was very wet.

Next day our tour of the falls was still very wet. We travelled through the Argentinian jungle reserve to get there. Travelling through the jungle when it´s raining is an experience in itself. The falls were spectacular and it took all day to see them completely. They have lots of metal boardwalks so that you can get right into the area. Some of the up close and personal views were a bit damp to say the least. At one stage we got drenched. There is so much power in the water that it causes lots of rising mist and it blocks out the view of the bottom of the falls.

We had a BBQ in our hotel for dinner that night. We just jagged it in for this wonderful Argentinian/Brasilian experience (came on the right day I think).

I missed the photo of a lifetime (forgot to take my camera to dinner).
They had a Samba cabaret performance that we did not expect.

There was a lot of audience participation and to start it off they picked people out to be part of the cabaret performance before the dancing. Ray was selected with three other guys. The very well endowed dancing girls with next to nothing on except a fancy headdress and spangly G-strings, gave them the thrilling experience of a life time. Ray had to wipe the steam from his glasses to see what was happening to him.

This will be dinner conversation fodder for many months to come.

Ray thought he had got away without being noticed too much, until we checked out next morning and the girl at reception, recognizing him, greeted him with "Oh the Dancer!!" - sprung!! - the famous Samba dancer extraordinaire.

The dancing was fun too. Pity about my camera, I could have had the proof.

Buenos Aires

After many flights we have at last arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We are going to take a few days just chilling out, staying in the San Telmo area, the older part of the city, where most of the action happens. Turns out the weather is chilly too. A bit like Melbourne weather in the winter.

San Telmo is in the old section, lots of antique book shops and we have found a lovely cafe/wine bar that favours literary academics and is dedicated to a local writer Jorges Borges. It is called La Poesias (The Poet) and has a warm cosy atmosphere and just right for coffee or drinks before dinner after long touristy walks in the afternoons. We have also found the restaurant with, we think, the best Argentinian steaks in town. They are very big on steaks here.

We are going to take a different section each day.

Sunday morning is the time for the outdoor antique markets in San Telmo square. The whole place is given over to these small antique markets and there is tango music and dancing demonstrations happening all over. Also lots of antique shops in and around this area.

La Boca. This working class area originally populated by Italian dock workers is a colourful center of art and tango restaurants. The brightly coloured metal houses were inspired by the painter Benito Quinquela Martin after he painted his own home which has now become an arts museum in the area. It has a lovely party atmosphere even in the afternoon.

The Puerto Madero or port area with the four diques (dikes pronounced here deeks) is reminiscent of our Southbank area; very trendy restaurants and tango clubs overlooking the waterfront and has a much more modern commercial look than the rest of the city with its new high rise buildings dominating the area.

Recoleta Cemetery Area is one of the great cemeteries of the world. Many of Argentina's notables are buried here in this city of mausoleums including Eva Peron and her family. Pretty spooky to walk around these streets of mini buildings. You can look through the glass and wrought iron doors of the individual family crypts at the coffins sitting on shelves. Huge amounts of money would have been spent on these structures.

We have worked out how to use the Subt (the underground subway). It costs p$1.10 (26 cents Australian) per viaje (voyage) anywhere in the city and is very efficient.

Plaza San Martin is a nice shady plaza in the heart of the city dominated by a huge 300 year old Morton Bay Fig tree. Apparently Borges lived near here. We sat on the grass and watched a World Cup futbol match between Uraquay and Spain on a huge screen next to the plaza. Then we walked back via the Calle Florida the 'Paris of the South' with its exquisit leather shops, international fashion boutiques and fabulous old mansions. Nice place for window shopping.

This afternoon we attended the Madres de Plaza de Mayo. On thursday afternoons at 3.30 pm the mothers of the disappeared still march every week, after 10 years, in the Plaza de Mayo. There is a short speech afterwards and the long list of names of the missing is read out in memory of those who mysteriously disappeared during those turbulent times. I was very emotionally affected by the sad plight of these mothers. Ten years ago it would have been dangerous just to have been seen in the plaza with them.

Went to a Tango show tonight. Starts with a Milonga, Salza classes then tango classes, then the show comes on at 2 am (too late for us). The classes were great though. Ray has decided it`s not his thing.

Getting ready for our trip to Venezuela.

Amazon Jungle

Day 1.

Arrived at the Resort. All the buildings are on stilts and made of wood. No glass windows just fly screens over very large open areas. Apparently the whole area is under 6 feet of water during the wet season. The stilts are supposed to keep out the snakes. (I hope it works.)

Joze, our personal guide, was at our beck and call for the whole stay.

We walked through the jungle to a reserve for injured animals. The animals are free to roam as they please but seem to like it there so they stay around. We saw anteaters, monkeys, sloth, anaconda, boa constrictor, macaw, toucan and caimen all very close up. The little monkeys were very playful and ran up your leg to sit on you shoulder looking for the bananas we held.

On the way back we called into the nearby village to watch the end of a game of soccer being played by the villagers. The whole village was out to watch - a big day for them and partying at night.

Later that evening we had dinner with the only other people at the resort Nienka and Martin from Holland. There is only enough rooms for 4 couples at the resort.



Day 2.

Took a 5 hour long hike through the secondary jungle looking for medicine plants and bird watching. Joze is very knowledgeable about these things. The area was very swampy and our guide had to hack away the path as we progressed through the jungle. It was very spooky. The swampy areas were quite deep and we had to be careful not to let the water go over the top of our jungle boots (gumboots we bought in Iquitos before we left). He would cut a long stick with his machete and lay it across the swamp which we had to try to balance on as we went along. I was exhausted at the end of it.

In the afternoon we took a boat ride to see the pink and grey freshwater dolphins. We went swimming and watched the sunset over the Amazon from the boat - very theraputic.

We played cards with Nienka and Martin and the guides in the evening for entertainment.

The only power is when they run the generator at night for lighting.



Day 3.

We got up early for bird watching before breakfast.

The morning was spent fishing for piranha. Between us we caught 22 fish, only 3 of them being piranhas. It was great fun and a very relaxing way to spend the morning. We spotted more dolphins too. Out on the boat is the only relatively cool spot to be found.

In the afternoon we went canoeing up the Black river to the primary jungle (untouched jungle because no one lives here and it is left pristine. There are huge trees with buttress roots and lots of vines hanging down, which you have to avoid as you walk.

In the evening we went out night watching for toads, huge spiders, snakes and caimen.
Really good stuff just before you go to bed.



Day 4.

Boated over the Amazon to see the giant water lilies.
In the afternoon we trekked deep into the jungle to a native village. Native drums warned of our approach. We watched the native dancing and saw a blowgun demonstration. They are very good shots. Jose had explained on one of our previus walks how they poison the darts with the sap from certain trees and the skin of a toad.

Iquitos on the Amazon

We arrived in the afternoon to a very hot tropical atmosphere - same temperature day and night - constant sweating is the norm.



The only way into this city is by plane or by boat. There are no roads into this city, therefore there are not many cars here. Most of the vehicles are either motor bikes or motorbike rickshaws called MotoKars. They have the same attitude to lanes as in Cusco - namely they ignore them and pedestrians definitely do not have right of way.



On the first afternoon we went for a walk around the town and had dinner at the Explorers Club on the Esplanade overlooking the Amazon. It was very relaxing and nice to have some time to ourselves for a change.



We met our guide Joze Diaz, a very friendly person, so much so that initially we were a bit nervous of him. Eventually we got used to the very friendly service when we noticed it was common with all the people here, even in the hotels.

It is a very relaxing atmosphere, everything happens slowly.

There is a house here in the plaza de amas (the Iron House) which was designed and built by Mr. Eifel of the Eifel Tower of Paris Eifel. It was bought and transported to Iquitos during the great rubber rich era.