Hola!
Wow yesterday was a fantastic day. They took us by boat into Parque Nacional Machimo a series of islands off the north coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. The Rotarians including Monica, Gisella, Jose Gregori, Fina took us to the wee fishing/touristy town of Machimo where we caught a small motor boat to a beach called Las Maritas where we swam, snorkeled, drank beer, and ate FISH lots and lots of delicious fish. We had plates of catalana (white fish), pargo (white snapper), and calamar (calamari). Fresh fresh fresh and then fried with a cole slaw with cilantro which was delicious and tostones (fried plaintain). Wow. As an appetizer Josee, Jose and I had 2 dozen raw oysters, $3.00/dozen. YUM!
Jose first took Josee and me out snorkeling for an hour. I got too much sun eventhough I was lathered in sunscreen. Another tough balance for me. I love to snorkel and scuba dive but I always need to wear sunscreen to protect my skin but of course the sunscreen is harmful to the water and the fish. Jose showed us two spotted moray eels and a puffer fish. The coral is all half dead but the water was still teaming with fish. Huge schools of minnows and I saw a 2 foot barracuda as well. So though I did not get to go scuba diving I got a good fix of enjoying the marine flora and fauna and critters. Jose also took a mesh bag and picked up oysters and conch to take home. (Keep in mind we are in a national park...........yay......) Sadly he was stepping on the precious coral as we made our way snorkeling along the beach. I gently asked in my poor spanish if he would not do that. Jose is a doctor and for years has been the administrator
at a local hospital and has done well to manage it. However...the current government has put him on a long vacation and will probably bring him back with a desk job. Definitely more to this story but not the place for it.
We had a wonderful lunch and enjoyed the beach with LOTS of Venezuelans sunning and eating and playing with their plastic floaty toys and zooming around on a raft pulled by a boat. Not exactly what I expected at a beach in a national park but this is the trend for folks here.
We headed back about 2pm and stopped to check out the little handmade dolls in all sizes and wooden boats for sale. I bought a few small ones that can be decorations or Christmas tree ornaments. All hand made for a few dollars each. We then made our way back to our host families.
On the way back Fina treated me to an aphrodisiac (sp?) rompa colchon (mattress breaker) or rompa lycra (panty ripper) for 20B (divide everything by 5 and it will be $4.00US). I know I know Dani ...too many prices... so just a few. Since the Rotarians pay for everything I hardly know what things cost so when I do know I will gently insert that. The rompa colchon is famous in this area, a mixture of fresh raw and cooked seafood including shrimp, conch, oysters, octopus, squid, salsa, a vinegar mix with spices, worchestire sauce, and lots of lime. Wow! What a punch. It is like a delicious shot of ceviche made to your liking.
So by the time I got home, showered and readied for our next engagement I had a headache and stayed home for the night. Too much sun and seafood............Yikes! My colleagues enjoyed an evening of wine, octopus salad, homemade Italian pasta, homemade tiramisu and LIVE Venezuelan music and opera by the host. Damn!
Today we headed into the mountains to La Guanota in Parque Nacional Caripe to visit a vacation home of one of the Rotarians. We visited Hacienda Las Acacias, a coffee factory where they collect the coffee beans from local farmers and wash, dry, sort the coffee and then sell it to others to roast. I believe that 275 kilos turns into only 36 kilos by the end of the processing which takes place in our fall months. The coffee takes 7 months to grow, 1 month to pick and 4 months to process. Unfortunately it was Sunday (Domingo) so we were not able to find a store open to buy any of this delicious coffee but we did get to have a cup. Monica is going to try to bring us some.
Then we enjoyed a HUGE paella made with tuna, peppers, onions, cumin, salt, rice, olive oil, garbanzo beans that Gisella made and a key lime pie and apple cake for dessert. We all needed a nap but instead went for a walk down to the river to watch a bunch of boys flip into the water and see the GORGEOUS fields of celery, lettuces, and leeks. Really amazing!
I havent figured out how to upload my photos yet but when I do I will certainly add them to this blog.
Take care everyone. Besos mi amors, Georgie
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