Wow so much to write and so little computer access.....
confusing my host father's work thinking he was an avacado farmer when he was a lawyer in fact he was a judge for 35 years prosecuting hard criminals and 1/2 my size
meeting Gabby, a Rotary exchange student who spent last year in CAMDEN MAINE and she loves the COLD and MAINE of course
visiting a mercado libre, a local public market with fish, meat, vegetables, fruit, spices, cheese, clothes and empanadas. I took a photo of a tray of cow eyeballs for sale that you cook for a soup........yikes!
visiting Hacienda Sainta Theresa, famous for its RUM. Oh my goodness! We had a tour of this grand estate and then they gave us enormous mugs of rum. I bought 3 bottles for home, an orange cognac, a white rum for mohitos and an amber rum for sippinig
National Park of Morrocoy in the boat with 13 others visiting small cayos (bays) and lots of beaches
eating ceviche (fish cured in lime with onions, cilantro and tomato) from a boat
eating raw oysters off the back of the boat all brought to you by young men in motor boats
snorkelling and seeing OODLES of fish and watching a small spotted moray eel make its way across the bottom of the coral reef for about 15 minutes
the motor boat AIRBORN literally completely OUT of the water engines, propellers and all on our way too and from the dock
seeing a caiman (alligator) in port
staying with Rotarians in La Victoria that have a sweeping view of their sweet city. Their daughter Claudia has the sex appeal of Drew Barrymore (as does her mama). The floors are all marble with grand entrances, a room with a bar and seating that feels like a night club and FUN are they ever Fun. Antonio is the retired VP from Fiat Venezuela
meeting their fellow Rotary friends, Belgians that moved to Venezuela 6 years ago because they preferred a life with more leisure. Their job is importing and exporting wild animals around the world.
Ok....................take care and one of these days I will add photos to all of this text. Ciao, Georgie
Hola! Well, Puerto Ordaz, thhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeee gateway to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, over 1 km high would have been a cool experience however our presentation was postponed for a day so we were not able to get away.
Our GSE team however did an excellent job with our presentation to probably 200 Rotarians from all over Venezuela. Our leader, Carmen, was not well so Gisia gave the introduction and bio information about Carmen. Joe a Rotarian from Puerta la Cruz introduced all of us and told a lost in translation story about me trying to learn the word for this great seafood/pasta dish called fedegua but she thought I meant fosferera which is seafood and an aphrodisiac. Anyway the audience got a real kick out of it.
We took a tour of Parque La Llovizna, on the Rio Caroni and saw the spectacular llovisna cascada (waterfall). Lots of mist and spray and people enjoying the park and views. I believe there are 7 lakes and dams that were build over 30 years ago that produce electricity for ALL yes ALL of Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, parts of Brazil and Columbia. We toured the Macagua dam and an "eco" museum the government created to show the number of species they saved during the dredging and enormous flooding of this region to create these series of dams. I cried through the film. What they do not show is the resettling of the people and all the animals that drowned when all of this took place and the enormous devestation of the environment but...we all need ELECTRICITY.
I visited a dam project in Belize with biologists who were studying the impact the creation of the dam would have on all the species there. Very very very very sad stuff.
Anyway, the waterfalls and the dams of this region of Venezuela are IMMENSE absolutely enormous projects. Many waterfalls including the famous Angel Falls are natural and spectacular sites to see.
The conference was held at Hotel Intercontinental Guyana built in the 1970s it is quite grand with a lovely gym and pool that overlook two waterfalls. We ate well at the hotel and at the country clubs hosted by the Rotarians of Puerto Ordaz. The final evening of the conference was an enormous buffet with Lau lau fish, a local catfish, lots of salads and fancy tortes. Dinner started at 9pm. Music started at 10pm with a calapsyo band and this incredible dancer.
Then there was a dance competition for the women and the men. Luc, one of our team members, competed in the men's competition and won by a huge majority because he ripped off his blazer AND his tie and threw them into the audience. I also was forced, yes pushed onto the stage to dance with Luc. Pretty funny actually and we won prizes of a key chain and Luc received a CD of Venezuelan music. The band was still playing after 4am......when we all went to bed becuase we had to be up and in the bus back to Caracas at 730am!
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
Atun Euskal - Caribe! Wow what a spot. A small tuna processing business owned by a Spanish couple RIGHT did I say RIGHT on the beach. Well, you cross the little street from their very clean, neat and efficient tuna processing business to their casa (home) with a veranda right on the beach with hammocks and lounge chairs. We toured Atun Euskal-Caribe with our white hats and masks and learned about how they process the yellow fin tuna, cook it, and bottle it in extra virgin olive oil, canola and vegetable oil and then a third type with red peppers. We saw the ten workers scraping the tuna and then cutting it into pieces for packaging and saw the whole tuna stored in a refrigeration facility and the processing stainless steel drums. Really very neat facility. Of course you have to be comfortable with the aroma of very very strong FISH (pescado) that is for sure.
We had the most incredible spread of atun (tuna). Tuna sandwiches with lettuce and tomato. Yuca bread. Tuna mousse with red peppers. Two types of tuna one in olive oil and one in vegetable oil with onions that you could eat with bread (pan). Croquettes with tuna, cheese, parsley and onion. Tuna EVERYTHING and it was absolutely delicious. Regional cervesa and vino from Caracas.
Here the tuna are caught individually with a line. The owner talked about QUALITY of tuna and...when tuna are caught with a large net they are more stressed out because they are trying to escape as the net closes in on them. They often have a heart attack. When they have a heart attack from stress their blood travels throughout their bodies. The blood changes the taste of the tuna AND is also extra work for the tuna workers to clean all of the blackened blood out of the flesh for packaging. So it is better for the fish to be line caught and killed quickly, better tasting AND economically better if the tuna is line caught. This is a small business that uses local fishermen to catch their fish AND they prefer the oldfashioned way of catch.
Another great group of Rotarians here in Cumana. Tomorrow we will be going to Parque Nacional Machima, islands off the coast of Venezuela and MAYBE just MAYBE I can get uno or 2 dives in manana (tomorrow). We will see!
Our group of five are so open to EVERYTHING it is wonderful. We love to eat, drink, and experience all that the Rotarians offer us. Great great group of people! Last night at the Puerto La Cruz Rotary meeting, I met a woman named Arlene who went to highschool in WATERVILLE, MAINE. Anyway long story she is a Norwegian who married a Venezuelan and has lived here all of her married life. I asked her what we had to experience while we were in Cumana and she said there is a mixture of oysters with vinegar and lemon and other seafood that they call the mattress breaker. You can buy it in a jar OR you can drink a shot of it. So today I asked Fina, a retired english school teacher and a hoot to boot if we could get some. She said NO then..........she said ok........I have never tried it but I will try it with you tomorrow in solidarity. If one of us gets sick we all get sick.
Hola my friends! Wow! What a whirl of activity and travel. My group of 5 consist of Josee (physiotherapist), Gisia (pharmacist), Carmen(our team leader, a retired civil servant with Canadian government interested in international language schools), and Luc (marketing director for manufacturing firms in Moncton). We are on a GSE Group Study Exchange with Rotary International sponsored by District 7810 of eastern Maine and New Brunswick for young professionals ages 25 -40. I JUST made the cut off, phew.
I brought my laptop but so far little time or availability for internet. We had an overnight in Caracas, great city with 20 percent of Venezuela´s population set in a valley at the foot of the Avila Mountains that separate Caracas from the Caribbean sea........incredible setting surrounded by lush rainforest.
Next day off we went for the weekend to Isla de Margarita to be hosted by Maneiro Rotary Group. Wow. This group of Rotarians are all BEST friends so each weekend they socialize together at each other´s houses. They took us to Laguna la Restinga where OYSTERS galore grow on the mangroves, Museo Marino, a marine museum rich with story of the over harvest of pearls by the Spaniards, and many many examples of corals, crustaceans and other marine wildlife, flora and fauna.
We visited Playa El Yaque, a beach famous for WINDSURFING. Peter Hilyard would be in his glory. Oysters for sale everywhere on the beaches for 8 B or Bolivares to 15 Bolivares.
The "official" or bank rate by the government for Bolivares is $1.00 = 2 B, the "unofficial" exchange is currently approximately $1.00 = 5.5 B so...IF you use your credit card you get the official rate and if you use cash and you decide to exchange your money on the black market which is in fact illegal by the current government then you pay at a rate of 1:5+
Last night we had fosforera (Venezuelan paella) with linguine with mussels, scallops, clams, calamari, shrimp, tomatos, parsley, scallions, and spices. OH MY GOD! Talk about absolutely positively the best food EVER. I was in heaven.
We also watched the most incredible sunset from Playa Caribe with a grasshopper the size of a hotdog that landed on my back. We ate mango jelly for a snack while we watched the sky transform then we had soncocho (stew) made again with SEAFOOD right on the beach and right next to a road. Wild experience.
Cultured pearls are EVERYWHERE in pink, white and blue and are relatively inexpensive so...my shopping spree has began.
Sorry so all over the place. We are having fun. Meeting wonderfully generous people and Luc is taking incredible photos. Take care and lots of love, Georgie
Wow, just days back from the sunny Caribbean and I was off on another great adventure at home in Maine. Up at 5:30 am and met at 6:30 am at Winterberry Cottage on Rte. #9, my friend Jeff Lyons and I were off to visit a mother bear and bear cubs hibernating in a den. We were invited by Randy Cross, the guru of black bears, who has been studying bears for 27 years in Maine with Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife following our adventure this past spring checking snares for bears to tag and collar for tracking. This past May we visited 29 snares which biologists and volunteers check every 12 hours and didnt see even one bear. We wrote a few articles that were published in our local papers so Randy invited us again this winter assuring us we would see a bear or two or three this winter!
We met Vicki, president of Safari International, Maine Chapter, Randy and his staff and volunteers at the Airline Snack Bar had our coffee and off we went in Vicki's spiffy Subaru. Probably 12 miles on a dirt road off Rte. 9 toward Station Road then another 12 miles north on Station road heading east. We arrived geared up the sleds (snow mobiles) and off we went for a few miles into the woods. Then everyone put on their snowshoes and the team held the antennae to track the radio signal from the female bear's collar. (They tag male and female bears' ears and then collar the females with a radio transmitter but not the males)
Vicki, Jeff and I stayed back so that there wouldn't be too many people startling the bears. They headed in with a pole and a tranquilizing dart to hone in on the female and then put her to sleep. We headed in after them about 30 minutes later through the brush but really just a few hundred feet from where we parked the sleds. The bears have been hibernating now for about 5 months and the females that are old enough have cubs. Bears usually have their first litter at 5 or 6 years old OR actually when their body weight is enough that they are ready. (I forget the term in est...)
We arrived and the female bear, a 124lb female, 6 years old, 2nd litter of cubs was fast asleep on a tarp just outside the den which was a small hole under a fallen tree covered in snow. Randy passed us two beautiful baby bear cubs. They were about 4.5 lbs each and only 9 weeks old! Absolutely THE most adorable little bundles of fur you have ever seen. We each got to hold them and have our photos taken with them while the team weighed mama bear, baby bears, tagged baby bear ears, checked collar on mama bear and overall health of bears and then measured mama bear. They measured her four ways, chest, neck, back length and zoological length which is the length from her nose to her tail if she were standing outstretched. They also put a tattoo in mama bear's mouth inside her upper lip incase her ear tags or collar go missing.
The team has checked 81 out of 91 dens since early January. Some females are solo young females not given birth yet and they check their dens first then they check the older females with cubs. We got to visit the 81st den! The team put mama bear back in her den with her newly tagged bear cubs and covered the den with bows and off we went.
Why study bears? Well wildlife management is important for many reasons, to know the bears, track the health and development of bears, impact of bears/humans and for hunting purposes. The more we know about bears and other wildlife the more we can protect and manage wildlife. This program is underfunded. Randy has VOLUNTEERS and is not able to pay people for their work which is too bad. It is amazing through this study what the researchers are learning about bears ---what they eat, how they survive and how humans and bears can coexist sustainably.
Dear All, Well we are safely back in PR and Mom and I have a rental car. Yay. I have been travelling by gua gua and small buses for a month now so I am tickled to be driving a car again! Mom was in Puerto Rico in the early 1960s. She did her Peace Corps training here in the mountains. We are trying to track down one of her very good friends that she served with in Ecuador who is from here in Puerto Rico.
While we were in Santa Domingo we stayed with Jan and Felipe again. they have wonderful kids, Dally (pronounced Dajee) and Louis Felipe and two dogs. Chiquita and Trouble. We spent two days trying to buy our return ferrt ticket for Mom. It cost me $189.00 for two ways with a chair seat and it cost Mom $140 for a one way ticket. It was so hard to find out WHERE to buy the ticket. The office at the port doesnt sell them on two different days that I went there. Entering DR was an absolute nightmare with about 20 checkpoints. Returning to PR was much much easier. Amazing!
Mom and I bought 3 seat covers used in gua guas or for car seats. Used tough plastic burlap type of bags (similar material used for a tarp) and then fabric is woven through it in patterns or solid colors, like a shag rug basically. Very cool and $4.50 right next to the road heading from Bonao to Santa Domingo. We (I) bought cigars, Brugal rum, guava dulce (sweets) and jam, coffee chocolate, guabanana juice mix, oregano, and some larimar (blue stone only mined in Dominican Republic). Quite a shopping extravaganza and now my pack is loaded. I was so hoping to get my fingernails painted again all fancy on my way out but that didnt happen. I did however find the fingernail polish with a long thin brush so I could paint designs on them myself. We will see how that goes. I will start practicing now so I can paint the girls fingernails in Tess's adventure rec class.
Take care and ............7 days left on my vacation. I am ready for HOME, SNOW, and to see EVERYONE! xx, Georgie
