Tripping in Venezuela

I have spent the last month totally de-politicized (and don't even start to question the correctness of this word!) so there will not be any kind of reports on the latest turns. Because of the votation and everything that happened around that (demos, meetings, and so on) the trimestre was prolonged one week, so instead of going on holidays on the 7th, I had to spend one more week at the uni. And of course all proffesors had put all the last exams, presentations and things on this last week. Wunderbar! Especially since Cinthia, a lovely swede-argentiner, came to visit me on monday. Oh, how she appreciated the fine hours of solitude every day when I went off to school. I was quite unhappy with how it all had turned out, but got some spirit back when I was told that the next trimestre won't start until the 14th of january. So I will get my 4 weeks off anyways, jihaa!

At my birthday, at 7 o'clock in the evening, I sent in my last assignment and I was officially on holidays! Lovely! Me and Cinthia went down to the center and checked in at the Ateneo Popular, a social center which alos functions as a hostel. And from then until Linda came, on the 18th of December, we hung around Caracas.
Since the 19th of December we have travelled around and we have had time to go trekking in the Andes, spend christmas with a looot of food, travel many hours in different busses and even flash our whity skins on the beach.
Now we are in a town called Ciudad Bolívar and this night we are heading down to a small town called Santa Elena, just by the brasilian border. The idea is to start a 5 day trek to the top of mountain Roraima. Hopefully a lovely break from the crazy traffic and shouting men!

The bus in to Caracas from the airport after having met Linda. She was very very welcome, and so were the ginger cookies! Oh holy cow. It was good.

Once in the Andean mountains, on a three day trek. We hooked up with a very cool guy, Sai, who was a guide and took us up and down the mountains. Wild horses and fog caracterized the first few hours of the first day. But very beautiful!

Two fine persons in a fine landscape! Cinthia and Linda. Beware of the pirate look of Linda, she worked hard on it. Rough surroundings and clean air... ooooh, so irresistable!
We joined up with another trekking-group that our new friend Sai (yellow shirt) was guiding, just so we wouldn't get lost in the mountains. Sai was a very interesting person: naturista (only eat natural things, no meat!), ecologist, mountainlover and more.

On the second day we climbed up a mountain called "Pan de azúcar", 4700 m. It was really steep up and the same down!

The camping site for the second night! It was by a small lake. Me and Linda went for a "bath", which in the freezing water more turned out to be a fast so called Raggar dusch. But we felt clean in spirit and heart afterwards which we thought was the most important!
Breakfast on the following morning. Chilly air, hot coffee, marvallous views, well...
Walking towards our destination (hot springs!) on the third and last day.
Back in Mérida we went up to Pico Espejo with the longest Teleferico in the world. We all got a headache thanks to the thin air up there. This plant is the typical plant of the paramo, the special landscape above about 3300 m and the tree line. It is called freilejon, and is beauutiful. I love it!

Yesterday at the beach, in the other end of the country!
The gang. On the beach. I got burned. Didn't put sun block on since I thought that my living in Caracas the last months should be protection enough. ALthough, not really counting in the fact that I still haven't really exposed myself to the sun.

Now awaits more adventures and more busrides! Good!
Happy new year!