Behold the Delta
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tranquilo; it means peaceful.
Our trip to the Delta was magnificent. We saw monkeys and birds and snakes and freshwater dolphins and fish; so much!
Everything went swimmingly; Al showed up at 5:30 in the morning to take us to the airport, our plane left on time and arrived in Puerto Ordaz safely, there was a driver there to meet us, the driver took us to a nice diner for lunch, and our boat was waiting for us at the dock.
It was the most bizarre thing, though; there was this big clump of lily pads (or so I thought). When I first glanced at them they appeared to be moving, but I passed that off as a weird flashback moment. I continued to unload the car until Carrie said, “Hey! Come here and check this out.” Those damn lily pads had moved most of the distance of the dock! They were drifting in the current.
Antonio was our guide. He climbed in next to the outboard while we all piled onto the cushioned seats (I cannot tell you how happy I was to have cushioned seats after that trip to Salto Angel!). He told us that the green plant was called Bora and it was very prevalent in the Delta. The hour long boat ride took us through some magnificent scenery. There was nothing but vegetation for as far as the eye could see. All of a sudden, we’d come upon a village and then it would fade off into the jungle.
We stayed in a wonderful little cabaña built on pilings over the river. There was a concrete boardwalk that joined up the other thirty-three cabañas and the dining hall. The birds were amazing. The sounds to be heard were right out of a Tarzan movie. I woke up in the morning to the sound of howler monkeys!
We journeyed about by boat checking out the local flora and fauna (Zachary even got to drive!). We saw parrots, macaws, toucans, eagles, guacharakas, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, snakes, turtles, ibis, piranha, and dolphins. We also took a walk through the jungle. It was a lovely little ten minute romp through the prime nesting grounds of mosquitoes. We spent the entire time slapping ourselves to kill the little bastards. We finally fled for the safety of the river. As we jumped in we noticed a family of dolphins swimming around us. They hung out for about twenty minutes and then quietly slipped away.
The impending vote was on everyone’s mind. The native villages all had giant signs that said, “SÍ!” On Sunday, the day of the vote, boats cruised up and down the river transporting folks to the polls. Turnout in the area was very high.
Politics here is a lesson in polarization. Either you love Chavez or you hate him. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. If you suggest to a non – Chavista that the president has done some good things they are likely to stop talking to you. This can be helpful if you are faced with a cab driver who can’t stop talking and all you want him to do is shut up, but otherwise it makes it difficult to converse with anyone.
The vote went off without a hitch; no looting, no rioting, just ascent and a fresh spate of Hugo bashing. The hope is that there will be some positive changes happening, but I am afraid that is only a dream. Since the deadline has been removed there is no impetus for moving forward quickly. One can only hope that the opposition will work that much harder to win votes.
Then there is the economy; oil prices keep dropping, the government didn’t bother to save for a rainy day, and one of the main banks for the region just crashed and burned. Sound familiar? Those that had a chunk of change in Stanford Bank are blaming Chavez for their loss; they wouldn’t have had to invest overseas if he hadn’t been president. It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragic.
Some say that there was never any question that the amendment would pass. It is obvious to these folks that the polls are rigged. I don’t know what to think about that. I do know that a lot of people got out and voted. Even those that don’t usually bother went to the polls. It is times like these that make me happy to be an outsider.
Now it is Carnaval. We are recuperating from Carrie’s blowout birthday BBQ. It feels good to sit around the house and do nothing for a change.
Tranquilo
MJR
Tranquilo; it means peaceful.
Our trip to the Delta was magnificent. We saw monkeys and birds and snakes and freshwater dolphins and fish; so much!
Everything went swimmingly; Al showed up at 5:30 in the morning to take us to the airport, our plane left on time and arrived in Puerto Ordaz safely, there was a driver there to meet us, the driver took us to a nice diner for lunch, and our boat was waiting for us at the dock.
It was the most bizarre thing, though; there was this big clump of lily pads (or so I thought). When I first glanced at them they appeared to be moving, but I passed that off as a weird flashback moment. I continued to unload the car until Carrie said, “Hey! Come here and check this out.” Those damn lily pads had moved most of the distance of the dock! They were drifting in the current.
Antonio was our guide. He climbed in next to the outboard while we all piled onto the cushioned seats (I cannot tell you how happy I was to have cushioned seats after that trip to Salto Angel!). He told us that the green plant was called Bora and it was very prevalent in the Delta. The hour long boat ride took us through some magnificent scenery. There was nothing but vegetation for as far as the eye could see. All of a sudden, we’d come upon a village and then it would fade off into the jungle.
We stayed in a wonderful little cabaña built on pilings over the river. There was a concrete boardwalk that joined up the other thirty-three cabañas and the dining hall. The birds were amazing. The sounds to be heard were right out of a Tarzan movie. I woke up in the morning to the sound of howler monkeys!
We journeyed about by boat checking out the local flora and fauna (Zachary even got to drive!). We saw parrots, macaws, toucans, eagles, guacharakas, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, snakes, turtles, ibis, piranha, and dolphins. We also took a walk through the jungle. It was a lovely little ten minute romp through the prime nesting grounds of mosquitoes. We spent the entire time slapping ourselves to kill the little bastards. We finally fled for the safety of the river. As we jumped in we noticed a family of dolphins swimming around us. They hung out for about twenty minutes and then quietly slipped away.
The impending vote was on everyone’s mind. The native villages all had giant signs that said, “SÍ!” On Sunday, the day of the vote, boats cruised up and down the river transporting folks to the polls. Turnout in the area was very high.
Politics here is a lesson in polarization. Either you love Chavez or you hate him. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. If you suggest to a non – Chavista that the president has done some good things they are likely to stop talking to you. This can be helpful if you are faced with a cab driver who can’t stop talking and all you want him to do is shut up, but otherwise it makes it difficult to converse with anyone.The vote went off without a hitch; no looting, no rioting, just ascent and a fresh spate of Hugo bashing. The hope is that there will be some positive changes happening, but I am afraid that is only a dream. Since the deadline has been removed there is no impetus for moving forward quickly. One can only hope that the opposition will work that much harder to win votes.
Then there is the economy; oil prices keep dropping, the government didn’t bother to save for a rainy day, and one of the main banks for the region just crashed and burned. Sound familiar? Those that had a chunk of change in Stanford Bank are blaming Chavez for their loss; they wouldn’t have had to invest overseas if he hadn’t been president. It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragic.
Some say that there was never any question that the amendment would pass. It is obvious to these folks that the polls are rigged. I don’t know what to think about that. I do know that a lot of people got out and voted. Even those that don’t usually bother went to the polls. It is times like these that make me happy to be an outsider.
Now it is Carnaval. We are recuperating from Carrie’s blowout birthday BBQ. It feels good to sit around the house and do nothing for a change.
Tranquilo
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 5:35 PM
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