HeyHEy!

I am chillin with Pachi right fightin the lying Colombian president in hand to hand battle. Its tag team so I have time to write as Pachi uses Venezuelan lechoso grip he learned in the jungle of Barquisimeto.
SOOOOOOOOOOOO...
Things are good here, we hear F 16s and sucoy planes (apparently a new Russan fighter jet that Venezuela owns now) overhead every day BUT we bought ourselves an arsenal of AK 47s and some rocket launchers (Pachi's favorite) in the local black market. I personally enjoy the armored tanks which have the sensation of living in a house, but one that could destroy a neighborhood. CHARLIE'S EVERYWHERE, GIVE THE COLOMBIAN PREZ A OSCAR DE LA HOYA STYLE COÑASO (PUNCH!)!
Joking aside, it was crazy when I came out of the Venezuelan jungle and heard what happened.
Right now there's more talks in D.C. than anything else as you can probably see on the news. One thing that the U.S. seems to be overlooking is that Colombia invaded Equator! This is a huge big deal! Imagine if Canada invaded the U.S. and killed people there and then said "it's all good!".
Besides that, Pachi's coming back to Earlham for one more semester so we get to hang out on breaks on the east coast or in the midwest!
I'm havin a great and stupendous time with Pachi and his mum and pops as well as old friends of his. Apparently I have a Brazilian accent when I speak spanish! I guess that's what a month and a half in Brasil will do to you!
I'm also really exited about coming back home on the 12th and seein everyone! Party at my new house in D.C.!! For All (Forro!!)

Con mucho Cariño (Much love) Nicky boy and Pachito!

Life in Barquisimeto!

sooooooooooooooooooo,

after a 14 hour bus ride that uses freezer technology as air conditioning, very big in venezuela apparently, i landed safe and sound in the great city of Barquisimeto! Pachi was there right as I got off the bus looking quite paranoid since its ¨the worst bus station in Venezuela¨ and then his mom came by in her jeep to pick us up.
Pachi and I had a very interesting conversation on the recent situation conflict with Colombia, Equador, and Venezuela and then Pachi regaled me with the various social programs set forth by Chavez in the last few years including one which Pachi works for currently. Pachi´s program is one that tries to have everyone have a college education, even women in their 50s and 60s who never were able to when they were younger which is the big group that Pachi works with.
The current conflict is on tv 24 hours a day and f16s are flying overhead regularly. basically, its the borders that everyone is very concerned about since Colombia entered Equador without telling them.
Besides that, Pachi is the same as ever (slicked back gelled hair, a t shirt with a revolutionary printed on it, and some stylish facial hair). He showed me around his house which has a garden that grows coffee beans, a mango tree and an ever accompanying dog named Tootsie (same breed as Grandma's old dog Honey!).
I'm going to relex a bit and then hang out with Pachi again when he gets back from work. There might be a beach trip in the works but first we'll investigate the old haunts of Pachi Rodriguez here in his hometown!

Hope you are well and can't wait to share pics and stories in just a few days!

Love, Nick

Hey!

I just got back from Angel Falls and am now heading to Barquisimeto! I`m leaving on bus tonight at 9 and gets into Barquisimeto tomorrow at 11 am. I`m really exited to spend some time with Pachi and his family and get to experience more of the culture of Venezuela besides the tourists, hostal, and tour guide life!
Angel Falls was amazing! I was able to take a puddle jumper plane from paraqua to Canaima. Smallest plane I ever took, 6 people including the pilot! I learned some Pemon from the Kamaracoto people who are the the indigenous group in the area and are only 46,000 people in total! Then we motor canoed all the way up the river to our campsite where the tourists (4 Japanese, 2 Austrians, 2 Americans, 2 Brits, 1 German, 1 Swiss, and me the German-American) where fed and then slept in hammocks. First time I slept in a hammock and it was a lot of tossing and turning. Next day we headed to ¨The Falls¨. It might not be the rainy season but damn! that thing is huge! 1 km high and the water barely makes it to the bottom as a liquid! We swam and trampled through the rainforest and finally headed back. I will post pics when I get home because my words will not do justice to the real thing.
Dangerous motor canoeing back to Canaima because it's harder going down river with low water and lots of rocks but our guides got us back in one piece! Thank you Tony, Chino and Captain who I don't know the name of!

So I will be in Barquisimeto until I have to leave from Caracas on the 11th. Maybe we will do some small trips around Barquisimeto but at this point i will be nice just to relax after traveling for 2 weeks.

By the way, we just heard about the recent conflict between Equador, Colombia, and Venezuela and I have been talking with Pachi and the head office of the tour i just did and they have been saying that the main problems are in Colombia and Equador.

Keep tuned in! I'll write more when I get to Barquisimeto!

Border Hopping!

Hola!

I just crossed the border from Brasil to Venezeula yesterday and am now in the small and relaxing city of Ciudad Bolivar which is about 11 hours north of the border.

My plan is to look for a tour program today for Angel Falls (The highest waterfall in the world!) and then head over to Barquisimeto (The city of Pachi Rodriguez!). I will look for a tour that is about 3 days, 2 nights and then hopefully leave tomorrow.

The area around Angel is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in South America and Pachi has described it as ¨The Lost World¨.

So if I leave tomorrow on the program than I would be back on Monday. Then I`ll probably head out Tuesday or Wednesday for Barquisimeto!

I`ve met some fellow travelers from the boat on the Amazon so we are all staying at a hostel together.

First impressions of Venezuela:

-bright vibrant colors on the buildings

-no problem at the border crossing (thank you German citizenship!)

-Saw the letter that Chavez wrote to the people of Venezuela in 2002 after being captured by a coup which stated that he was not giving up his position of president. (At the border control underneath a picture of him)

-things are very cheap! 11 hour bus cost me $9! A full meal of rice, chicken and egg with a coke was $3!

-the only tricky thing is changing money because the rate is always better with money exchanging places than the banks

I`ll let you guys know what else I`m doing in the next few days! Hope all is well at home, my future home, Europe and in Barquisimeto!

Love, Nick