We are really loving Merida! It's so nice to stop somewhere properly, and the posada we have found is such a nice, relxed, ramshackle little place in the centre of town which also organises loads of activities and tours. We spent our first few days here strolling around the town, nestled in the Andean mountains. We've visited a few art galleries and museums (Alice particularly loving the collection of ancient pottery!) and have been enjoying the cornucopia of cheap restaurants, cafes and ice cream parlours. We've even managed to find possibly the ONLY vegetarian place in the entire country, a welcome change from the 'meat party' as one poor Swedish veggie put it... The weather here is also very different, still bright and sunny in the day but cold at night - we even have to sleep with blankets! Yesterday we went to a zoological park and saw lots of animals native to Venezuela, like hilariously playful monkeys, squeaky little ring tailed coatis, and beautiful jaguars that we got up close to.
Anyway, the real highlight came today when Alice and I went PARAGLIDING! It's something we've both been long curious about, and Merida is one of the best places in the world for the sport so we thought we'd give it a try. As the jeep wound further and further up the mountains, however, we started to wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into! But once we were strapped in and had taken our little run off the cliff (!) it was just amazing. Yiu get to sit back in this little cosy seat whilst the guy behind you does all the steering, so it's really quite comfortable and actually not at all scary! Flying above the birds and seeing your shadow far below on the mountain side is so weird! I was particularly lucky in that we must have cauight some very strong thermal and flew ridiculously high over the valley, with the peaks of surrounding mountains at eye level and the rivers and roads shining threads beneath. It also feels very peaceful, and through the wind you can feel the heat of the sun on you, and maybe imagine what it's like to be a bird! It really was such an incredible experience, especially in such a beautiful area.
So hopefully tomorrow we will be trekking on horseback... Lots of love, Hannah and Alice
About Us:
- Hannah and Alice
- A blog to remember our travels in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago.
that sounds fantastic, i've always wanted to try it too! wow what a great way to see the place. what will you be doing next? bungee jumping? skydiving?!! xxx
ReplyDeleteHi girls,
ReplyDeleteGlad I didn't know about the paragliding as it was happening! But your description makes it sound so carefree and glorious...
Liked the sound of the squeaky coatis.
Really fun to be reading both your posts and it's comforting to be in touch across such a physical distance.
Mum/Christine xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I like these blogs very much and cannot understand how you haven't exploded from all the excitement. Am truly thrilled that after all the preparations, you two are having such a surreal time - it sounds fantastic (apart from the vegetarian restaurant - why go looking for leaves when you could happily just drown in carcasses? You guys actually elude me). Congratrulations Hannah for making it this far with Alice as your sole constant companion. I'm sure I'd have killed her/myself by now! :)
ReplyDeleteALICE. I tried some hummus on Saturday, loved it and got ridiculously excited/told everyone. Then I realised that this reflects poorly on the amount of time I spend with you; that enjoyment of a chickpea based condiment (?) would register as such a significant turning point in my life. What's next, falafel?! Oh dear.
Long email to follow, hopefully today.
Have fun horseback riding through the mountains. Jealousy is now my name. xxx
Amazing. So I'll admit, I forgot about the blog until today, but have had a whole lot of fun catching up, a massively descriptive blog, I'm loving the unofficial competition as to who can use the best word. So far I believe cornucopia to be firmly in the lead. So happy you guys are having a great time, it sounds absolutley amazing, so jealous of literally everywhere you've been, and hope Alice hasn't burned to a crisp just yet. Keep up the great blogging, I've subscribed now, so will try and stay up to date. Big love to Alice, glad your ankle's getting better, knew you should have taken the morphine when you had the chance! :P
ReplyDeleteAnd Hannah, look after her! She's only little, and prone to making on the spot crazy purchases/dying her hair if left alone.
Tim xxxx
Cornucopia? Really Tim?
ReplyDeleteI am tempted to do something ridiculous and silly just to have some story worthy of comparison when you come back with tales of stupid Venezuela monkeys, and paragliding....
And Tumi's got it right, VEGETARIAN? You've had a mare.
Son of Jay
Jayson