CP, S&M - Of Cell Phones, Smoke and Mirrors

Rich or poor, the spirit of Venezuelans, and their love of life, goes undaunted. At night in the streets, we saw both sides greeting each other in an accepting way, as both (loudly) enjoyed the evening with friends late into the night. True to Felipe’s clock, we visited a large supermarket around 9:00 p.m. for supplies. The place was crammed, with food and shoppers. There was no shortage of either as whole families pushed multiple cartloads through hour-long checkout lines. Once free of the shopping duties, we retired to dinner at one of Felipe’s favorite hangouts. We enjoyed a typical casual Venezuelan meal consisting of a Le Choza; a blended fresh fruit drink, an Arepa; a sliced pork sandwich, and a Cachapa; a kind of pancake made from cornmeal, butter and honey. All delicious, and of course, Felipe insisted we have several of each!

 

Finally, on our third day we hit the road for Angel Falls. Making a late morning get-away after lots of last minute packing, we broke from the city’s endless snarled traffic onto an open, multi-lane freeway leading east. The freeway was short lived though and we were soon back in heavy traffic on two lane roads. A stop for fuel revealed some insight into why there is so much traffic in Venezuela — three cents a gallon for gas! Venezuela gained its wealth through its oil reserves, and its current government has no problem subsidizing fuel costs to the masses. There is every manner of vehicle on the roads, from sleek new Toyota and Lexus SUVs, to ’60s and ’70s era American tanks that just won’t die. Most of the taxis were ’70s Malibu’s, LTDs, and Valiants. It was interesting to note that these 30-plus year old US “tug-boats” were still doing the brunt of the daily transportation work amid shinny new Pacific Rim creations which were probably stamped from these Gringos’ deceased cousins; vehicles that had lived shorter, easier lives back in their homeland.