Mérida, Venezuela

After two months in Switzerland, it is time to move on to Grenada and to Mérida in Venezuela. I flew via London, where I could stay with a former workmate of mine in her cosy apartment in the St. Katharine Docks – an area of London I like very much. The flight to Grenada was not without trouble; the airline wanted proof that I will leave the country again such as ship papers or an onward flight ticket. I did not think about taking the ship papers home, but luckily I could show the printout of an e-ticket within Venezuela and they let me finally board the plane. I stayed a few days in Grenada on Blue Bie to look after her and to co-ordinate some work with the yard. It has hardly been necessary; Blue Bie was in good shape. It was nevertheless good that I was there, since a parcel was stuck in customs for weeks and my presence initiated a sequence of calls with the result that the parcel was 8 hours later in the yard :) Then I flew on to Mérida.

Mérida is a lively university town in the Venezuelan Andes with some 300’000 inhabitants. It lies on 1’600m and is surrounded by 5’000m high mountains. There are permanent traffic jams and the old cars pollute the air really badly, not surprising if a tank of fuel costs USD 2. Life here is very cheap, an espresso costs USD 0.25. It took me a while to get used the place, the constant hustle and the noise and to find a place where I could relax. Despite its relative small size Mérida is quite packed and its parks are not meant to be enjoyed. As soon as one steps onto the lawn a park warden whistles you away. Luckily I found the Park of the Poets, where I can relax and play my alphorn. The alphorn is the by far best tool to get into contact with the local people and there’s not a day on which I will not be approached. It is really interesting to get to know the people. The other day I was approached by an author, who lives for a month on the street to find out how these people live to write a book about it.

I am going to the “Iowa Institute”. It is a very small school with some 10 students and 5 teachers. Most students live like me at families all over town. We therefore don’t meet two often after school. The classes are intense and in addition to the 4 hours tuition a day, I am studying another 2 hours to cope with the material. But I enjoy the classes and spend much time playing the alphorn. The weather is during the day mostly sunny and more than 20° warm, but during the day the clouds grow and it pours every second evening. Thus I spend most evenings at home reading and studying. Last weekend I went for a few days to Los Nevados, a quaint village up in the Andes. While it can be reached by jeep, it is by horse or mule only from there. The first evening I met four other sailors, but from the second day I was the only tourist in town and I enjoyed hiking in the mountains and relaxing in the hammock. A few days like this show in how much unnecessary luxury and advertisement we live. Less is often more! Yesterday I went to Tabay to visit the hot springs. It would have been quite disappointing had I not met the Venezuelan champion in Paralympics swimming. He got paralysed in a hang gliding accident six years ago and dedicates his life to the sport. I was really impressed how he accepted and mastered his fate.

The next few days I will go on a four day excursion to Los Llanos, continue the Spanish school for another three weeks and then go on a trip to the Orinocco Delta and the Angel Falls. I will return to Blue Bie in early November and then continue my voyage with Blue Bie.