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Published: September 4th 2007
After a nice long hot shower we ventured out into Merida city in the torrential rain to find our restaurant. Merida is laid out like a grid and the street names are just like New York. We are staying on 4th Ave! The way they give directions is very odd to me. "Just go out of the hotel and down the road a couple of blocks". In fact the real directions to the restaurant were go out of the hotel, take the first right and then the next left. I had to stop at ask for directions and we finally reached the restuarant looking like drowned rats!! The staff couldn´t help themselves and we heard shrieks of laughter as we walked to our table. Myself and Cathy had to hang up half our trouser legs to dry (our long trousers turn into shorts). There was a great choice on the menu and we all ate well. We also treated ourselves to a very nice glass of Chilean wine :-) Following our usual routine, we all had an early night (I have never slept as much as I have done here) to be well rested before our Andes adventure begins......
We all wake up early and look forward to a nice hearty breakfast before our departure to the mountains. The breakfast was delicious - scrambled eggs, selection of cheeses and meats, freshly squeezed juice, avocado, fruits and a selection of fresh "pan frances" and "arepas". We prepare our day packs and meet Juan at reception at 9am to be told that we need to check out of the hotel as we would be staying in a posada in the Andes for two nights. Despite having read our itinerary many times, that part was not very clear. We all dashed away to prepare our small rucksacks so we had enough to last us for two days. It´s amazing how light one can travel when necessary. Juan was so easy going and waited patiently for us while we got ready. We met our driver Rafa and all jumped into the 4 x 4 ready for a new adventure. It took a while to get out of the town as traffic was very busy. We also had to stop for fuel and a quick stop at Rafa´s house for a fix for the fuel casket and then we headed for the hills :-))
We were all keen to start trekking and were a bit disappointed when we heard we had a four hour drive ahead of us! Rafa and Juan were very accommodating and stopped several times so we could get out and stretch our legs. As we got closer to the top, the road was very bumpy and there were some scary bends, which Rafa mastered with such skill. He has been driving on this road for over 20 years, so we were in very safe hands. It was still a little scary at times, especially where part of the road had been eroded away, or where there was landslides blocking part of road. A few times we were met by other 4 x 4 vehicles coming the other way and we had to reverse to let them pass. Heart in mouth is all I can say! We kept Juan very entertained with our terrified looks. We stopped in a little town for lunch and then we were on our way again. We got to the town of Los Nevados by about 3pm. We are at 2700 meters. It is a really picturesque hilly town...... Juan knows everyone in the town and stops for a little chat at every posada. At one stage we stop in the main square and this really friendly girl runs up to us with tourist information of Los Nevados. Everyone is so friendly and greets us with beaming smiles! As our hosts were nowhere to be found, Juan decided to check out availability in another posada and we checked in there instead. We have mythered Juan so much he suggests we go for a walk for a couple of hours before dinner. We all set off on a very steep climb. The treks here are quite difficult - you are either climbing or descending very steep hills. There is very little on the flat, so we really got the circulation going. Then the heavens opened and we all got drenched! When we got back to the posada we were offered a strong drink to warm us up by Miguel, our friendly host - it´s the equivalent of poteen for it´s alcohol content! We were in such a rush in the morning to get ready we forgot to take a change of trousers, so we ended up sitting in wet trousers for the evening! I think that was the cause of my cold.......:-( We had a very nice warming dinner - started with chicken and potato soup followed by rice, chicken and salad all washed down with a couple of Venezuelan Polar beers! Not sure if it is the high altitude, malaria tablets or the rain but we all got the fit of the giggles that evening and kept our hosts and other guests entertained! There were two other couples from Spain and a couple from Poland, so Ida was happy to catch up with some fellow compatriots :-) The posada we were staying in was a far cry from the luxury we experienced in Casa Sol in Merida. It took ages to warm up despite wrapping myself up like a mummy with the blankets they gave us!! Despite preparing for arctic conditions, Cathy was cold most of the night and hardly slept a wink! I think it was her iPod that kept her awake and not the cold :-)
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sinead walshe
non-member comment
hi
Hi Girlies, sounds like ye are having a blast and giggling your way through the holiday so far which is a good sign - so jealous reading the stories while am sitting in an office all day ...cathy, emily got great leaving cert results and got into edinburgh so they are happy out - no other news....cosuins down in australia have just had a couple more babies - siobhan had samantha and sean had wade - there you go - thats ll from me - keep the stories coming!!