Monday, April 19, 2010

Choroni- Heaven on Earth




So we left on an overnight bus Wednesday arriving to our posada (hostel) Thursday around 11 am... To our surprise the hostel was nothing like the website... it was in the middle of nowhere, a full kitchen meant an outdoor barely functioning cooking area and what we thought was going to be a luxurious vacation turned into a borderline camping experience... After pouting and complaining for a good half hour we headed to the beach from which we thought we were very far which turned out to be a much needed, easy 30 minute walk...
The beach (playa grande) was absolutely PARADISE and suddenly our worries went away! It was my perfect paradise... a combination of beach AND mountains... what could be better?
The first day we spent most of our time tanning, playing in the waves, and being beach bums... plus we met our new surfer friend/instructor named Julian or Tarzan as we preferred in reference to his long hair, tan skin, and hippie lifestyle... We made plans to go surfing with him for Friday! and I was sooo excited... because surfing has always been on my list of things to do! :) Thursday night we used teamwork to cook some pasta and veggies and played lots of games! I felt like I was at my own little summer camp and everyone got along great, it was so fun!

Friday: we got off to a late start due to no power and catchin up on some much needed sleep, cooked yummy breakfast- eggs and potatoes!, then off to the BEACH for SURFING LESSONS! and everyone got up! Tarzan was quite the teacher :) It was just as much if not MORE fun than I expected and I definitely plan to go again in my future... That night we cooked dinner again (black bean tacos) and played more camp-like games! plus some drinking games! We luckily had a night without rain so really wanted to make it to downtown for the nightly tambores dancing... but since our posada was kind of far from el centro and we were getting pretty into our ultimate charades we didn't know if that was going to happen... all of a sudden our wishes were granted... a what we originally thought to be creepy truck pulled up with tarzan and our hostel family to take us to el centro to go out! We all hopped in the truck...! They took us to a really cool but expensive surfer bar! unfortunately the tambores wasn't going on but we met some cool people from Germany, hung out by the water, and headed back around 1:30 AM... gooood night!

Saturday: early wake up... the town is starting to get more and more busy for independence day weekend! we hopped in a fisherman boat to Chuao the famous city of cocoa~! The boat ride was a blast with huge waves and the water was bright turquoise, absolutely magical. We spent a few hours at the beach in Chuao, toured the city, tasted some famous cocoa, then hopped back in the boat for stop #2... it started to DOWNPOUR on us in the middle of the ocean on this boat and because no valuables got damaged, it was actually really fun! We got to the second beach and played in the waves in the rain which was super fun! Then we headed home for another night of cooking dinner, playing games, exhausted, and early bedtime!

Sunday: last day... we spent a few hours on the beach with the early rays and then did a little shopping! I got some gifts, a fun little wrap/dress/coverup, a hippie headband, and lots of jewelry! then it started to rain on us like always haha but we managed to cook some lunch, shower, and pack our things for another long night of traveling! when we finally got to the bus terminal there was a TGIFridays near by and we were of course ECSTATIC to eat good american food! We all had the 30 bolivares (7ish dollar) special... a big burger, fries, drink, and icecream! what could be better after a long beach weekend!? (ok lets get serious... im DYING for a good ole salad from karen's kitchen... these carbs are killing me haha)

We finally made it home after another 12 hour overnight bus.... I am absolutely exhausted and have a lot of school work to do... but the trip was overall a complete success despite our complaining at the beginning! everything worked out perfect which just reiterated lesson #2 on my list (everyone doesn't always go as planned... that's what makes it fun!) we all got along great, got lots of sun, i finally did surfing, and visited what i truly believe was a little taste of heaven... CHORONI!

11 days left. wow. i'm not sure how i feel about this... like anything it is bittersweet! there are things i am excited for at home and things i am sad to leave! This has been one of the greatest experiences... EVER.

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