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adventures in Venezuela

Welcome to the Jungle.

VENEZUELA | Monday, 27 July 2009 | Views [64]

So I'm in the Orinoco Delta.

And it's crazy.

I'm living in a cabana - a small hut in the middle of the jungle that sits on stilts next to the delta water. Now, I come from a small town, but this is literally the middle of nowhere. It's a 45 minute boat ride to the nearest port, which isn't much of a town, just a store there. And then it's hours and hours to the city. At first, I was thinking what did I get myself into. 2 months here, I'll be so bored. But everyday is something new and amazing. I've been here almost a week now, and i'm in love with the place.

I'm working at a hotel that does adventure tours throughout the Delta region. It's like a Hilton in the middle of the jungle, satellite internet and everything.Except this Hilton has a ton of animals. Every morning at 430 am I get a wake up call. From the monkeys. It's kind of annoying at first, and then I realize how amazing it really is. I go back to sleep for a couple more hours till the birds wake up, and then there's no way to sleep through that. Theres so many birds. Tucans, parrots, guacamaya, the whole shabang.

OK so I'm awake and off to work...which, so far really confuses me. My spanish is improving, but Venezuelans speak really really fast. So here I am, trying to follow orders in the kitchen and cleaning rooms. I'm really good at washing the dishes and mopping the floor, but anything beyond that takes me awhile to understand what they need me to do. I'm doing a little bit of everything. Make some beds, serve some lunch, wash some dishes, go out on tours, mop floors, and the list goes on. I'm definitley learning a lot about how to run a camp. So that's 6-6. dinner, shower....

and it's party time.

I am learning how to make every drink and can whip em out like none other. actually, i'm quite the klutz in the bar, but it's going well. My favorite drink to make is a caipirina. My friend Wes had tried to make them back in the states, but they were never good. But now, I know how to do it the right way. Crushed ice, sugar, limes, and lots of white rum. So after the drinks set in...there's dancing. and lots of it. and im learning to salsa and merrengue very quickly.

so. lots of bugs. lots of cleaning. lots of partying. here in the delta its la vida loca.

my #1 job, though, is killing mosquitos.