so after not writing anything for ages here i am. ill write more about the brigade later as theres so much to write there and im a little hungover. so another time.
im in merida which is a city in the west of the country in the andes. so theres high mountains on either side of the city. apparently this city is considered one of the wealthiest cities in south america. i think its to do with the concentrtion of wealth. ive been taking spanish lessons here for the past week and i am starting at a new plac next week. so ill be here for just over two weeks i think. ive flagged the idea of going to angel falls and into the east of the country. i dont have the time or the money. going to angel falls is really expensive and will have to be included another time. ive been couch surfing here in merida staying with this guy oscar for the past week. its been really cool staying here. have my own room with a double bed. but today i have to move into a posada as he has his brother arriving tomorrow so needs the space. but i think i should be able to come back here afterwards. a posada is basically like a hostel but more like a hotel. but ive managed to find a cheap one for a few nights. ill be moving there later today.
the spanish course has been good. i got put into the 2nd level which i kind of struggled with as all the spanish i had i had picked up during my time here. so conversationally i was better than writing but my spanish was really basic and on hindsight i probably should have taken the first level but oh well. im getting there. met some cool people in the course and one of the ladies who runs the course is helping me get some us dollars. which you get a way better exchange rate for. saves me a trip to colobia. i was going to mission it across the border as aparently you can choose to withdraw either pesos or dollars. but that would have been real complicated and would have spent heaps of time travelling. so this is much better.
on a bummer of a note, my camera fucked out. which i was not very impressed with. ive put it in to get fixed and should find out next week if its fixable and how much. hopefully is nothing serious. coz cameras are really expensive here. might get myself a disosable camera for the moment as this city is quite beautiful.
so i have just over a week here before i have to make my way back to caracas a few days before christmas as ideally i would like to travel back christmas day for my flight on boxing day but the country shuts down a few days before christmas so no busses. i didn`t really want to spend christmas in caracas but looks like i have no other option. oh well. im off to cuba next. which should make up for it. just a little. i think next weekend i might take a few day hike. theres a guide i met who provides everything and is fairly cheap so sounds like a good option. which would be cool.
anyway just a quick note this time. a bit mroe recent news than talking about the brigade which was a while ago now. but fear not. there is much more to tell. so until next time
hasta luego
peace
