Weekend Spaziergang

(I´m typingthis from my notes which I wrote earlier today)

I´m sitting in a terrific little mountain restaurant at the end of the bus line labelled "Culata." It´s early Saturday afternoon, no school. So I took a "pòr puesto" from the city center to here. A por puesto, in this case, is a long van, lengthened to hold about 15 people. I was lucky. I got the last seat. It was about an hour ride, up,up,up. During the uphill ride, the city ended and we were in the country. There were a number of small farms and even some very upscale hotels.

The end of the line is a turnaround at a trailhead that leads up the mountain. It reminded me very much of the hike to the top of Spanish Peak, except I STARTED at about 7000 feet. I hiked for a couple of hours and made it to the big saddle.From this point its possible to go off trail and genuinely mountain climb. In my case, I sat down and gasped and admired the view. I don´t know how high I was but I would guess about9000 feet.The only other hikers on the trailwere young couples from Merida. Despite the high elevation, it was genuinely hot. The breeze was understandably cold, given the elevation. I found it somewhat strange to have it feel so warm, and humid, and at the same time with such a cool breeze. The air smells and feels so wonderfully fresh and cool in contrast to the polluted city air of Merida. The couple of hours of solitude and fresh air felt very good indeed.

Culata is the mountain range on the OTHER side of Merida. Sothe view from here is down onto the haze of Merida and the impressive Andes rising up behind it. Beautiful!
The vegetation is surprising at this altitude. It´s very green and lush. There are lots of cows, reminding me very much of the Swiss Alps above Bern. And, just like the Alps, and the German mountains, after walking back down to the bottom, I´m able to sit down in a great looking restaurant with wonderful views. How civilized!

I even found trout on the menu! However, trout came with salad, so I chickened out (as it were)and ordered ¨chicken in a basket." Good old fried chicken and french fries. Not necessarily the healthiest thing, since who knows what kind of oil it was cooked in,but it reduces the chances of getting Hugo´s revenge. I didn´t hear the sounds of screeching chickens being chased by the mamacita of the restaurant prior to the meal, so maybe that´s a good sign. The chicken and french fries were excellent. Now, backdown the hill to "civilization."

I´m starting my last week of language class. It truly is a wonderful feeling to be able to ask directions, talk to the teenage waitress about the virtues of chicken in a basket, and discuss the merits and demerits of Honda v. BMW motorcycles with the bus driver. By this statement I definitely don´t want to overstate my abilities. But I mention it in relation to the fact that it definitely beats just riding the bus in silence! Hasta luego!