Day 12: Botanical Garden!
June 12th, 2012
I wanted to see more of Caracas’ beautiful scenery so we decided to head to the Jardín Botánico, which means “Botanical garden”! This garden was founded in 1944 by Dr Tobias Lasser and was later opened to the public in 1958. It located at one of Caracas’s colleges, UCV (Universidad Central de venezuela). It covers a total of 70 hectares (172,970 acres), 10 of them are flat lands and the other 60 are covered in hills. It contains more than 2,000 native and non-indigenous species as well as more than 100 types of palms and four greenhouses for bromeliads, ferns, orchids and shade plants. Also, 100,000 trees belonging to 80 species grow in the Arboretum and more than 100,000 types of plants are found in the herbarium.
It’s absolutely gorgeous. This garden has such a wide selection of plants and trees,and all of the different colors of the flowers make this place fantastic. I really wanted to puck some of the beautiful flowers and make a bouquet with them, but I didn’t want to get in trouble with any one! So I just took a ton of pictures to capture the essence of the garden. 🙂
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Day 11: Bolívar’s Birthplace!
June 11th, 2012
Learning about the liberator of Venezuela, Simon Bolívar, was really interesting to me so we decided to go tour the place where he was born. Casa del Libertador is just a few meters from Capitolio or Hoyada metro stations. The house dates back to the 17th century and is the place where Bolívar’s parents lived and raised a family of four children. Bolívar was the youngest child, born in 1783, and according to the historians, he lived in this house until 1792, when he lost his mother to a pulmonary disease. Having already lost his father in 1786, his grandfather took custody of him.
The house shows how wealthy Bolívar’s family was. The walls and floors are made of marble, lots of bedrooms, a library, a kitchen and even an patio that brings natural light to all the areas. Inside the house, you can see the belongings of Bolivar and his family, including precious paintings by famous Venezuelan painters. Among other things on display, you can see the baptismal font in which Bolivar was baptized in. The house was restored in 2011. It welcomes tourists and offers guided visits on only one condition- you must sign the guestbook!
Of course I immediately signed it to get a tour of the place! It’s very beautiful and has exquisite decorating. Simon had a very posh home to live in as he grew up!
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Day 10: Let’s Eat!
June 10th, 2012
Jess’s family wanted to treat me to authentic home cooked Venezuelan meal, and they wanted to invite the neighbors over as well to make one huge buffet. I didn’t mind! I was anxious to try out all the different kinds of food and taste all the exotic flavors and to get to know Jess’ family better. Her family is really close and they all take part in helping everyday chores, so I got to help in making some of the food for tonight! There’s going to be a lot of courses, so time to get cooking.
Jess’s mother told me I would help in making Arepa, which is a flat, round patty made of cornmeal or flour which can be grilled, baked, or fried and stuffed with cheese, butter, ham or meat. Sounds easy enough! I set out to grinding cooked maize flour to use for it. My arms got tired after a while, but I kept at it. Eventually, the flour was grounded enough and I could form it into small patties the size of the palm of my hand. Then I baked them! While they were baking, I got out a big plate and put food on it that you could stuff your Arepa with. Then, I got the baked Arepas out of the oven and let them cool while I helped set the table for the 8 people that were going to dine tonight.
Time to eat! So many different foods to pick from! Jess made Pasticho, which is like the Venezuelan version of lasagna. Jess’s dad cooked a dish called black roast. It’s another common dish, which consists of meat extracted from the rear part of a cow, and prepared with spices and papelon. It tastes really sweet, surprisingly. Jess’s younger brother prepared Chicha which is a thick drink made up of rice and milk, commonly enjoyed with cinnamon and ice. Strange texture, but good! My Arepa’s were perfectly made and they tasted great. I stuffed mine full of cheese and ham. Last, but not least, Jess’s mom made small snacks and the desserts! The pudín de chocolate and torta de auyama were delicious and I’ve taken a liking to her Mandocas which are Venzuelan deep-fried pretzels made from cornmeal. I eat them with melted cheese. Mmm! I wish I could eat like this everyday!
