Between Christmas and New Year´s there was time to squeeze in a whirlwind trip to the Colombian border town of Cúcuta.  We were able to catch a ride each way with two different friends.  A couple of nights in Cúcuta allowed us to get a glimpse at the town, take out some pesos free from currency controls, and change then into bolivars at double the rate we would get from the cash machine in Venzuela.  The traffic in and out was incredible, as Venezuelans take advantage of lower prices and the ability to cash in on their credit card amount for foreign purchases.  On the Colombian side, Colombians find ways to register their cars on the Venezuelan side, so they can cross and fill up the tank at about 12 cents a gallon.  You can imagine the lines!

We stayed with a friend who lives in Cúcuta, and he and his family showed us around.  The city was decorated up for the holidays, with lots of lights, banners, and sparkles.  One neighborhood in particular, El Rosario,  was really beautiful, with a festive town square and a gorgeous church with a spiral staircase.  We also ate well of course.  The classic  bandeja paisa comes with black beans, fried egg, plantain, rice, chorizo sausage, and pork rind.  Donny didn´t do quite as well with his sobrebarriga, which translates as flank steak, but we´re pretty sure was some kind of tripe.

We had a day to look around San Cristóbal back in Venezuela while waiting for another friend to return from HIS trip across the border.  We ended up see a matinee movie before heading to the hotel.  We spent the next day on our return 12 hour drive.  Since we were travelling in the daytime on the way back, we got to see the mountains followed later by the wide open spaces of the Venezuelan llanos (plains).  Lunch was one of our best meals lately: a pound of grilled beef with chimichurri and guasacaca sauces to complement, a palm heart and avocado salad and yuca, along with a pitcher of papelón con limón (sugar cane juice with lime).

New Years Eve was another all-nighter back at the house in Caracas.  The place was filled with family, friends and neighbors, and we left the door open.  The last guests left at 5:30, which was when we finally turned the music down a bit and rounded up the multitude of glasses and bottles that seemed to be everywhere.  There was lots of dancing(Videos) and singing and even one January first birthday (like Colton) to be celebrated as well.

We spent the first outside the city at the home of some relatives of the house.  The soup of the day was a meaty broth with lots of root vegetables, beef, chicken, cilantro and spices, corn, etc., the perfect dish to set us all on the road to recovery.  The boys played a lot of dominoes, and the gals sat around chatting.  We are spending the day today (the 2nd)  resting and doing laundry.

Christmas and New Year Photos

Colombia Excursion Photos

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