Caracas doesn´t seem to have changed too much since last time we were here.  We´ve been laying kind of low, recuperating and relaxing at home.  The family I have stayed with since my first visit to Venezuela in 2001 has welcomed us with open arms (including airport pickup by my lovely pesudo-cousin), and we´ve been doing a lot of catching up.  One big project has been the making of the traditional holiday food item, the hallaca.  Lots of people make them at this time of year, but around here, it´s all hands on deck to help, since the lady of the house takes orders for those who don´t have the skill or time, and sells them.  The hallaca is a mix of beef (in a sort of thick stew), salt pork for flavor, chicken, olives, capers, raisins, onion, peppers all placed on a cornmeal dough and wrapped up in a plantain leaf and boiled after being tied up with string.  They are delicious!  So far, the house has produced almost 1000, and since even just the first step of geting the ingredients together (since the lines in the markets this time of year are horrific) is a chore, there is always some step to be done.  Donny has become an expert plantain leaf  dryer and hallaca tier upper.  The rewards are great though, as we´have had a constant supply for meals as desired.

The Christmas rush is on in the stores, and we braved the melee one day to get a secret santa gift for Christmas party at a friends´s the other day.  We took out a little money from the cash machine, but it spits out bolivars at the official rate of about 2150 per dollar.  If you change it on the parallel market (never on the street, just with friends, etc.) you can get 4500 or so (twice as much!!).  With the prices as high as we´ve been finding them, we really need to change at the higher rate.  The problem is that we don´t have much cash, as everywhere else we´ve been the ATM is the way to go, as there are not such strict controls on foreign exchange.    Venezuelan citizens have a limit of $5000 (just dropped yesterday to $2000) that they can spend on their credit card while traveling abroad.  People find ways to get around the rules, but it´s complicated.  Some leave for nearby Curacao or Colombia and buy virtual merchandise on their card for dollars, or (especially in the case of Curacao) chips at the casino which they then cash in for the dollars. This article sums it up pretty well.

We had a great night out on the town over the weekend, and celebrated Donny´s birthday (again).  We went with some friends to a few bars/clubs and heard some really good live music (salsa).  There was lots of dancing and drinking involved, getting us firmly into the holiday spirit.  We´ve been making plans for New Years or shortly thereafter, hopefully including a trip to the beach very soon.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, safe holiday!!!

More photos of Festivities here