Quizás, Quizás, Quizás

I woke to the timid voice of Marihermina, coaxing me from a dream where I was being chased by a dog. "Piero is en-route to Zea" she told me, "and he will be here in 20 minutes". I was drinking Coffee and reading Hojas de Hierba when Piero arrived with his son Pietro, and we set off, with the company of David, to the town of Zea (~2.5 hours). We were traveling to Zea to learn how to make Miche, an liquor andina with taste of ouzo and the alcohol content of aguardiente.

In the front seat, David and Piero argued the politics of a potential coup d'etat, and I happily named the dates of every Venezuelan golpe de estado I could remember (1945, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1992, 2001). David, a romantic in all ways, spoke of the heart of the revolution, and the burgeoning spirtuality of the Venezuelan youth that back the Bolivarian Revolution. Piero, who at 75 was more than twice the age of David, was less optimistic and less abstract. While David was bouncing with excitement at each thought, Piero was almost stereotypical in his miserly dismissals David's youthful optimism.

In the twenty minutes of listening to their chatter, I had passed, unnoticed, from the green hills of Mérida to the bare cliffs (barrancos) and cacti to the West. All was orange except the river banks that bloomed with a perfect single-file line of bananas and, where it widened, with sugar cane that was being piled into the back of a truck. On each side of the road sheer rock and dirt stood ominously over the road, and ever hill bore the marks of erosion.

And we returned, just as quickly, into greenery, the conversation turning to the effects of MDMT, LSD, marijuanna, and a slew of other elicit substances. We passed  Cows that grazed the river banks and the mountains were covered with crops on 30 degree slopes. I stuck my head out the window and heard the dried grass rustle in the wind from our car. All was well when we arrived at the site of Miche elaboración (please see pictures for actual details, I am tired of writing and the others are waiting patiently for my return)

Frase Del Día: Piel de Gallina
It may come as a surprise, but I have used it many times here in Mérida. It is as it looks... "goose-bumps"