Farms and a Brazilian Steakhouse!

I was out in Valencia at a Rotary Conference (soon to be written about) and went out to meet a Portuguese friend (he's practically Venezuelan- he's lived here since 1986!) at his farm in San Francisco de Asis, outside of Maracay. I loved the feeling of being out in the country, away from the insanity and noise of Caracas. It was refreshing to be around extensive grassy areas and animals.






I'd never been to a chicken farm before, so this was a new experience for me. The cheep-cheep of the newborn chicks was therapeutic, as was getting to play with them a little bit.

This little one only weighed 35 grams because she just hatched the night before. The coloring on her head is from a vaccine that there are given immediately upon arrival. Noé told me that the chicks hatch at night at another farm and are brought to him the next morning, before their first meal. That way, he has total control over what they eat and their health.

Weighing the little one. Here you can see the first feathers that grow on the wings. Because of that, they don't stay for very long in these cages with the doors open.

Once in awhile they get a couple of outcasts...roosters! These little guys somehow made it into the mix of hens and will be separated soon. Obviously, for an egg (and not breeding) farm, it's not advantageous to have a bunch of roosters running around! Noé told me that out of the 42,000(!!) chicks that were delivered to him, only a handful turn out to be roosters, as seen by their distinctive markings.

"Run for it, guys!! Jump out here and save yourselves!!" is what it seems like these chicks are saying. Honestly, I felt bad for them, living their whole lives in cages... :( but found this image hilarious because it looks like they're trying to organize a break-out. :)


Apparently the practice as chicks pays off- this hen (that looks semi-rooster to me) managed to fly the coop!! But not for long... Noé is an expert chicken-catcher.

It took him less than 10 seconds to catch the runaway!

After our afternoon on the farm, we went to this amazing Brazilian "churrasquería," or steakhouse, Pare Stop Centro Turístico. I was way too busy being fascinated by the seemingly endless tables of food and waiters who kept coming by the table to offer us any of many delicious meats and even pineapple roasted with cinnamon and sugar. The latter was my favorite and I went for seconds- there's no better desert! And the battered-fried bananas were out of this world. There were tables of sushi, seafood, jamón serrano, cheeses, veggies and anything else imaginable.

The photo above is of one of our many waiters pouring us a shot of the Spanish liqueur "43". It was quite tasty, but VERY strong. Since it has to be served very cold, the bottle is frozen into a block of ice so that when it is being wheeled around on the drinks cart, it stays cold. By the way, he didn't spill a drop!

The photos on this blog show every different part of the restaurant except the sushi bar(!!) and the women's restroom. He comments that the experience to the steakhouse made him feel like Alice in Wonderland. Kudos to the blogger for a great entry! As you can see, Pare Stop is a must-visit for anyone coming to Caracas.

The Pemón in the Gran Sabana

Venezuela made the "front page" of the New York Times website today, and I found the article to be of particular interest because I was just in this region a few weeks ago. I will be writing an entry about my 9-day trip to Gran Sabana, but as I have probably 600 photos and a lot to say, it is a work in progress.

La Gran Sabana, or the Great Savannah, is a region inhabited mostly by the Pemón indigenous tribes. They live in circular mud brick homes with a type of thatch roof. Having been inside a few of them at the campground we stayed at (run by Pemón families), I can attest to how well they keep out the heat. Even the sun beating down on them (the same sun that made it necessary for us to regularly apply at least 50SPF sunscreen) doesn't make the temperature rise.

Pemón Houses at our Campsite

While we were riding back to Caracas, I saw many small smoke clouds. I was immensely curious as to what they were from. I just assumed that they were burning garbage, as it seems like it would be difficult to have regular garbage collection in some of the more remote areas (*random sidenote* Last weekend I passed by the huge landfill where all of Caracas' garbage goes, just outside of Santa Teresa and Maracay.). At one point we passed by a fire raging along the side of the road in the shrubs. A bit later, I saw signs forbidding fires in the area:"Let's respect the biodiversity." I was confused by all of this because in Caracas, the wildfires seemed to be accidental. I didn't know that in certain regions, the fires were intentionally set.

This article tells the story of the Pemón and how setting these fires is a part of their way of life. Make sure to check out the photo gallery, too. The Gran Sabana is definitely one of the most beautiful and unique places I've ever been. Soon I hope to share the photos and stories here!

Interesting...

The sign in the window says "Not for Sale." Were you thinking of putting in a bid?? ;)

I saw this on the way out of a parking lot and loved it.