Lots of parents waiting in the hall!
Wednesday, July 9
I called my friendly taxi driver to take me to the bus depot. From there it was over 6 hours to my next stop, Barquisimeto. This is the city which produced Gustavo Dudamel, the international star conductor who will be the next music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. (If you haven't seen him conduct, you should!)
The "executive" bus transportation in Venezuela is very good. There are regular busses to almost everywhere and they'll let you off in between, as well. My trip to Barquisimeto was only about $25. The busses are motor coaches, double-decker in most cases and very comfortable. They are, however, very cold. I was warned of this by a couple from New Zealand the day before my bus ride and they were right! The bus didn't leave until about 1:45 so I had a few hours to wait in the terminal. I watched TV and had a sandwich lunch. During the ride it was hard to keep from watching the scenery as we left the city and drove the winding roads into the mountains. We stopped around dinner time in Valencia which I noticed was a very industrial city. My plan had me returning here before I left from Caracas but this was my first hint that I might not stop again in Valencia.
I arrived in the early night at the Barquisimeto bus station, a very crowded, noisy, dirty place! I had a hard time getting a cab but finally made it to the "Posada La Segoviana" This would prove to be the most nicely decorated friendliest and best accomodation I would have during my trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment