Leaving Caracas

Here are a few more pictures from the San Agustin Nucleo.

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.

Day Two in Caracas

Before I continue: Some pictures from my second full day in Caracas

Up the teleferico to the top of "El Avila" with Caracas at the bottom!

The Caribbean from the top. Me, up in the clouds.

Caracas from a tower in Parque Central. A violin student and "escort" in a studio.

San Agustin nucleo intermediate string rehearsal

Today I ventured up Mount Avila on the teleferico. This is a cable car which climbs the mountains north of Caracas. It used to go down toward the sea on the other side but there was an awful landslide which killed many and took out the cable car on that side. I called my taxi driver from Monday and he took me to the base. I bought my ticket and waited on line with several school groups on field trips. My ride up was with two teleferico workers. It was a striking ride up, gradually getting colder and cloudier. It was neat going through clouds as I saw the terrain and flora changing from tropical to almost alpine. At the top there is a nice park, restaurant, snack booths, etc. You can see to the Caribbean to the north and great views of the city Caracas in the valley below. There is still the Humboldt Hotel there but it is closed.

Here it is:

There are nice descriptions of the flora and fauna in the park, very informative!

The name had recently been changed to reflect the original Indian name. It's now known as "Narairarepan", I have no idea what it means, though!

I taxied back into downtown Caracas to the Parque Central complex. I encountered two violin players, young HS age, with their escort/bodyguard. They had been flown into town for their lessons. I guess they are very good players and will someday soon be in the top orchestras. The escort was in charge of making sure they got to and from the airport and the lessons. I introduced myself and after some conversation they invited me to follow them to the studio. The state provides the teacher with the apartment in which they teach. Asking some questions I found out that this teacher has 40-plus students and that's his job, plus playing in an orchestra. He has a nice studio and a secretary. There was a nice view of Caracas from the studio.

The escort took me back up to Fesnojiv headquarters and I asked them for help finding the San Agustin Nucleo where I understood there was a rehearsal that afternoon. I got there and talked with some of the staff before the rehearsal. I was able to watch the middle school age strings. I helped them tune and enjoyed their rehearsal. Very impressive to me, playing Beethoven #1 and a Corelli Concerto grosso. I got to interact a bit, film, ask questions and had a good time!
Thanks to their director Ms. Tupac Amarie Rivas.

Here's a video of the Beethoven:

Getting Ready to go!

Hi, It's Tuesday July 1 and I leave for Venezuela on Sunday, July 6. I'm checking my recording equipment today, making sure I have the cables and connections I'll need. I cleared out one of my computers so I'll have plenty of memory for pictures and recordings.  I hope to be able to post to this blog continuosly during my trip.  It'll be just like you're there!