Soaking up some Carribean rays

Well this weekend I decided to head to the coast with some friends to do some needed relaxing on the beach. So we set out from Merida at around 6pm. We purchased a ipod speaker before leaving which proved to be a great purchase for hotels and the beach. Nothing like drowning the constant sounds of Reggaeton with the likes of Bon Iver. So anyways we took our giant coach bus on a 12 hour ride. After a flat tire and two security checks, it ended up taking 14 hours to get to Valencia. After spending a couple hours in the Valencia bus station trying to get a bus ticket home, we set off for the city Chichiriviche, a popular beach city that has close access to a set of islands that is part of a national park called Morrocoy. The first day in Chichiriviche was spent trying to find a posada first and foremost. Because it was Carnival, many people headed to the beach so lots of places were all booked up or way too expensive. We eventually found this nice posada that ran us around 10 dollars a night. It was run by a family and had a gorgeous balcony that included a kitchen and a view of the ocean. We headed to a coastal beach and caught some waves and soaked up the sun. Needless to say, the water was perfect. Only a little nicer than the shores of lake michigan haha. After the beach we headed back to the posada to utilize the kitchen and made some plantains and pasta. The night was spent with stints on the beach and casual drinking and playing games.
The next day we decided to head to one of the islands. We went to the closest island (because of monetary reasons) called Cayo Sal. We hopped in a boat and went out to this island. On the island, we met up with some other people from venusa and set up our camp site. The beach and the island was great and beautiful but was packed with people because of Carnival. (This brings me to a sub point. With all the beauty that venezuela has to offer, they do a really poor job on maintaining the environment. These beaches were so pretty but were full of clutter. This has to do with a certain mindset that the people have. Even in merida, it is perfectly acceptable to throw trash in the street. Also, there is no pollution control, the cars and trucks exhale so many deadly fumes into the air. It is a really sad sight sometimes.) We spent the day playing frisbee and volleyball and just relaxing. Once it hit around 6pm, most of the people that werent staying on the island had left, it became so much more peaceful and beautiful. We headed out to a a series of tide pools to look at crabs, fish, starfish, and the works. While we we there we had the pleasure of experiencing a beautiful island sunset that was just perfect. We headed back to the camp site for some cards and fun for the rest of the night.
The next morning we headed back on a boat to the mainland. We had to pay extra for a new boat driver because our driver that was supposed to pick us up never showed. On a sad note, my tent was stolen by this boat driver. We put our backs in the back of the boat by the driver and his helper and they must have removed it from my pack. They threw our packs on the dock and pulled away before i could even notice it. Sad :( We then proceed to take an hour bus ride to another beach city of Tucacas. We searched for another Posada called Posada de Carlos, and well Carlos was kind of a jerk, but his posada had rooms and was cheap. This posada was pretty gross, damp and had a distinct smell, but we made the most of it(and it did have A/C). The day was spent throughout the town looking around and taking advantage of american movies on cable. The majority of the people in our group were not feeling so good, so we decided to take it easy for the day.
The next morning, we spent the day at the beach. This one was also crowded but was beautiful. It was surrounded by mangrove trees and had lots of coral. A funny thing happened there. We were in the ocean when this lady started to me. She asked if she could take a picture with me because of my blond hair. I went back to the beach with her and proceeded to take pictures with her and her whole family. They really love blonde people out here because it is soo rare. We chilled at the beach and collected some seashells and headed back on a bus back to Valencia. From Valencia we took a 12 hour ride back to Merida. The long trip busses are ridiculously cold but are pretty nice for the most part. (they have bathrooms and tvs also) Made it back to Merida all in one piece. I think i am going to take advantage of the last night of Carnival here tonight!!