After several weeks of contacting Dell about a problem with our laptop, under warranty, we finally got a visit from a Dell technician. He came to the dock where we go ashore and worked on the computer at a table outside - with several curious onlookers. He was quick, efficient, and now we have a new LCD screen in our laptop! He also noticed that the LCD casing was cracked and ordered a new part for us. Language was a bit of a problem, as he had no English, but our rudimentary Spanish held up for the operation.

Last Friday, Nov. 28th, we took a trip up to the University here (la Universidad de Oriente), which is a short bus trip away from the city. It's a beautiful campus, set in the hills. We ended up coming back on the University bus after dark, so it was a rare time off the boat in the evening. We chanced upon the cathedral downtown during Friday evening communion mass. Families, dogs, children - it was a big celebration, including a parade through downtown with robed church officials, censers, chanting, singing, and a statue of a bishop or a saint, into the streets surrounding the main downtown square. They went right past fruit vendors and the general hubbub of Friday evening revelry downtown.

One of the most unpleasant aspects to Venezuela so far has been the piles of trash. It is everywhere - in the parks, on the streets, in the curbs, all over. Lots of signs saying not to throw the trash and to keep everything clean, put litter in trash bins, but to no avail. The mentality seems to be to throw things wherever you happen to be. A cleanup operation would be a massive undertaking.
Here also is the zapateria (shoe repair shop) downtown that fixed my Keen sandals, which are punished by long hikes everywhere we go.

We have been keeping ourselves busy here in Isla Margarita, mostly going to different doctors, trying to figure out the bus system here to get around, and just doing general boat main- tenance. We took another trip up to La Asuncion, this time on the bus, with Wayne and Debbie on Sunshine. We saw the government buildings in the state capitol, and found the governor's residence, which has a very pleasant inner garden.
There is a fort up the hill from La Asuncion, well worth the walk up for the views afforded there.