Last Sunday morning, I was given a tour of Puerto Cabello. Then, we attended a church service there. I've included a picture of the service we attended - the church is growing nicely! While there, I was able to greet the congregation and explain briefly of our ministry in the U.S.
The aerial photos of the city were taken from the balcony of an apartment where we stayed in Puerto Cabello. "Puerto Cabello" means "Port of Hair" and apparently it was supposed to be a main strand of exporting and importing goods which is how it got it's name. Venezuela's main source of revenue is the oil industry. I have seen several refinery's of which they are very proud. Gas is extremely cheap!! I couldn't believe the prices. You can fill up your car for around 2 bolivares which is approximately $.40 in U.S. currency. Imagine gas being around 5-10 cents a gallon!
The power went out while we were staying in Puerto Cabello. I've found that happens a lot in parts of Venezuela - the electricity and water goes out for extended periods of time - imagine how spoiled we are living in the U.S.! Another trend of the area is that most people do not have hot water heaters. There is one temperature of water and it is whatever it is in the pipe - for me, that's a little cold!
Other than the utility dilemma, the people that I met in Puerto Cabello and throughout Venezuela are very sweet and they want to help in so many ways to make sure that I am enjoying my stay. I've really enjoyed getting to know everyone and watching the work that God is doing here! This parrot belonged to a family we stayed with in Maracay - his name is "Pepsi-Cola"!
There's one more trend I need to mention - I love to have at least a cup of coffee during the day and sometimes more. Well, in Venezuela, they drink coffee and they often have it in the morning, or after a meal. They serve it in very tiny cups (at least half-size of a regular mug) and it is served with sugar added to it. I went out shopping one day and found coffee in a shop along the street. When the guy asked me what size I wanted and he pulled out these tiny little cups for a small and medium, I said "grande" and he used a cup smaller than what we would consider a small in the U.S. They told me that no one ever orders that much coffee so I think for a moment, I was a star in that place. Interesting!
The coast shot was taken as we were leaving Puerto Cabello and driving back up to the Paraguay pennisula. I've seen a variety landscapes now and very pretty scenery, from the desert to the mountains, to the coast and beaches. Next, the Paraguay towns...
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