The trip from Santo Domingo to Mérida was about 7 hours as well and even more beautiful. We stopped at a park on the way call Sierra Nevada. It had a pristine lake and stream surrounded by mountains. There were a lot of people camping there and some fishing. We got some breakfast at the shop there which was incredibly tasty. I ordered 2 arepas, which are like thicker tortillas that you open in the middle and stuff with meat or cheese or whatever you want. I got ham and cheese and a plain cheese one... that one was a little too cheesy. We also got hot chocolate and borrachas, which is bread the size of a muffin with a sweet apple tart in the middle and come in a pack of 6 or 8. Afterward, we walked around the park for a bit.
Jonathan and I were walking together and I wanted to take a picture of us sitting on a tiny cliff over the stream with the mountains in the background. I started setting up the shot and he walked over there. From my vantage point, the steam looked 2 feet wide and so hopping over it didn't look like a problem but I wanted to make sure I could make it there in time, so we did a dry run. I acted like I pushed the button and counted while I ran and jumped across and sat down. I would have been 2 seconds late... I don't know why I didn't push the button in the first place as it would have been a funny picture. Anyway, jumping over the stream had not been a problem because I was going from higher ground to lower ground, but I had to find a faster way if I was going to be able to take the picture. Jonathan spotted what he thought would be a good launching point and I concurred. I looked at the stream again; it was about 6.5 feet wide and I was going to really have to jump.
I locked the place I wanted to jump to in my vision and started to run. I leapt and as soon as my right foot was in the air I said, "OHHHHH SHITTTTT!" and I really meant it. From that point, I knew I was not going to clear the stream and I shat my pants. Ok, I didn't really do that, but I knew I wasn't going to make it. Surprisingly, my right foot planted on solid ground. My left foot wasn't so fortunate and thrust into the water and was suctioned by the mud bank. My momentum was going forward though so I fell onto grass instead of into water.
Where's my shoe? Oh... it is engulfed in the mud bank. I had to shimmy it thus and thus, use leverage and finally, pop! it came out. It was a tad bit cold and my sock and shoe were wet. Great. After laughing for a bit, I put my shoe back on and we kept walking to catch up with the rest of the group.
The rest of the car ride was quite enjoyable. I tied my shoes to the roof to dry them and Nikki put music on and we sang and sang and sang.
When we arrived in Mérida, Bernardo dropped us off at the zoo while he inspected the car. The zoo only cost $.50 to get in. We were all surprised. Granted it was a smaller zoo but still. I don't like zoos so much because the animals are all in cages and don't have their freedom. It is nice that we can see these exotic animals but they seem so bored. Anyway, the best part of the zoo was that I got my name written on a piece of rice with a lion on the back. Erin thought it was a dog and made fun of me the rest of the trip.
Afterward, we went into town to find accommodations. When trying to plan the trip, Dan couldn't find much information online about the different hotels and hostels available and we were somewhat anxious because it was Easter weekend and a lot of Venezuelans would be vacationing here.
The first hotel we went to was full but that turned out to be a good thing because the hostel that we went to right after was super cheap and had planned excursions; they were the type of excursions we wanted to do too! We went out to eat downtown and tried to go to the ice-cream shop that holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the most amount of flavors offered, but the line weaved and swayed a couple of blocks and we had better things to do.
We went back to the hostel and talked with Camila to see what trips we could do. In the end, we decided we would go Canyoning in the morning and Paragliding in the afternoon.
In the evening, we walked around the plaza and got some more Fresas con Crema (probably the 6th or 7th one in 2 or 3 days). Then we returned to the hostel and went on the roof to chill. Nikki had a deck of cards and Jonathan showed her a magic trick where he shuffles all the cards and then flips through them letting her tell him when to stop and can tell her the next card. He did it 3 times in a row and she wanted to know how to do it. Unfortunately, magicians never reveal their secrets. I did the same trick to her afterward. She was a bit frustrated :-P.
I showed her and Jonathan how to play Speed and then I showed them and Dan how to play Egyptian Ratscrew. We had some fun with that game. We played with sandwiches and Jack-7 slams. There was a lot of yelling involved haha.
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