Venezuela

Introduction

enezuela – this is my next destination. The country is famous of big resources of oil and Hugo Chavez. The charismatic president tries to introduce socialism in Venezuela. He is also one of the best known critic of US imperialism.

Although Venezuela is not a popular tourist destination there are many interesting sites to visit.

Orinoco - Venezuela — Orinoco – Venezuela

We managed to buy quite cheap ticket and went to Venezuela in March – the end of dry season. The flight took us several hours from Frankfurt to Caracas. It was a very tiring flight. We spent in plane four hours before departure. The departure was delayed because of technical failure. It was only the beginning of bad luck. When the plane was landing in Caracas a car appeared at runway. And the pilot had to take off the plane rapidly. The plane was huge – Airbus 340. All passengers were pinned in their seats. After 20 minutes the pilot made second attempt to land. This time it was a successful. We were in Caracas.

Caracas

The capitol of Venezuela is said to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Everyday there are huge number of robberies in Caracas. The criminals often use a gun. Anyway this is the worst thing to loose money at the beginning of the trip. To avoid this it is a good idea not to walk on the streets after dark. Most of the tourists try to make their stay in Caracas as short as possible. We stayed there only one night.

Venezuela is a challenging country. At the airport we had to exchange money. There was official exchange desk. The rate was not good. In March 2010 it was 4.3 VEB / 1 USD. Besides the clerk collected fingerprints. We decided to exchange money illegally. The rate was better 6 VEB per 1 USD. It was very risky to do it this way. First of all the scalper could cheat us. Besides there are many policemen and security services guys at airport. We risked to have a trouble with a law. We took a risk and exchange money illegally. Everything was ok.

We took a taxi to a hotel. We watched the city from the cab. It looked very nice. There is the sea from one side and the mountains from the other side.

In Caracas we spent only one night in hotel Monserat. The hotel was situated in a district Altamira. This was one of the most safe district in the capitol of Venezuela.

We were very busy at our first day of holidays. First of all we wanted to see the streets of the one of the most dangerous cities in the world. They looked as the streets of every big cities in Europe. We had breakfast – USD 15 and went to the bus terminal. We bought tickets to Ciudad Bolivar. It took us two hours. The rest of the day we spent walking down the streets in Altamira and visiting parks.

In my opinion Caracas is a very nice city. The level of crimes makes the tourists avoid visiting the capitol of Venezuela. It’s a shame.

In the evening we went to bus terminal again. We had bad luck. Our seats were situate in the most cooler part of the coach. I had very warm clothes and it was still cold. Despite of the cold I managed to sleep almost all night.

Ciudad Bolivar

We arrived at Ciudad Bolivar at dawn. There were many tourist agencies next to bus terminal. Some of them were opened 24 hours a day. Staff of agencies usually speak only Spanish. We were attacked by English-speaking salesman at bus terminal. He managed to convince us to buy the trip to Roraima (300 USD-2 people). The price included the trip and accommodation in the city.

We took a rest in the hotel and visited Ciudad Bolivar. Plaza Bolivar is an interesting site of the city. There were church and buildings from colonial times. Ciudad Bolivar was a typical South-American city with narrow streets and colorful buildings. It was nice to see sunset over Orinoco river.

In the evening we went to San Francisco de Yureni by bus. All night trip was full of military experiences. There were many checkpoints in Venezuela. Military men had automatic weapon. They controlled all vehicles. Sometimes they only looked hard at the window but sometimes the checked the documents and luggage very carefully. When we approached the Brazil border there were more checkpoints and the controls were very detailed. Once all passengers had to leave the bus. Women and men queued up in separate lines. The military men asked everyone about the destination and other stupid things (it reminds me US border procedures).

Usually we didn’t have to leave the bus. Military men controlled the passports and left the bus. It was night and bus was very comfortable. It was very easy to fall asleep. I slept in peace. Suddenly I felt a nudge at my arm. I opened the eyes and saw the barrel of automatic weapon touching my arm. I looked up and the soldier said ‘pasaporte por favor’. I think I will remember the situation for a long time.

Roraima

We went from San Francisco de Yureni to Canaima national park by jeep. There were 5 people in our group: Uli, Monika, I, guide and porter. Porter and guide carried food and tents. We carried our staff in backpacks. It was crucial to optimize the weight of backpacker. In my opinion it should not be heavier then 10-11 kg. You should take:

sleeping bag
2-3 t-shirts
raincoat
fleece
2 pairs of pants
underwear and socks
flashlight
purification tablets
toothbrush, tooth paste, soap, small towel and limited number of cosmetics. There are only rivers to wash during the trail
pajamas

First day we hiked almost flat through savanna 6 hours. It was very difficult because of sun and very high temperature, 40 Celsius degrees. There was a beautiful view on Roraima and Kukenan-tepui from the trail. At 7 pm we reached the camp. It was Indian village. We put up tents and had dinner. After meal I watched a beautiful sky full of stars. We were very tired and went to bed at 9 pm

We had breakfast and started our second day of Roraima trail. This time it was uphill almost all the time. After four hours we reached our second camp next to Roraima tepui. The camp was situated next to the river. There was only one primitive shelter on the camp. We hardly managed to put up our tents and it started raining. All people hid under the shelter. 15 people could hardly find a place to stand. After 3 hours the rain stopped and we had dinner. We were at the end of dry season in Venezuela. The savanna, we crossed the first, was very dry but there is unique climate on the tepui and around all the year. It is often rain there.

It was a great challenge on the third day. We got up at six and started climbed on the top. The trail crossed jungle. It was very humid. From time to time we reached to view points. Unlucky there were many clouds around and we could not admire the view. We also passed a few small waterfalls. The trail started to climbed steeply. We were very sweaty, tired and it started to rain. We had to be very careful not to slip. At the end of our trip there was no jungle around. There was only rocks to climb up. It was so steep the trail was up and a little down and again up. We were almost at the top of Roraima and there was a surprise or maybe it is better to say it could be surprise. We had to cross the waterfall. We didn’t care about it because we had already been wet. Finally we reached the top. All our clothes were completely wet.

Our guide chose very nice and dangerous place for camping. It was situated on a rock shelf. It was enough to make two reckless steps and there was 20 meters precision.

It was not very cold on the top of Roraima. It is enough to have sleeping bag for 0 degrees and night is very comfortable. The next day we spent visiting the top of tepui. Roraima is one of the oldest geological formations on Earth. The landscape of top is very harsh. It looks like moon surface. Mostly there were only rocks on the top. From time to time we could see the plants, small animals and birds. Many species are very unique and can be found only on the tepui. We visited crystal value, natural jacuzzi and went to a few view points. Unlucky the weather was so bad that we could only see the thick clouds around. From time to time it rained. Generally the day was not so bad but definitely the weather could be much better…

Next day we left Roraima. We went down steeply. We had to be very careful because the rocks were wet. It took many hours to reach Indian village. We were so tired and dirty that we jumped to the river at once. Puri Puri flies were waiting for us. I was bitten a hundred times. There was red spot on skin after biting and it itched merciless a few day.

The last day we crossed savanna. It was very hot and we were more tired then at the beginning of hour trip. After 6 hours of trekking we left Canaima park. A guide took us to a beautiful waterfall. It was very nice to swim there. The only obstacle was puri-puri and a few dozen bites more on my body.

We took a night bus to Ciudad Bolivar and it was the end of Roraima trip.

Orinoko

W spent in Ciudad Bolivar only one day. First of all we took a very long shower. It was the first shower from a week. The rest of the day we spent relaxing.

Next day we went to Tucupita and started boat trip on Orinoco.

At the beginning the river was wide and there was plenty of houses at the riverside. The further from Tucupita the house were simpler. We visited a few of Indian houses. All family lived in one room. They slept in hammocks. Clothes lie directly on the floor in the corner of the room. Orinoco was the most important in Indians’ live. It was a source of food. Indian women washed clothes in the river. Children played in the river.

When we passed several kilometers the riverside was changed completely. Instead of houses and agriculture fields it was a jungle. The jungle was very dense. From time to time we could see exotic animals and birds like toucan, monkey. We also stopped for piranha fishing. Unluckily I did not catch any fish.

We spent a night in Indian village. It was an unforgettable night. We slept in very comfortable moriches hammocks next to the riverside. I was woke up by sounds of the jungle: cry of monkeys or other animals. Sometimes it was like a cry of dying animals.

In the morning Monika decided to buy one of the moriche hammock. She paid 250 VEB. It was quite a lot of money for Indian family. We said goodbye to Indians and continued our trip. A few hours later we met the Indians again in the shop. I was shocked to get know that they spent all 250 VEB for sweets and coca-cola. The guide explained me that this was Indians’ style of life. If they have money they will spend it all at once. Next day they go fishing. In fact they don’t need money for daily life.

The second day of the trip was not as interesting as the first one. We made a short jungle walking and came back to Tucupita. We spent a night in Pequeno Hotel. It was a hovel. By the way the hotel was recommended by Lonely Planet at first position.

Margarita

In the morning we left Tucupita. We went to bus terminal to get a bus to Puerto la Cruz. We were informed that the next bus to Puerto la Cruz was at 8 pm but we could take a taxi to Maturin (200 km) and then take a bus to Puerto la Cruz. We expected to buy a lot of money for a taxi. We were surprised to be informed that the price was the same as for the bus. We got a taxi with two other Venezuelans and paid 50 VEB per person. In Maturin we took another taxi and went to Puerto la Cruz. The driver was a lady who drove 150 km/h. We were in Puerto la Cruz at 2 pm

It was a long line to buy a ferry tickets. When we bought the ticket we had to go to the second line to confirm the tickets. According to the timetable the departure was at 4 pm At 3.30 pm we were informed that the route was canceled. The next one and the last one was supposed to be at 6 pm A lot of people were waiting for the ferry. A half an hour before a departure our luggage was collected and at 6 pm there was another information: ‘There will be no ferry today. The next one is tomorrow.’ All passengers were very angry but it did not change anything. We went to the city to find accommodation for a night. I noticed that many Venezuelans decided to spend a night in a waiting room. In Puerto la Cruz we found a very nice hotel – 150 VEB per night. Puerto la Cruz was a very nice city. There was a beautiful marina with many people even in the evening. We regretted not to stay there for a few days. In the morning we took a ferry to Margarita. It was a very comfortable journey. We decided to spend the rest of our holiday in Juan Griego. This was fishing town. The town was famous of beautiful sunsets. There were also nice beached close to the town. Our accommodation was very simple but nice. There was only one big disadvantage. Every other evening between 7.30 pm and 9 pm the Venezuelan government switched off the power. The power facilities were not maintained correctly and rolling blackouts were imposed all over the country.

We spent a few days on Margarita. It was very relaxing. We swam in Caribbean sea, took sun bath, had dinners at the beach and admired sunsets. Our diet was very healthy. We ate fruits and fresh juice for breakfast and fish/seafood for dinner.

It was enough for us relaxing on the beach three days. We went to Polamar to buy an excursion to Los Roques. It was touristic pick during Holy Week. The prices were extremely high. One day excursion to Los Roques costs USD 300. It was to much for us and we had to forget about Los Roques.

Instead of the excursion we went to El Valle on Margarita. There is a famous statue of Mother of God. The statue is famous of many miracles and many Venezuelan people make a pilgrimage to the church. We went there on Palm Sunday and took part in church service. The church was full of people. Many of them had palm to commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. When the service was over many people moved toward the altar to pray next to the statue of Mother of God. Around the church there were many souvenir shops. Most of them sold devotional items.

Coming home

Our holidays were coming up the end. We had a domestic flight from Margarita to Caracas. The plane was on time. In Caracas we had to pay extra tax to leave Venezuela. We passed all checking and were waiting for a plane at the gate. Suddenly airport serviceman came with a list of several passenger names. The list was on the small board. Everyone could read it. The airport speaker also read the names and asked the person to go to our gate. I was interested in what is going on. I asked and they informed me that computer had picked up several names for extra and very thorough security control. The people went to unknown direction and came back very pale after one hour…

The flight was nice. I slept a couple of hours in the plane. We landed at Frankfurt airport. I looked though a window. The plane was surrounded by the police cars. Some policemen were with dogs. A few policemen entered the plane and made passport control on the board. We left the plane. We had to go through police cordon. It remained me the photos or movies from Second World War-German Nazi led people to gas chambers …

In Poland the custom duty officer approached us and asked ‘Did you come from Venezuela?’. We confirmed and our luggage were checked. The officer was very nice, asked about the trip and didn’t find anything we should have declared.

Interesting Facts

Petrol is extremely cheap in Venezuela.
Miss Venezuela. Venezuela is famous of oil and Miss Venezuela. Every year beautiful girls from Venezuela are at the top of every beauty contests. Miss Venezuela is great business. Very young girls are prepared to take part in the beauty contests. Plastic surgery is very common in Venezuela. In Caracas I saw many slim women with very big silicone boobs. In fact there were many beautiful girls in the capital. Generally people are fat in Venezuela. They eat a lot of very fatty food.
Venezuela’s Food. Food is not special. Locals people like empanada, arepa. They are tasteful but very fatty. Fruits are very good but expensive in Venezuela. We also ate seafood and fish. They were good but not as delicious as Mexican food. I can recommended fresh juice and coffee. Coffee is very good. I think it was the best coffee I had ever drunk.
Venezuela by night. The streets are empty in many cities, towns after dark. People are afraid of walking on the streets at night. They probably watch Venezuelan soap operas or go to bed.
Strange customs of Venezuelan guides. We bought all inclusive trip package in Venezuela. Food usually was cooked by the guide and guide, porters and tourists ate the same food. At the beginning or at the end of the trip we went to cheap restaurant to have a meal. The guide bought the food only for a tourists. It was usually chicken with rice. He sat with us but didn’t eat anything. First I thought he had already eaten dinner. When Monica finished the dinner some food left on a plate. The guide asked her: ‘Did you finish your meal?’ She confirmed. I was shocked when the guide started to eat leftovers. It was not an isolated case. By the way the excursion were not cheap and I think guides are paid quite well.
Venezuelan use words gracias or por favor very rarely, especially Indian people. When they get something they usually smile and walk off without a word.
Energy rationing in Venezuela. Venezuela’s government imposed rolling blackouts of some time every other day throughout the country. It is very strange because Venezuela has huge sources of oil. They also have one of the world’s largest hydroelectric power plant.

Useful advice

Exchange Rate in March 2010: 1 USD – 4.3 VEB black market rate: 1 USD – 6 VEB
Safety and security. Venezuela is not a safe country. According to the statistics crimes rate (including murder, robbery, kidnapping) is one of the highest in the world. The most dangerous part of the country is the capitol. It is recommended to stay as short as possible in Caracas. It is dangerous to walk the street in cities after dark. Local people suggested us to take a taxi instead of public transport. Although there are many soldiers and policemen on the streets and many checkpoints on the roads, tourists can not feel safe in the country. To avoid unpleasant situation you should be very careful. Your money should be hidden in a few places. Your wallet should be hidden very close to your body. It is not a good idea to hide the wallet in back pocket. Don’t wear expensive jewelers, watches, clothes. They only draw thieves attention to you.

Public transport. Venezuelans travels a lot by cars or coaches. This is the best way of traveling because petrol price is very low and the roads are in good conditions. Coaches are very comfortable but there are some of disadvantages. First of all procedure of getting tickets. We had to stay in long lines to buy tickets. Then we had to move to the other line to confirm a ticket. It usually took more then hour. The seats are very comfortable and there is quite a lot of space for legs. Every bus has air-condition. The drivers try to prove that the a/c really works and the temperature inside the bus is about 15 degrees, outside 30 degrees. Many Venezuelans travel with winter hats, scarves and gloves. It is crazy but very common. I recommend to take socks, fleece, jacket or sleeping bag.
Checkpoints. There are many checkpoints on the roads of Venezuela. Every driver must slow down and open the window. Soldier with machine gun looks inside a car and sometimes controls the car.

Money exchange. There are two options of exchanging money. Official one. It is a safety way but the rate is very low. In March 2010 it was 4.3 VEB per 1 USD. Some banks exchange money. It takes a lot of time to do it in a bank. The second way of exchanging money is black market. It is against Venezuela’s law and scalper can cheat you. Many of scalpers are ordinary thieves. It is risky but exchange rate is much higher then official one: 6 VEB – 1 USD. How to minimize the risk of losing money at black market:
- don’t be greedy. Thieves often offer very good rates.
- don’t exchange to much money at once. It is better to loose 100 USD then 300 USD
- don’t give or even show a scalper your dollars before he gives you bolivars.
- always count money as the last one. When you give the money to the scalper some notes can disappear in ‘magic way’.
- I think it is better to exchange money in shops or restaurants. It is better to avoid street scalpers.
Speaking. Most Venezuelan speak only Spanish. It is even difficult to find English-speaking guide. Spanish language makes your life much easier in Venezuela.

Get off a comfortable couch and go on an exciting, inspiring journey to exotic corners of the world.

Introduction

Caracas

Ciudad Bolivar

Roraima

Orinoko

Margarita

Coming home

Interesting Facts

Useful advice

tarip

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