The dunes
Hola chicas!
The rooftop of our posada
Coro´s cathedral
Hola Chicos!
I´m not sure if you are aware, but Venezuela is not the most well travelled country and most backpackers we met, have shied away from Venezuela - which was a big mistake for them. So far, we have found Venezuela to be somewhat out of the Twilight Zone. Mr Chavez´s so called "social" changes are mind boggling. Nonetheless, the people have been very warm and receptive and I have quickly realised the amount of time we have for Venezuela is not nearly enough.
For anyone who thinks this is a socialist country, think again. Marina certainly knows a few things about the subject...... It´s about as socialist looking as Texas! You can certainly get free schooling, but the teachers are paid about $2 a day and some students we have met, said their teachers haven´t been paid for 5+ months! You can imagine the quality of teachers you get in this scenario. Sadly, many of the students want to leave Venezuela, therefore many have a reasonable grasp of English and were eager to speak about the situation.
With Socialism as a mask, the leaders of Venezuela are seemingly doing a lot more taking than giving and the place has many woes. Most people think that if Chavez loses the next upcoming election, his army will fight, initiating a civil war. All over you can see "We love Chavez, and the revolution" - obviously not in English though.. We haven´t met anyone who has liked him yet and most have described him as dangerous or crazy.
Although, it seems the Venezuelans persevere and are high spirited. I've felt very looked after by people, advising us on both safety and nice places to go. Just today, a lady in our shared taxi went in to the hotel with us to ensure we were ok and were given a room with no problem.
Venezuelan Currency Scam: This is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen in my travels regarding money! There are ATMs everywhere, but if you use them, you will get the official rate that is set by the Venezuelan Government which is roughly 4 Bolivars to the dollar. The currency is not convertible, meaning it can´t be traded on the market so the government sets the rates. With the combination of this and a severe shortage on US Dollars (the currency used widely) you obtain a 8.5 Bolivar to the dollar rate. Yes, you read correctly, by trading US dollars you get more than double!!! This is not scam on the part of the people. Chavez apparently limits the amount US Dollars his people can have and also the amount allowed in the country so the demand is high. EVERYBODY wants dollars. We were buying coffee in a strip mall and the cashier asked me if we wanted to trade dollars. Every man and his dog have Bolivars to trade and so far it seems pretty legit, but you need to bargain a bit on the rate. On side note, they have a 12.5 centimos coin (like 12.5 cents) - bizarre huh, but again, its the land of Chavez!
Our route; Maracaibo > Coro > Caracas
Tuesday - Lights out: On the bus towards the Venezuelan boarder, we stopped for what seemingly was an accident. To my surprise there were 50-70 locals pilfering a bus of its contents. I was surprised to see the Colombian police just sit back and watch. Being that there were several dozen police, surely they could have prevented this. When I learned the situation, I don´t think I was too shocked. The bus was full of contraband (untaxed goods) and the locals typically raid these shipments as the police don´t care given its illegal items. Our experience on the boarder was stranger. We had been to two Venezuelan embassies in Colombia found incompetency at its highest and were concerned about the entry. As we approached the immigration office, the power was out and the guy didn't even look at our passports and just stamped us in. Bizarre. Sadly I have heard from a fellow traveller that this specific crossing is now closed. Thank God we made it!!! We stayed the night in Maracaibo and were just happy and content to stay in our hotel.
Wednesday - Parque National Medanos de Coro: The earsplitting loud bus ride to Coro was eventful. It seems like in the Caribean, the drivers are the owners of the bus and this one we took was fully decked out with hugh speakers and subwoofers. The driver didn´t take it easy on the volume either, blarring it at Metallica concert levels! Our path to Coro took us over what is said to be South America´s biggest lake and longest bridge, spanning 8.5km (5 miles). We arrived around midday and enjoyed strolling down the town´s cobblestone streets and admiring the colonial architecture. Late in the afternoon we made our way to their famous sand dunes. For as far as the eye can see they have huge gorgeous sand dunes which we hiked up and down meeting many Venezuelan high school students who were on a field trip there.
Thursday - Baking Hot Coro: If you think the SUN is hot, well you need to visit Coro! This place is said to be one of the hottest in Venezuela and its positively boiling. Certainly over 100F or 38C!! We opted for a gorgeous little posada (typical Spanish house with the garden in the middle) which was amazing, however it didn't have AC. Also with ground floor windows we closed them for safety reasons and it must have been 90F /34C in our room. We are really just looking forward to a nice night to sleep in AC. We didn't do much during the day, but enjoy Coro and relax before our upcoming crazy week...
Friday - Mountainous Caracas: Just as we were starting to enjoy Caracas and its stunning surrounding mountain scenery, we had a bit of an unexpected problem. In the form of a huge puddle of sewage water flying at us from a truck that raced through it. Yes, sadly on our way to this Internet cafe, we were covered in this disgusting water. However we haven´t let that ruin our day and laughed it off once we showered. Caracas doesn't have the best reputation in South America, but I think its going to be a pretty decent place. Our hotel is just across the street from the Caribbean Sea so our view is lush green mountains on one side and the sea on the other! Not bad.
So why am I writing so early; we have a new country to explore tomorrow, but more importantly we´re meeting our family in Aruba tomorrow! My mom, sister Julie, brother in law - Craig, Craig´s mom Robin, my niece Lauren, nephew Jared, and my brand new niece Mia are all going to be waiting for us when we land! Wish us luck that all goes smoothly with the journey there and We´ll have truly tropical adventures to report next week!
Hasta Luego,
Dan and Marina
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