Jan 8, 2013 - El Yaque, Isla Margarita

Well the main reason we chose Venezuela as our vacation destination was playa el Yaque. El Yaque is a world renowned windsurfing (and now kiteboarding) destination. The winds blow daily in el yaque which is good for any sport that depends on wind to propel it. Getting to el yaque was a different story - it meant many delays in the Caracas airport. In fact many of the locals say international touism to el yaque is down because there are no longer direct flights to margarita from places such as Frankfurt and Montreal. I would believe this...

Jan 5, 2013 - Los Llanos

We arrived at our camp later that night. It was pretty rustic, but I liked it. It had hammocks that swung by a pond full of caimans and our cabana was like a large circus tent – it seemed really spacious after our tiny room in Merida. Plus we could choose whether we wanted to sleep in a hammock or our rather uncomfortable bed. We rotated between the two. We were serenaded to bed at night by a chorus of animals and awoke to a beautiful sunrise with scarlet ibis and roseate spoonbill wading in the caiman pond. I think the next day was the...

Jan 4, 2013 - Travel by bus to Los Llanos

We woke up this morning early to make our 7:30 departure time for Los Llanos. Chris was feeling a little better from his travel sickness, but was grateful we had a tour bus to take us directly to our destination. We arrived to our tour company and Jorge, one of the guys who worked there said – Senora, I’m sorry, but the other two people on your trip have cancelled. They were sick and decided they couldn’t go. I stared at Jorge in disbelief as there was a motorcycle rally happening in Merida starting today and there appeared to be no lodging...

Jan 3, 2013 - PN Sierra Nevada

We took a day trip to PN Sierra Nevada today because I’m always interested in seeing the national parks. Plus Chris wasn’t feeling well so we decided going somewhere close where we could take it easy would be good. It was actually very easy to get there from Merida – all we had to do was take a bus and then a jeep. I think it cost a total of about $3 for us both round trip. The park was beautiful. We hung out by the Rio Corromoto for a while – Chris was sleeping, trying to recover from whatever Montezuma had sent him. Then we walked up the...

Jan 2, 2013 - Mountain biking in Merida, Venezuela

New Year's day was quiet in Venezuela. We spent part of the day traveling from caracas to Merida. The Caracas airport was actually quite friendlier to navigate than I expected, but Giovanna suggested that we arrive early as Jan. 1 could be a big travel day. In fact all days around Christmas and New Year's are big travel days in Venezuela so if you are planning a trip, book your flights early (like several months early). We were glad we had tickets - it definitely eliminated stress. Thus far, we have run into nobody but kind people in...

Jan 1, 2013 - NYE caracas

Arriving in Caracas, Venezuela at 11:00 pm on NYE can be a little intimidating to say the least. There is a lot of warnings regarding the airport and Caracas and Venezuela so we tried to be as prepared as possible. We decided it would be best to avoid Caracas (since the airport is on the other side of the mountain) and stay in Macuto. We arranged airport pick-up since we had read taxi's can be sketchy. I had sewn hidden pockets in our undergarmets to safe guard our cash since you really have to pay with cash in this country due to the...

Jan 1, 2012 - Venezuela - Coro

Nach ein paar Stunden Busfahrt kommen wir in Cord an, eine kleine Kolonialstadt im Westen Venezuelas, unterhalb der Halbinsel Paraguana gelegen. Wir checken in der Posada von Roberto und seiner Frau ein. Mitten in der City, ein altes Kolonialhaus, dass die beiden Künstler mit viel Kreativität und Farbe in ein Backpacker Hostel verwandelt haben. Direkt nach unserer Ankunft lädt uns Roberto zum gemeinsamen Silvesterabend in der Posada ein. Alle Gäste sollen etwas typisches aus ihrer Heimat kochen -bei uns wird es dann die Quiche Lorraine mit...

Dec 29, 2011 - Venezuela - Chichiriviche

Nach den Weihnachtsfeiertagen geht es weiter von Berlin über Paris und Madrid nach Caracas. Mit dabei: natürlich Emilie, und unser Sondergast aus dem schönen Hannover, El Falkito. Ziel ist die Hochzeit von Coni und Steffen in Chile, aber da Falk und wir schonmal in Chile waren, haben wir uns gedacht, dass ein Zwischenstopp im sonnigen Venezuela nicht schaden kann. Die erste Nacht verbringen wir in einer Kleinstadt in der Nähe des Flughafens, bevor es dann am nächsten Morgen weiter nach Chichireviche geht. Natürlich wie üblich ohne irgendwas...

Dec 21, 2011 - Venezuelan Money

The currency in Venezuela is the Venezuelan bolívar known as the bolívar fuerte which is actually really quite nice compared to the boring American Dollar that i'm carrying. The currency was revalued a few years ago not to peoples liking and it is a bit strange over here. The official bank rate for the US$ is $1 = 4.3 VEF but as i brought my dollars with me i get an exchange rate of $1 = 8.0 on the black market so carrying lots of dollars is financially well worth it. I've just got to try and mate my dollars last the whole time in...

Dec 14, 2011 - Day out with Phil in the Gran Sabana

Gran Sabana – That is the name of this part of Venezuela in the south east of the country. On Monday 5th December myself and Phil (the other English Volunteer 25) went on a day trip around the Gran Sabana checking out 5 of the nearby waterfalls. The trip cost just under £30 each for the day and included a driver for the whole day. We started off at 9.30am after the local pasties with beef and chicken for breakfast. The first waterfall was really quite high but was just for photos so we very quickly took a couple of snaps as we wanted to get...

Dec 11, 2011 - Waterfall with the guys

On the 4th December everyone from the Foundation plus a neighbour went to a nearby waterfall for a swim in the afternoon. After lunch we grabbed some beers for the 30 minute drive and drank those in the back of the jeep on the way. Manuel (the guys who works on the grounds at the foundation) was pretty hammered already so he was fun. We had a 40 minute walk to the waterfall then swam in the falls which were pretty strong before heading home to get changed and hit the town for a night out. We don’t work on Mondays so Sunday night is a...

Dec 1, 2011 - Life On Larium

Hi guys, I’ve just finished my third night of fantasy on Larium (Anti Malaria drug). I’ve been taking the drug for over 4 weeks now and have travelled for a year before taking Larium with no issues but this time is different. I don’t feel that I’ve slept now for 3 days and not slept that well at all. For the lasy 3 days I just lay in bed all night having crazy dreams, whether I’ve slept or for how long I don’t know but I’m pretty knackered in the morning. I’ve been running every day and walking loads to try and tire myself out but I lay...