Venezuela

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I flew from San Andres, Colombia in the early evening bound for Caracas via Panama City. During the last flight I filled out two different landing cards plus the customs declaration but none of the officials at the airport in Caracas looked at them. It was 1am by the time I walked into the arrivals hall where I expected to be mobbed by taxi drivers - but it was almost empty. I had to hunt around for a taxi driver but it didn't take long before I was hurtling towards the city to the beautiful JW Marriott, paid for using points. The taxi ride was memorable for the driver who had me hold the steering wheel at 70mph while he fished around for his wallet and the various stacks money in plastic bags or held together with rubber bands.

The JW Marriott downtown Caracas

THE VENEZUELAN BOLIVAR
The Bolivar is a beautifully colorful currency but outside of the country it's completely worthless. There are very few legal money changers and those that are open offer the official government rate of about 6 Bolivar to the US Dollar. The black market rates are completely arbitrary; of the three transactions I made during the week I was in Venezuela I got 60, 80 and eventually 100 Bolivar to the dollar. The largest note is 100 Bolivar, so changing USD$200, and getting a mixture of notes, creates a huge wad of cash.

The Venezuelan equivalent of $100USD.

Food and drink is generally pretty cheap but the choices aren't that plentiful. A can of local beer at the supermarket was about 30 Bolivar (60 cents) and a really good bottle of rum only around 500 Bolivar (USD5). The choices for consumer goods was very slim, only one type of toothpaste on offer and things like toilet paper and kitchen towels were almost totally sold out. The metro is dirt cheap with return journey costing 3 Bolivar - that's 3c to go as far as you like, and back again. Gasoline is even more surprising; 4 Bolivar for 40 litres, so about 4c to fill up any car and best of all motorcycles fill up for free, so in that respect, gasoline in Venezuela is cheaper than water.

Any kind of toothpaste you like - as long as it's Colgate

ANGEL FALLS
I left the JW Marriott super early for the airport to catch a flight to Canaima, via Ciudad Bolivar in search of Angel Falls - the tallest waterfall in the world. Canaima is a small village next to a tiny airstrip and a hugely impressive lagoon with no fewer than five gorgeous waterfalls surrounding it. Entrance to the National Park costs 635 Bolivars, the equivalent to about USD6, depending on which exchange rate was on offer.

Canaima Lagoon

But before I could get around the lagoon I joined the rest of my tour group and headed upstream in a long boat for four hours to the outlet of Salto Angel (Angel Falls). After another hour or so traversing through the bush we arrived at the first viewing area very near the base of the falls. A little further up is the pool where you can swim and slide down the smooth rocks. It was quite a surreal experience as the combination of the sunset and the spray from the waterfall created a wonderful atmosphere. It was a long day, probably 12 hours of traveling to get to this point, but it was absolutely worth it. The traverse back down to the boats was done in darkness and much more treacherous than expected - most of us used the flashlights on our phones to light the way but even then there were a few accidents along the way.

Our long boat - not bad for an hour but pretty uncomfortable after four.

The pool at the base of Angel Falls

Me at Angel Falls - November 25, 2014

As far as global backpacking goes this was one of the most memorable days for a number of reasons. Firstly, everything went to plan (taxi's, planes, boats, and buses were all on time - which is rare), my tour mates were awesome, I got to see one of the great natural wonders of the world and to top it off we slept in the jungle at a camp beside the river in hammocks. Brilliant.

Angel Falls camp

Angel Falls at sunrise. Sadly, not my photo. I wasn't up at sunrise.

After an early breakfast it was back down the river to Canaima and a visit to each of the waterfalls in the lagoon. It took the best part of the afternoon to get around all of them but we saved the best, Sapo Falls until the end, just before sunset, again, perfect light for photographs, ambiance etc.

Our guide pointing out one of the Tupui's

Canaima lagoon - Hacha Falls

The tour around the lagoon was spoiled somewhat by a large group of middle aged Dutch tourists who were 1) hard to exclude from any photo opportunity and 2) upset because they were promised a 'private' tour of the lagoon with no other tourists when they booked from Holland. There was quite a lot of bickering back and forth between the Dutch tour leader and the local guides, who incidentally were completely blameless for the whole situation, but the tour progressed, albeit under protest from lots of people in socks and sandals.

On the top side of Sapo Falls

Overlooking the lagoon from the top of Sapo

The final day of the tour was spent wandering around the lagoon and soaking up the atmosphere before heading back to the airstrip to retrace my journey back to Caracas, We had an unexpectedly long layover in Ciudad Bolivar so a group of four took a taxi to one of the local shopping areas for lunch and then on to the waterfall at Llovizna park. It was nestled in a sprawling city park but once we managed to find it, I couldn't believe how huge it was - and loud!

The waterfall at Llovizna park

CARACAS IN A COUPLE OF DAYS
Caracas is located in a beautiful valley, overlooked by Mount Avila, an impressive mountain that separates the city from the Caribbean Sea and also blocks the view. There's a staggering sense of inequality with rich neighborhoods, a bustling central business district and the poor neighborhoods, called 'barrios' in the hills to the west of the city. Living conditions are very basic and cramped in the barrios, most people surviving on government assistance, particularly for improvements required to keep the barrios' livable. Chavez garnered much of his popularity by keeping residents here happy with free healthcare, mainly provided by Cuban immigrants, in a deal to provide Castro with cheap oil. Tourists are advised to stay away.

Patare Barrios in western Caracas

A trip to the top of Mount Avila is a must. The Teleferico is a cable car that runs to the top of the mountain where there are lots of food stalls and performers making it a bit of a circus. The views of Caracas on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other are spectacular. I walked down to the town of Avila and back for lunch and sampled some of the local snacks before heading back to Caracas for a local hot dog from one of the street vendors.

Caracas from the Teleferico

Looking over Avila to the Caribbean Sea

Caracas at sunset from the Teleferico

It's true that Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world but as long as you stay away from the dangerous areas, it's a wonderful place to visit and Venezuela as a whole was a memorable country to experience.

VENEZUELA QUICK GUIDE
Capital: Caracas
Currency: Venezuelan Bolivar (USD1 = 100 VEF)
Language: Spanish
Drives on the Right
Beer of choice: Solera

Bogota, Colombia

COLOMBIAN PROVERB: There is no better friend than a burden.

Colombia was the first stop on a brief trip around two of the more intriguing countries in South America, with Venezuela next on the list. I flew to Bogota's El Dorado airport from DFW via Miami. I was impressed with the airport and the super quick baggage delivery - virtually no waiting. I had booked a couple of nights at the Bogota Marriott using points and there was a free shuttle from the airport which barely took 15 minutes to deliver me to the lobby. The Bogota Marriott is an awesome hotel and typically room prices start at around $300 per night but for 20,000 Marriott points this place is an absolute bargain. I was upgraded to a huge suite and the executive lounge on the top floor has fantastic food and a wide selection of beer and wine. I wished I had booked more than two nights.

Colombia - country #110 for me

NUMBER 110

With little time to waste in Colombia I had prearranged a private tour for the day with Hansa Tours and their excellent guide, Daniel Pedraza, a Bogota native and one time Miami area Domino's pizza delivery guy.  Daniel met me in the lobby of the hotel and after a quick exchange of pleasantries we headed north out of the town of Gautavita (elevation 3,000), where the nearby lake is home to the legend of El Dorado. The indigenous Muisca Indians held religious ceremonies in the middle of the lake, their bodies covered in gold dust, while gold offerings were dropped as sacrifices into the lake. The walk up to the lake was littered with school children on a field trip and the odd tourist but it was very relaxing and good exercise too.

Gautavita - the legend of El Dorado

For lunch we drove to the town of Zipaquira for a delicious bowl of Ajaico - a traditional thick soup made with potatoes, chicken, avocado, corn and cream. We also tried a selection from the barbecue including pork, lamb, blood sausage, chorizo accompanied by arepas, which are corn based pancakes that you can stuff with your favorite filling. The rain poured down as we ate but just as we were about to leave the clouds pealed back and it was sunny again - but we were about to head underground.

Next door is the impressive underground cathedral carved out of a salt mine. At the entrance of the church are 14 small chapels, representing the stations of the cross, which illustrate the events of Jesus' last journey. Each station has a cross and several kneeling platforms carved into the halite structure. There are no images of Jesus but the symbolism of each different cross represents his struggle. The enormous main temple has three naves each connected by a thin crack in the salt walls. Thankfully there were very few other tourists there and at times it seemed as if we had the whole place to ourselves.

One of the stations of the cross chapels

The main cathedral at Zipaquira

I can't say enough about the quality of the tour and especially Daniel who was more than just a tour guide - he served as driver, translator, and bodyguard. For anyone with little time to spare, I highly recommend Hansa tours.

BACK TO THE CARIBBEAN (Colombian style)
The following morning I had an early flight to San Andres, a small island in the Caribbean Sea and an overseas Department of Colombia - technically another destination on the Travelers Century Club list. The island is really small and the airport is even smaller. The ocean flanks both ends of the runway so there's not much room for error. The hotel of choice was the Hotel Sunrise Beach, perfectly placed on the south eastern shore overlooking a private beach and well priced for $120 a night including breakfast. The island is a little bit dated but the beaches were first rate, the food was excellent and Aguila beer was about US$1.50 a bottle. Most of the tourists were either from Colombia or Central America and around every corner there seem to be music playing and over-sized golf carts doubling as taxi's or rental cars.

My view from the Hotel Sunrise Beach

The main beach at San Andres - near the airport

San Andres was a nice change after the big city of Bogota but before long it was time to move on to another big city, this time Caracas, and another new country. Based on what I had read and heard there was a fair amount of trepidation heading to Venezuela but the next week would change everything.

COLOMBIA QUICK GUIDE

Capital: Bogota

Currency: Colombian Peso (USD1 = 2,100 COP

Language: Spanish

Drives on the Right

Beer of choice: BBC (Bogota Brewing Company)