Blogs from Puerto Colombia, Central, Venezuela, South America

W Choroni spedzilismy caly tydzien (musielismy wypoczac po wyczerpujacej podrozy z Kapsztadu do Caracas) i wypoczelismy na tyle, zeby wyruszyc w dalsza tulaczke! Choroni - cudowny relaks, bardzo wyluzowane malutkie miasteczko polozone 2-3 godziny od Maracai na polnoc, do ktorego jechalismy lokalnym autobusem, pomalowanym we wzory o wszystkim kolorach teczy z ktorego wydobywaly sie dudniace dzwieki salsy i reggaeton a trasa siagnie sie przez wzgorza i gory tak strome, ze tubylcy zegnali sie przy prawie kazdym zakrecie. Tak czy owak, plaza jak w raju, woda cudna. Wybralismy sie tez zanurkowac w lokalnych wodach, w koncu Morze Karaibskie wiec czemu nie, niestety widocznosc nie byla powalajaca. Plus taki, ze pierwszy raz udalo mi sie zobaczyc zolwie, hej. Krotki wpis bo niewiele sie dzialo poza relaksem. Agnieszka Now for Clint´s version (much extended) in English :-) We ar ... read more

Matka jatkuu Caracasista Auton vuokraaminen Caracasissa ei ole ehkä helpoin mahdollinen tehtävä. Auto on kuitenkin helpoin konsti liikkua joten muu ei auttanut kuin hankkiutua lentokentälle jossa autovuokraamot olivat. Vain muutama toimisto tarjosi mahdollisuutta vuokrata auto Caracasista ja palauttaa se Maracaiboon joka olisi lähin suuri kaupunki lähellä Kolumbian rajaa. Pitkän tinkimisen ja etsimisen jälkeen vihdoin onnistuimme ja koska auton vuokraaminen viikoksi oli halvempaa kuin 5 pv niin viikkoon sitten päädyimme. Ja kummallista jälleen oli tietenkin se, että maksu tapahtui käteisellä jota edelsi taalojen vaihto paikallisella kurssilla. Yleensä autolla matkailua suuresti helpottaa kartta. Kyseinen hyödyke tuntuu olevan täällä päin maailmaa mitä turhin - yhtään mistään ei löytynyt tiekarttaa joten eikun pienen matkailukartan avulla matkaan sitten vaan suunniste... read more

How things have changed, Venezuela really does have a contrasting landscape, we have now just finished a few days of Caribbean sun and sand and a good idea of how the Venezuelans like to enjoy themselves. Not much different to us in the Western world, just add sun, alcohol and music (although I know I am not speaking for all the western world!). We had another overnight bus, I have come to like the stops we make in the middle of the night, it gives me good opportunity to thaw. We arrived to Maracay on the Friday morning of a holiday, the birthday of Simon Bolivar, and for those of you who know, this Liberator of the Northern part of South America is everywhere, every town has a park and square named after him, schools have ... read more

well, how inevitable was this. i had a good week, a really good week, in caracas. then i headed to maracay, and ever since i got there, its been a different ball game completely. its not anything to do with the place itself, or even the people im around. it has just quite literally hit the fan, and the cheery juanito billetes that milled around the venezuelan capital with a 74 year old has been replaced by a more dramatic version of liverpool john. yes, thats right, either being happy or being sad. only this time its dramatically different. im either happy or nervous breakdown sad, and that just aint right. i cant put my finger on why exactly (oh i can, but i dont want to talk about that here), but something is very wrong. ... read more

So we spent a few days relaxing on the beach in puerto colombia, just soaking up the sun and taking it easy basically. By Sunday we decided it was time for a change of scenery (Eddie was afraid of the German lady who ran our hostel) so we took a few crazy buses to Tucacas, another coastal town further west again in Venezuela. In Tucacas we checked in with Carlos, a nice Venezuelan man who runs a pretty cheap hostel. We had three days in Tucacas, two of which were spent diving. We did three dives each and loved it. I admit I was a little nervous at first- there is something just a little disconcerting about jumping off a boat with a tank of oxygen strapped to your back and a 10lb weight belt tied ... read more