Venezuela: The land of unbelievably nice people, long queues and free petrol
The second stop on the Wirld tour was to the beautiful country of Venezuela. A country which is often forgotten about when people travel South America, Venezuela is a hidden gem. Not that The Wirld saw a whole lot of the country, due to them being the only 3 gringos there!
Caracas
“Upon arriving at the airport in Mexico City we learned that our host in Caracas was unable to host us anymore due to an outbreak of Swine Flu in their apartment block. So there we were; flying to the most dangerous city in Latin America with our gringo dollars, a few bags and without a place to stay. Hardly great news. However our previous host Ana said that she could pick us up at the airport and take us wherever we wanted which was great. Currently Venezuela has a huge control over its population’s access to US Dollars so there is an official rate at which locals buy and sell at and which tourists also withdraw from an ATM with. Then there is also the black market which is about 5 times as much the value if you bring US Dollars (or Euros). Sure no sooner had we landed, the airport officials were whispering “cambio, cambio” in pursuit of the greenback!
As random government officials took our photos while queuing at immigration we didn’t really know what we had let ourselves in for. Walking out the arrivals we were greeted with a big “Iain McNamara” sign and 2 of the nicest people we have met so far on our trip, Ana and Big Dave. They took us straight to the beach to unleash our patchy tan once again on the world. Afterwards they gave us our first taste of Venezuelan food and sorted out our hotel, even paying as we had yet to change our dollars. As Caracas has a big crime problem, the hotel was reminiscent of a prison with about 4 gates to get through before you reached the reception. Mountjoy has nothing on it!
The second stop on the Wirld tour was to the beautiful country of Venezuela. A country which is often forgotten about when people travel South America, Venezuela is a hidden gem. Not that The Wirld saw a whole lot of the country, due to them being the only 3 gringos there!
Caracas
“Upon arriving at the airport in Mexico City we learned that our host in Caracas was unable to host us anymore due to an outbreak of Swine Flu in their apartment block. So there we were; flying to the most dangerous city in Latin America with our gringo dollars, a few bags and without a place to stay. Hardly great news. However our previous host Ana said that she could pick us up at the airport and take us wherever we wanted which was great. Currently Venezuela has a huge control over its population’s access to US Dollars so there is an official rate at which locals buy and sell at and which tourists also withdraw from an ATM with. Then there is also the black market which is about 5 times as much the value if you bring US Dollars (or Euros). Sure no sooner had we landed, the airport officials were whispering “cambio, cambio” in pursuit of the greenback!
As random government officials took our photos while queuing at immigration we didn’t really know what we had let ourselves in for. Walking out the arrivals we were greeted with a big “Iain McNamara” sign and 2 of the nicest people we have met so far on our trip, Ana and Big Dave. They took us straight to the beach to unleash our patchy tan once again on the world. Afterwards they gave us our first taste of Venezuelan food and sorted out our hotel, even paying as we had yet to change our dollars. As Caracas has a big crime problem, the hotel was reminiscent of a prison with about 4 gates to get through before you reached the reception. Mountjoy has nothing on it!
The next day Dave, or the Fixer, helped us change our US Dollars on the black market. Talk about a scene. There we were, 3 Irish lads, 2 in Irish rugby jerseys standing outside a jewellers in downtown Caracas while Dave made the drop. We were millionaires within a few minutes. To celebrate we went straight for some empanadas which are Unbelievable Jeff. They should set one up down on Grafton Street. It would be an absolute goldmine! That day we went on a bit of a walking tour of Caracas, partaking in some Irish dancing along the way and in the evening checked out the nearest thing they had to an Irish bar in the city, which was more like a shed than a pub. We also learned that to fill the average car with petrol in Venezuela costs approximately €0.15 and most petrol stations just let people take it free. Madness!
Due to the crime problem in the city, it was quite hard to do much during the days alone, so without the Fixer we were stranded in the new Batcave: Mountjoy Caracas. The next day we decided it was time to move on and hit the bus station only to find out there were no tickets for four days. Hooray! It was also our first taste of the Venezuelan queuing system. By Jesus, it’s worse than Coppers on a Saturday night! One of the only things to see in town was a Chavez exhibition, which was the biggest example of propaganda I have ever seen in my life. We sampled some more of the infamous Venezuelan rumba over the next couple of days with our new Caracas friends who left us with the promise of visiting Ireland once we return. We then headed off to Maracaibo in the west of the country, to stay with a friend of a friend whose tagline was “Drink until you’re Irish”. We left with the initial aim of crossing the border there. How wrong we were!
Maracaibo
After a 12 hour bus journey we arrived in the baking hot Maracaibo and were greeted by our host Jose Miguel and Carmen his friend at the bus station and went straight to Jose’s place to sample some local cuisine. Little did we know but Jose had very little English. This coupled with the lads improving but small Spanish vocab led to my stint as official translator. Next stop the EU! You can only imagine the conversation when I was in the bathroom.
After a 12 hour bus journey we arrived in the baking hot Maracaibo and were greeted by our host Jose Miguel and Carmen his friend at the bus station and went straight to Jose’s place to sample some local cuisine. Little did we know but Jose had very little English. This coupled with the lads improving but small Spanish vocab led to my stint as official translator. Next stop the EU! You can only imagine the conversation when I was in the bathroom.
Yet again we were struck by the kindness of the Venezuelan people, as shown by Jose, Carmen and their group of friends who constantly cooked for us and wanted to show us parts of the city. We went on a tram tour of the city which was kind of like going on a bus tour in Cavan as there was not a whole lot to see. As payback for their generosity over the first few days, we decided to make an Irish enough dish of Fish and Chips for them. We also may have raised their expectations, when Chris explained, “If you like French food, you will love Irish. They are very similar”. It is safe to say that Gordon Ramsey has nothing to fear. It was an absolute disaster. We chopped up the spuds and popped them in the oven with the hope of them being ready in 45mins. 3 hours later out popped the most burned and tasteless chips you will ever taste. Needless to say our timing had been off so the fish had been cooked and eaten 2 hours earlier, so chips butties were in order. Bon appetit!
Over the next few days we sampled some more Venezuelan food and a little more of Rumba, celebrating Chris’ birthday in the process. Arriving at the bar he was presented with a birthday cake cooked by one of Jose’s friends, Luis. The cake mysteriously went missing that night when one girl accidentally misplaced it but arrived with the bad news with a guilty face like that of Sister Assumpta in Father Ted…”It was just so chocolaty”. That night we also thought some Irish dance moves, much to onlooker’s enjoyment, and some typical Irish phrases to the Venezuelans with comical consequences.
With the previous intention of leaving by bus across the border near Maracaibo we called a number of different bus companies to be delivered the news that there were no tickets available until August. Needless to say an alternative was needed! Jose then offered to take us to his home town of Tachira a few days later, where we could then cross the border with much more ease. So we decided that would be the best option and then grab a bus once in Colombia.
Tachira
We hopped on the 6 hour bus to Tachira, a small town near the border with about 15,000 people and arrived at Jose’s family home in the evening. We were greeted by the whole family and were given a lovely Irish welcome with a shamrock and a bottle of Bailey’s on the table. Once again, we were so impressed by the kindness and warmth shown by the Venezuelan people as the family took complete care of us, ensuring we tried every Venezuelan food ever created. We also met Jose’s niece, who we discovered was an even bigger One Direction fan than Kevin and I. We took a walking tour of the town and that night headed up to the mountains to view the town at night.
On our final night in Venezuela we were taken to the town club, which looked more like the local GAA disco. After about 2 hours, we heard a bit of a ruckus kicking off on the dance floor and all of a sudden two lads start beating the bejesus out of each other. Pandemonium ensues, bottles get involved and most people leg it towards the exit. We stay there, assuming at any moment the bouncers will arrive to kick the feckers out. It turns out bouncers don’t get involved in Venezuelan. So Kev, being the consummate Irishman, grabs our 2 bottles of Rum to ensure they don’t meet a devastating end. Once outside, up comes a Venezuelan and asks for the bottle. Thinking he wants a swig, it gets handed over only for him to go legging it after some lad, bottled raised in the air. Needless to say we Usain Bolted out of there. The next morning we arose to potato soup for brekkie and a lovely send off from the family of Jose. They gave us a lift across the border and left us at the bus station where our Colombian adventure is about to begin. Jose also now wants to study English in Ireland next year which is great news.
Over our two weeks in Venezuela, we may not have seen the best sights available in the country as there are some amazing things to be seen along the coast, but we did see the best side of Venezuela and that is its people. The country is going through a tough time since the tenures of Chavez and now Maduro, but hopefully the future is a lot brighter. Many thanks to everyone in Caracas, Maracaibo and Tachira for your unbelievable help during our stay. We’ll see you soon in Dublin.
The Lads
We hopped on the 6 hour bus to Tachira, a small town near the border with about 15,000 people and arrived at Jose’s family home in the evening. We were greeted by the whole family and were given a lovely Irish welcome with a shamrock and a bottle of Bailey’s on the table. Once again, we were so impressed by the kindness and warmth shown by the Venezuelan people as the family took complete care of us, ensuring we tried every Venezuelan food ever created. We also met Jose’s niece, who we discovered was an even bigger One Direction fan than Kevin and I. We took a walking tour of the town and that night headed up to the mountains to view the town at night.
On our final night in Venezuela we were taken to the town club, which looked more like the local GAA disco. After about 2 hours, we heard a bit of a ruckus kicking off on the dance floor and all of a sudden two lads start beating the bejesus out of each other. Pandemonium ensues, bottles get involved and most people leg it towards the exit. We stay there, assuming at any moment the bouncers will arrive to kick the feckers out. It turns out bouncers don’t get involved in Venezuelan. So Kev, being the consummate Irishman, grabs our 2 bottles of Rum to ensure they don’t meet a devastating end. Once outside, up comes a Venezuelan and asks for the bottle. Thinking he wants a swig, it gets handed over only for him to go legging it after some lad, bottled raised in the air. Needless to say we Usain Bolted out of there. The next morning we arose to potato soup for brekkie and a lovely send off from the family of Jose. They gave us a lift across the border and left us at the bus station where our Colombian adventure is about to begin. Jose also now wants to study English in Ireland next year which is great news.
Over our two weeks in Venezuela, we may not have seen the best sights available in the country as there are some amazing things to be seen along the coast, but we did see the best side of Venezuela and that is its people. The country is going through a tough time since the tenures of Chavez and now Maduro, but hopefully the future is a lot brighter. Many thanks to everyone in Caracas, Maracaibo and Tachira for your unbelievable help during our stay. We’ll see you soon in Dublin.
The Lads
