“Matilda, she takes me money and run Venezuela”

In 1956, singer Harry Belafonte sang about losing his $500  to Matilda who ran away to Venezuela.

What else do we know about this South American country?  Did you know it has won more beauty pageants than any other country in the world? This includes:

• 6 Miss Universe winners
• 6 Miss World winners
• 6 Miss International winners, and
• 1 Miss Earth.

I spent a week in this tropical country but did not see anyone that was close to a beauty queen. Maybe I was in the wrong part of the country?

All the females that I saw wore tight jeans or leggings to display their ample bottoms.

They were big bottomed mamas.

Beyond being number one in producing beauty queens, Venezuela tops the world ranking in another function. Its go-go juice is currently the cheapest in the world.

Take a look at this 2012 Retail Petrol Price comparison chart:

Ranking	Country	City	Retail petrol price (US dollars per litre)
1	Venezuela	Caracas	0.03
2	Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	0.13
3	Libya	Tripoli	0.14
4	Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	0.19
5	Bahrain	Manama	0.21
6	Kuwait	Kuwait City	0.22
7	Qatar	Doha	0.24
8	Egypt	Cairo	0.30
9	Oman	Muscat	0.32
10	Algeria	Algiers	0.32

Source: 2012 Survey by British car insurance provider Staveley Head

In Venezuela, to fill your 60 litre tank will cost about US$18.

The Currency

The currency in Venezuela is Bolivar, named after Simon Bolivar, who was born in its capital Caracas in 1783.  He fought for independence for Central America from Spanish occupation.

There is one other strange economical factor with currency exchange. If you look at the official exchange rate or change money at the local bank you will receive about 4.2 bolivar for US$1.

The rate on the black market is about US$8. In fact I received US$10 from the local agent who was keen to change the money.

This tells me it is more on the black market.

One tends to think you have a winner here. I just doubled the money. Wrong!

The prices are factored into the black market rate. So when you buy a beer for US$4 it would have only cost you US$2 if you had changed the money at the bank.

Beaches

 

Beaches are usually overcrowded on the weekends.

My hotel and work were close to the port in La Guairá where people from the capital city Caracas come to get away from the heat.

Ladies in skimpy bikinis and men cooking meat on makeshift barbecues awere re common in this little cove.

Regulations

 

Venezuelans drive at break neck speeds with a can of beer in one hand.

Seat belts are not necessary. Often the police stop cars to look for guns and drugs.

As you can see from this signage, smoking and guns are banned from restaurants and clubs.

Higher places

 

I took a trip up to the mountains in a special jeep since it was too steep for an ordinary vehicle.

The trip down was with some school kids who were amused to see a foreign face.

One of the kids was car sick yet she does this trip several times a week.

Up in the mountain there was nothing to see but jungle since the think rainforest covered the view.

Meals

It is not often that I don’t finish a meal that is served to me. This one I just could not get through. This accounts for the large bottoms on both genders.

The croissant was one that you could feed a horse but the cups of coffees served in a paper cup  were the size of a thimble.

Sense of adventure

Angel Falls is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres and a plunge of 807 metres.

There are two drops.  Its elevation is 1,283 metres.

It’s a must-see in Venezuela. Unfortunately, it was a plane or helicopter ride to see it or a few days trek and I didn’t make it.

My trip to Venezuela was for work purposes and there was little I could do to fulfil my curiosity in finding different places to satisfy my hunger for adventure.

Weather delays

I was delayed in Venezuela due to Hurricane Sandy for a few more days.

The Hotel Santiago was in La Guairá, about a 40 minute drive from the capital.  It was close to the port where my work was,  so it was mainly for the convenience of travel and certainly not my choice of quality accommodation.

Unlike any other hotel I have been in, the washing had to be delivered by me to the laundry. On the top floor I found the steamy room with the ladies dancing to Salsa while ironing and flooding clothes.

The people of Venezuela dance to salsa music everywhere. The swinging hips and bottoms are a common sight whether they are  working or walking.

People there spoke little English and I communicated through a dictionary on my smart phone.

On the way up the mountain we stopped for a drink. The liquid in this bottle had herbs and fruit floating in it tasted like sweet methylated spirits and a kick of a horse.  The ingredient label on the bottle listed local herbs and fruits as the base of the brew.

There were no tourist bureaus or souvenir sellers or any other tourist facilities.

I bought myself a small statue of a big bosomed lady at the airport for memories.

Anyway, it was a worthwhile experience.