Latest World Nomads Adventures from Venezuela

Welcome to the Jungle.

lcmansfield — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:17:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [64] | Sun, 26 Jul 2009
So I'm in the Orinoco Delta. And it's crazy. I'm living in a cabana - a small hut in the middle of the jungle that sits on stilts next to the delta water. Now, I come from a small town, but this is literally the middle of nowhere. It's a 45 minute boat ride to the nearest port, which isn't ... Read more >

Petroleos De Venezuela Sur America

lcmansfield — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:52:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [77] | Fri, 17 Jul 2009
PDVSA is of course a main focus of my research. Since petroleum was nationalized, it is in control of all oil exports. And yesterday (my 21st birthday) I had my first encounter with the company. My spanish teacher and now a good friend, Maria, accompanied me to the PDVSA headquarters for the eastern ... Read more >

La Cultura.

lcmansfield — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:15:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [69] | Tue, 14 Jul 2009
The Culture. Even though I have only spent maybe 3 weeks here, I´ve been able to emerge myself in a lot of the cultural activities in Venezuela. From bus rides to restaurants and dance clubs to protests, I´ve wound up learning more than I expected around every corner. There have been three main differences ... Read more >

Salto Angel

lcmansfield — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:59:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [85] | Fri, 10 Jul 2009
One minute I´m loving life, being thankful for all of the opportunites i have in life. The next I am praying to all that is holy that I make it home alive. It´s a rollercoaster ride. This past week I spent three days in Canaima where there are the most gorgeous waterfalls in the world. Salto Angel ... Read more >

The Black Market.

lcmansfield — Sat, 4 Jul 2009 15:20:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [155] | comments [1] | Sat, 4 Jul 2009
What is the most important thing in the world? Money. American Money. The exchange rate here in Venezuela is insane. The National rate you can get at a bank or an atm is 2 Bolivars for every Dollar. Yet, on the black market you can get a rate that ranges from 4.5 to 6 (sometimes even 6.2) if you ... Read more >

Welcome to Trinidad, Bienvenidos a Venezuela!

lcmansfield — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:24:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [73] | Thu, 2 Jul 2009
It has been one crazy week. Three airplanes,a ferry, a bus, and many taxis later...I´ve made it to my first destination in Venezuela after travelling from the airport in Trinidad. I saved a bunch of money by flying to Trinidad, but boy was it complicated. No matter the trouble, I had a grand adventure ... Read more >

Never Give Up

lcmansfield — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:01:00 GMT

By lcmansfield | views [63] | Tue, 23 Jun 2009
So, I learned the first of many lessons. My mom calls it persistence, a quality I get from my father. I pretty much give my success to an emotional breakdown. I drive to DC wednesday afternoon and spend thursday and friday mornings frantically playing hangman games with a good friend, Wes, in the Venezuelan ... Read more >

Trujillo

megan_skinner — Tue, 2 Jun 2009 04:40:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [75] | comments [2] | Tue, 2 Jun 2009
Sunday morning Alfredo and I went down to the bus station in Merida to check out the bus situation to Trujillo and it turned out that buses only go there three times a day and take 6 hours. Sooo I took a taxi with a few others instead. It worked out fine, although it was a bit more expensive than ... Read more >

Con Chávez, el pueblo es el gobierno

megan_skinner — Sat, 30 May 2009 08:00:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [108] | comments [1] | Sat, 30 May 2009
I have been seeing a lot of pro-Chávez propanga and the title is an example of a really common one: With Chávez, the people are the government. Most people I have talked to roll their eyes and sigh when they see this... After returning from my Los Llanos excursion, I had a few days to explore Mérida.... Read more >

RIVER DOLPHINS!!!!!

megan_skinner — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:22:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [96] | comments [1] | Wed, 27 May 2009
As you may have guessed from the title of this entry, I saw river dolphins. It was incredible and seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I talk about this more later... Also, this is a really long entry. Sorry if you get discouraged. I arrived in Merida on Saturday morning after ... Read more >

Brazil: Four Days In The Amazon

lockers — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:18:00 GMT

By lockers | views [68] | Tue, 26 May 2009
March 27th – April 1st Jungle Trip (Iguana Tours), Day One I stupidly forgot to change the time on my camera, which was also serving as my alarm clock, when we arrived in Manaus from Belem so it sounded at 5.30am, frustratingly early for an 8am collection (you'd think I would have learned ... Read more >

Jungle, desert and a colonial town

megan_skinner — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:03:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [112] | comments [1] | Fri, 22 May 2009
When we arrived in Coro on Tuesday night, we had some trouble finding a room as the top recommended hostel was closed for good and the second recommended one was full. We ended up staying in a fairly expensive hotel, but it had air conditioning so we slept well. Wednesday morning I moved to a really ... Read more >

Adventures on the Caribbean Coast

megan_skinner — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:10:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [93] | Wed, 20 May 2009
On Sunday, I headed out of Caracas for the Caribbean coast. I had to transfer buses in Valencia which was a bit hectic and confusing for a non-Spanish speaker, but I figured it out and caught the right bus to Chichiriviche. Chichiriviche is a town on the Caribbean coast and is accessed from the highway ... Read more >

Greetings from South America!

megan_skinner — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:30:00 GMT

By megan_skinner | views [124] | comments [1] | Sun, 17 May 2009
I arrived in Caracas bright and early at 4:30am on Thursday morning! As we descended to the airport I saw the lights of the coastal towns and realized, yep, I´m going to Venezuela. Much to my dismay, my debit card didn´t work in any of the 6 ATMs at the airport and I started to freak out. Luckily ... Read more >

sorry im way behind, but heres a fun story

pekollo — Mon, 9 Feb 2009 19:16:00 GMT

By pekollo | views [147] | comments [1] | Mon, 9 Feb 2009
so this is a wee story about when i was back in venezuela, i met some people who managed to get a tour farily cheap and managed to get the same deal. the tour was to a place called los llanos, home of coyboys and flat landscape, chavez's home state and a multitude of exotic animals. so we were ... Read more >

birgade update

pekollo — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:15:00 GMT

By pekollo | views [148] | comments [2] | Wed, 17 Dec 2008
so im here again writing about the brigade. its been a bit haphazard but im sure everyone will cope. so on the second day of the brigade we visited one of the barrios in caracas. this barrio is considered a very revolutionary barrio and has been since before chavez. it was also one of the first barrios ... Read more >

PEACE VILLAGES FOUNDATION (FUNDACION ALDEAS DE PAZ)

simonefrancis — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:42:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [499] | Tue, 16 Dec 2008

I met with Manfred Mönnighoff in a café in Santa Elena. He drove me with his 6 year old daughter Nilaya, twenty minutes up a bumpy dirt road, through some beautiful emerald hills, to Foundation Peace Villages. It was a short but fantastic trip, full of nature. Arriving at the foundation, I saw horses, ... Read more >

LOCA WOMAN IN SANTA ELENA

simonefrancis — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 00:37:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [336] | Sun, 14 Dec 2008

From dead dogs on the sides of the roads, to Iguanas and monkeys in trees, to long conversations with crazy people in the streets, I can say that my time in Venezuela has been quite interesting. I spent about four days in Puerto Ordaz- Cuidad Guayana (which took me 8 or 9 hours to get there and 32 ... Read more >

the mountain city

pekollo — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:56:00 GMT

By pekollo | views [129] | Sat, 13 Dec 2008
so after not writing anything for ages here i am. ill write more about the brigade later as theres so much to write there and im a little hungover. so another time. im in merida which is a city in the west of the country in the andes. so theres high mountains on either side of the city. apparently ... Read more >

CHAVEZ SPEAKS WHILE KIDS DIE OF CANCER

simonefrancis — Tue, 9 Dec 2008 15:46:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [211] | Tue, 9 Dec 2008

Cumana was a great place to visit, as it was full of life and had some pretty nice beaches. I spent 60 Bolivares and about 8 hours getting there. I was very surprised… happy, when the taxi driver stopped on the way to my friend Milagros` (her name means miracle) house to buy me breakfast! ... Read more >

the 2nd installation

pekollo — Sun, 7 Dec 2008 04:35:00 GMT

By pekollo | views [174] | comments [2] | Sun, 7 Dec 2008
so after a long silence im going to try and update from way back. its lucky ive been keeping notes or i would be completely lost trying to write this. so i want to expand a bit about the cooperative that i visited as i think its an important aspect of what is going on here in venezuela. while i have ... Read more >

LIVING WITH A HITCH-HIKER

simonefrancis — Tue, 2 Dec 2008 19:15:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [265] | Tue, 2 Dec 2008

It´s really just hit me how politically intense and dangerous this country really is. As I was leaving San Cristobal on the bus, while being video´d in my seat (as they do here and in many other Latin American countries for security reasons), everybody on the bus began laughing and chatting about ... Read more >

UNI´S VIEWS, AND POLITICAL FIESTAS

simonefrancis — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:22:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [196] | Mon, 24 Nov 2008

I arrived in San Cristobal and was picked up by Rodolfo, a young university student. After arriving at his house and meeting his mother, father, sister, and other family members (and given my own room with a private bathroom). Rodolfo showed me around the town for a bit, and I thought one of the most ... Read more >

Gallery: VENEZUELA

simonefrancis — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:51:00 GMT

By simonefrancis | views [1] | Mon, 24 Nov 2008

Arrival in the revolutionary heartland

pekollo — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:00:00 GMT

By pekollo | views [163] | Mon, 24 Nov 2008
so after a long boring flight where sleep composed of short 2 hour kips. and various transfers that i was sure would be missed or somehow would not work out as smoothely as they did i arrived in humid hot caracas. it took a while to find jim mcclloy who i was meeting and i started to wonder if my luck ... Read more >