2007 02 15

Venezuela: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Natural Beauty, a Plus: From the first moment that you anchor in an out-island cove, you realize that Venezuela is a country of vast beauty. For whatever reason, many of her natural harbors, mountain areas, and vistas have remained sparsely developed. Venezuela boasts many different terrains: The Andes, the Llanos plains, the Orinoco River Delta, Angel Falls, and their famous out-islands: Los Testigos, Tortuga, Margarita, La Blanquilla, Los Roques and Las Aves.. The good news is that you can travel by plane to the base of the world’s largest waterfall; the bad news is that you will sleep in a hammock the night before you climb the rest of the way to the falls.
	The good news is that the comfy double-decker bus to Merida from Puerto La Cruz is $25 each way per person compared to $250/per person by air. The bad news is that the bus ride lasts 20 hours, English (C grade) movies with Spanish subtitles play incessantly, and the air conditioning runs so cold you better bring an hooded jacket and blanket. The coldest part of our trip to the Andes was the bus drive. The good news is that you can hire a jeep to take you high into the Andes; the bad news is that the choice for your return trip is either a jeep ride or a mule ride, one down, one up, both four hours. But it was worth every bounce of it.
People, a Plus: With only one exception in the seven weeks during the holiday season of 2006, we found everyone with whom we interfaced to be pleasant and helpful. The one exception was the bus driver to Merida who must have had a fight with his wife before the trip! We interfaced with locals: restaurant personnel, marina personnel, vendors outside Bahia Redonda, tour guides in the Andes, bus drivers to the Andes, and clerks in retail stores. At Bahia Redonda, our association with the ladies at the laundry, all the personnel at TBS, Venezuela Travel, and Transpacific, Pedro at the Lighthouse Restaurant and the waiters at L’Ancra dinghy bar was easy and personable. Venezuelans are friendly, fun loving people.
	We especially appreciated the taxi drivers serving the Bahia Redonda cruising community. All spoke some level of English. They became your trusted guide and ally. For approximately $7/hour including tip, we could hire a taxi and driver, and then relax while he drove us to vendors and would interpret what we wanted and even negotiate price. These guys were truly full service. When Jackie was provisioning for our next 15 weeks at sea, one of the taxi drivers offered his personal membership card to a local wholesale warehouse called Makro and waited for her to shop. When he noticed her tiring, he simply came to her cart, asked her what she still needed to buy, and then proceeded to find, load and pack the remaining items for her. Then he walked her through the check-out, unloaded and reloaded her cart for the cashier. What a friend!
Spend more money than you have at the supermarket? No problem, many of the drivers would pay the excess and allow you to reimburse them after returning to the marina. Need a weld on a rigging part? No problem, the taxi driver will take you to the welder, negotiate repairs to be made and terms, and then later pick up the part and deliver it back to you. He pays the welder, you pay the driver. Need local assistance in Merida in the Andes? Contact Gioia to answer any of your questions, drive you on a custom tour into the hills, and provide lodging in her home. Again and again the Venezuelans took care of us in many large and small ways we will never forget.
	Currency Exchange, a Plus: The official exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Venezuelan Bolivar is 2,140 bolivars (B's) to one dollar. The government of Venezuela is the only legal source to exchange money. However many Venezuelans living abroad still own property in Venezuela. As they sell their property in Venezuela, they need to exchange their B's to a second foreign currency. Hence the famous foreign currency black market. When we arrived in July, 2006, the spot rate for the US Dollar was 2,450 B's. When we returned at the beginning of December, it was 2,800 B’s. In December, the rate rose to 3,000. During our trip to the Andes during the first week of January, 2007, Chavez announced his plans to nationalize the electricity and radio industries. The exchange rate exploded to 5,000 B’s for a couple of days and then settled back down to 3,200 two weeks later.
After the Venezuelan congress gave Chavez power to rule by decree for 18 months, the exchange rate moved to 4,400 B's. It is rumored that anyone in Venezuela caught exchanging foreign currency is immediately imprisoned and then tried at the government’s leisure. Inflation is reported by the government to be 16% for 2006. Locals think that it’s closer to 25%. At the end of December, the wonderful folks at the marina laundry increased their per load rates for wash-dry-fold from 6,000 B’s ($2.00) to 8,000 B’s ($2.65), a 33% increase. Still quite a deal, though.
	Food: Beef, rum, beer, fish, and vegetables are plentiful and inexpensive. Forget wine with any meals, at home or especially in a restaurant. After a bit of trial and error, you learn that you can eat well at the local seaside fish restaurant known by the cruisers as the “OK Corral” for 36,000 B’s ($12) a couple or the upscale Lighthouse restaurant for double that as long as you drink beer there. Shopping at markets can be trying. The price per kilo (2.2 pounds) for chicken at Unicasa, the local supermarket, was 25,000 Bs ($3.78/pound) while the upscale meat market, CAVA, charged 7,000 Bs per kilo ($1.06) for better quality chicken. Knowing where to shop was more important than knowing what to buy.
Labor Costs: At the marina, the daily rate for everyone, male or female, seemed to be 50,000 Bs ($17). We were correctly advised to offer jobs on a daily basis so that if we were unhappy with the results of the day’s efforts, we could invite someone new to work the next day. When we analyzed estimates by the job with actual job performance, we realized that the estimates were usually bid up by 200% of the actual work needed. Workers were available to, wax the hull, wash the boat down after six months on the hard, clean the interior, and polish the stainless. A good varnisher is more difficult to find. They did not press as they do in the Eastern Caribbean. It was a relief to be away from the badgering "boat boys".
	Diesel: The governor of the province where Bahia Redonda is located has made diesel sales to foreign flagged vessels expensive. But this is a local thing. 36 miles east, the port captain at Cumana is happy to sell foreign ships a maximum of 1,000 liters (250 gallons) at an unbelievably low price! The other place we purchased diesel is Porlamar using the diesel boat, not the fisherman's dock. It costs a bit more but it is a safer option and more fun.
Security, a Minus Designated areas: On the web site for the Venezuelan government you will find the security map shown on the right. Note that the high security areas in purple and red for the country are the two places cruisers travel the most: Porlamar and Puerto La Cruz. Ashore: When we arrived, the locals at the marina warned us not to walk the streets near the marina at any time, not to wear any jewelry outside the marina, and to lock up everything anytime we left our vessel. The locals did not walk the streets at night, and they did not wear jewelry, etc. Security rule #1: Follow the locals.
	Aboard: Of course, security becomes one of the major cocktail hour topics throughout the Caribbean. We were amazed at the breath and depth of cruiser opinions, especially from Europeans with little street-smart experience. After a while, Jackie would politely listen to any opinion, especially the idea that "when it's your time, it's your time. Security is a matter of luck." Then she would ask the speaker how many times he had been physically attacked personally and how many times his ship had been boarded by thieves. SHIBUMI has been boarded twice by thieves in the middle of the night, once by a renegade Moroccan Navy vessel and once by a drunk couple seeking a place to snuggle. We take defensive security seriously.
Politics, a Minus: Jim Rogers in Adventure Capitalist states that Chavez is a madman, at least in terms of foreign investment in Venezuela. The events of the first few weeks of January, 2007, confirm that opinion. First Chavez nationalized the electricity and communications industries, thereby controlling the Internet and power consumption. Then their legislature granted him "power by decree" for the next 18 months. Venezuela now has the world's first democratically elected dictator! We observed political oppression during our two month visit. Two years ago. opponents of Chavez signed a petition calling for a referendum to vote him out of office. The effort failed. Now, however, anyone who signed the referendum cannot obtain the new required "red" passport or obtain a highly prized government job. In effect, signers are being black balled.
	Bahia Redonda Marina, a Plus. One of the best living environments which we have utilized, the marina located in Puerto La Cruz provides deep water, comfortable slips with water, electricity, and cable TV connections, a swimming pool, and an active cruiser community. The cruisers operate a daily VHF net on 72 at 0745, host BBQ's on Monday evenings and Mexican Train Dominos on Sunday afternoons. Security is everywhere at the marina. Party nights at the marina restaurant include armed guards standing at each entrance and other armed guards to check you into and out of the marina when you travel inland to shop.
We never thought of pest control for flies and bugs before we left Bahia Redonda and we have no idea when or what they do to control the beasts. But we had no close encounters with the critters until we anchored the first night after we departed. All types of services (custom agents, laundry, tour agents, marine workers) are readily available at modest prices. And the folks are genuinely friendly!