Not your average Venezuelan town, Colonia Tovar was founded in 1843 by German settlers and is still inhabited by their ancestors. It wasn’t until the 1940s that Spanish was introduced as the official language and the ban on marrying outside the community was lifted. Today, this Teutonic enclave attracts Venezuelans that come for the Black … Continue reading
I found it incredibly difficult to find any reliable information at all on this topic before heading for Venezuela. So, hopefully, this post will go some way in enlightening those that are frustrated and confused by the lack of reliable information out there. First of all, don’t be put off by the guide books that … Continue reading
Inside the Henri Pittier National Park, we stayed in the town of Puerto Colombia. Puerto Colombia is where most of the accomodation and action can be found in this area. The lifeblood of Puerto Colombia is the malecon, where the fishing boats dock. People congregate here at night and on weekends one can supposedly see … Continue reading
For a quick escape to nature from the intensity of Caracas, one can ride the cable car that ascends from the streets of Caracas (at the intersection of Avenida Principal de Mariperez and Avenida Boyaca) to the top of Parque Nacional El Avila. Separating Caracas from the coast, the park is based around a mountain … Continue reading
Caracas can be a pretty intense place. And I’m not just talking about the fashion of the women to wear skin-tight jeans and tops cut very low so that their tits spill out… Fortunately, Hugo Chavez is there to welcome you pretty much everywhere you look: Everyone gets worked up about the crime rates in … Continue reading
Henri Pittier National Park is the oldest of Venezuela’s national parks and, given the significant changes in altitude in the park, it is famous for the diversity of its ecosystems. The park, declared in 1937, did not start out as “Henri Pittier” but was re-named in recognition of the Swiss biologist who was instrumental in … Continue reading
I first mentioned Chuao when I described visiting the banana plantation behind this picturesque Venezuelan village. Now, it is time to describe the village itself. Chuao was founded in the 16th century and the village is probably most famous for its cacao plantations where some of the finest cocoa beans in the world are said … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 