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The landscapes of Venezuela vary from the dense rain forests in the south to the snowcapped mountains in the west to vast deltas weaving
across the east to the stunning beaches and palm tree's on the northern Caribbean coast!
In December 2010 and January 2011 I travelled in Venezuela for 7 weeks. I was in San Cristobal, Merida, Coro, Puerto Cabello, Puerto
Colombia, Isla Margarita and other places. Here are my experiences and story.
San Antonio to San Cristobal:
My first time in Venezuela, I crossed at Cucuta in Colombia to the border town of San Antonio in Venezuela on my way to San Cristobal about an hour and a half away. I hired a taxi in Cucuta to take me across the border, to stop at both passport offices, wait while I changed my USD for Bolivares and then to take me to a bus. More
Merida - The City:
I left San Cristobal to get to Merida which took 6hrs by bus, it was difficult to take any photos of quality because the bus driver was very strict about keeping the windows closed during the journey and actually stopped the bus on one occasion to tell me to keep my arm and camera inside and to close my window, later I opened it again to try and take photos without putting my arm outside but he still insisted I close it, what a pity. More
Merida - El Paramo:
I thought a day tour to the area around Merida called El Paramo sounded great, and yes, it turned out to be one of the best things I did in Venezuela. The scenery is amazing with mountains, lagoons, Andean towns, mind-blowing landscapes, churches, monuments and interesting things to see along the Transandina roadside. More
Merida to Maracaibo:
I left Merida after 2 weeks there and took a bus during the day north to Maracaibo, this journey took 9hrs, the scenery isn't the most mind-blowing that Venezuela has to offer but it is pleasant enough and has long straight roads and open spaces. After leaving Merida the bus headed in the direction of Tovar and El Vigia, the mountains and river gauge are nice to see, there is lots of cactus around, a sign depicting Simon Bolivar and Hugo Chavez claimed that it was now 200yrs since Venezuelas 1st independence and that they were now having their 2nd independence. More
Maracaibo to Coro:
The road from Maracaibo to Coro is a long and straight one through vast greenness and it's dry and hot, there is little to see along the way apart from farms and farmhouses and ranches with big gates, it is a beautiful open space of trees and cactus and rivers and bridges. More
Coro:
Top pick on the Lonely Planet website for Venezuela is Coro, therefore it must be amazing to visit this colonial city and see the architecture and streets, so I came here to see for myself, but I was slightly disappointed, if you have been to Cartagena in Colombia then you don't need to see Coro. More
Coro to Puerto Cabello:
It was the 31st of December 2010, I thought I would head from Coro to perhaps Valencia for the night, then I thought 'no, big cities are hard work', so I thought I would get off the bus in a place called Moron which I did, but after racing around town in a taxi looking for a hotel with a spare bed and finding none, I decided to go a short way east to Puerto Cabello, I was glad I did after I discovered that Puerto Cabello was a little historic gem beside the sea and was everything Coro was not. More
Puerto Cabello:
Puerto Cabello is not mentioned at all in the Lonely Planet book, I ended up here for a night kind of by accident after not being able to find a bed in nearby Moron on New Years Eve 31/12/2010, I didn't know anything about the place and I think not many people do, but I was surprised on New Years Day while walking around the city how historically authentic it is. More
Puerto Colombia:
Late morning on New Years Day 2011 I left Puerto Cabello on the coast, via Moron to Maracay, this took just over an hour, when the bus arrived at the terminal in Maracay there were young people everywhere getting ready to board buses for holidays in popular places, one of these places is Puerto Colombia, a place I had decided I would visit for a few days. More
Maracay to Puerto La Cruz:
I returned to Maracay after 3 days in Puerto Colombia to catch a bus further east to Puerto La Cruz via Caracas, boats to Isla Margarita leave from Puerto La Cruz. It took 90 minutes from Maracay to Caracas and another 5 hours from Caracas to Puerto La Cruz, I only spent a few hours in Caracas but had a brief look outside and around the bus terminal, I wasn't so keen to venture deeply into Caracas as it has the reputation of being a very dangerous city. More
Isla Margarita - Porlamar:
From the Conferry terminal in Puerto La Cruz I made the 4 hour trip by sea to Porlamar on Isla Margarita. It was early morning, I woke before 6am and walked the 20 minutes west from the center of Puerto La Cruz to the ferry terminal and bought a ticket for 40 Bolivares one way (around $6USD). More
Isla Margarita - La Restinga:
From the bus terminal 5 blocks from Plaza Bolivar in Porlamar I took a bus westward to La Restinga about 33kms away, I had been invited to visit by a sweet lady friend I had met the day before while I was walking around Porlamar. I didn't know it then, but I would end up staying for 2 weeks living in a house on the beach with a family of fishermen, I was lucky, they gave me free accommodation and food, mainly fish. More
Isla Margarita - Boca De Rio:
Boca de Rio is 5 minutes west from La Restinga over the bridge that joins the western and eastern parts of Isla Margarita. It's a small but colorful little place where most activity happens around the seafront. In Boca de Rio is the museum Museo Marino de Margarita, their website is www.museomarino.com but I am not sure if the site is still running. More
Isla Margarita - Pampatar:
I set out for a day trip to Pampatar to see the castle, the bus from Porlamar only took about 20 minutes and leaves up the road from Plaza Bolivar in the direction of the church. Pampatar is located on the far east side of Isla Margarita beside the sea, the main attraction being the castle Castillo San Carlos de Borromeo which was constructed in 1663 and took 20 years to build. More
Isla Margarita - La Asuncion:
La Asuncion was a place I wanted to visit for a few hours to see some of the historical attractions like the castle and cathedral, I caught a bus in Porlamar down the road from the plaza about 5 blocks past the church, the journey to La Asuncion takes around 25 minutes. More
Isla Margarita - Juan Griego:
From La Asuncion I took a bus to Juan Griego only 15kms away on the north west coast passing through Santa Ana 8kms away. Juan Griego is known as a laidback place where there is accommodation available, the bay has fishing boats, visiting yachts and tour boats docked. More
Ciudad Guayana:
After nearly 2 and a half weeks on Isla Margarita I returned to Puerto La cruz and caught a bus at 10pm to Ciudad Guayana which took 6hrs. I arrived shortly after 4am and waited in the bus terminal for a couple of hours until the sun came up. I had found a place to stay in the Lonely Planet book and took a taxi there, I didn't sleep that great on the bus so I spent until the afternoon catching up on some. More
Santa Elena / Brazil Border:
A 10hr bus journey during the day from Ciudad Guayana brought me to Santa Elena de Uairen in the south-east of Venezuela near the border of Brazil. I stayed the night, looked around town in the morning and then made my way across the border to Pacaraima on the Brazilian side. More
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