Venezuela

The last new country on our travels in South America. And the most infamous one. Officially its a federal presidential republic but apparently in reality its an authoritarian system of government where president Nicolas Maduro Moras is in charge after “winning” the elections once again. For years it was the most dangerous country in the world, not at war. And the capital Caracas the most dangerous city in the world. In the past years Venezuela “lost” it’s first place to countries like Afghanistan, Haiti and Syria and it is now at place 142 out 163 countries in the Global Peace Index. There’s less crime now than in the past, but of course some of the other countries have become more dangerous as well. Most countries will advise against all travel to Venezuela due to crime, corruption and very little chance of a fair trial. People disappear and there’s been a lot of unrest and political tension. The economy is not doing well and especially fuel can be difficult to get. It has the third highest ranking score for corruption. It’s at place 159 for human rights, 165 being the lowest place. Between 70-90% of the people live in poverty, depending on which source you use. There’s an environmental crisis going on with sewage pollution, deforestation, mining and oil winning. Although there are no numbers available, the air pollution in populated areas is bad. In the past there have been times when food and drinking water were scarse, but we didn’t experience this.

We spend a month there and LOVED Venezuela! We were treated friendly and with respect at the border and every military and police checkpoint, and there are a lot! The locals were incredible hospitable! Offerings us free stays and food! We have been and felt safe everywhere! Nature is gorgeous and the landscape is divers. Savanna, tropical rain forest, mountains, beaches, green meadows and deserts, waterfalls and caves it has it all! There are areas where we could definitely live a happy live. People are incredible friendly and despite their hardship, most of the seem more happy than the average person in a rich Western country. Whether they agree with the political situation or not (as a rule we don’t discus religion or politics during our travels), they lover their country and are proud of it. And according to the locals, the situation has become more stable and safe in recent years. We hope this keeps improving and tourists will visit this country. Because it is absolutely worth it! One month wasn’t enough, maybe, hopefully one day we get to go back. And we are not the only ones who feel this way. Other overlanders love this country too and some never leave!

Officially the valuta is the Bolivar, named after the nations hero, One Bolivar is E0.011. However several currencies are used in the country. The US dollar is definitely the most popular. In the South the Brazilian real is used, goods in stores are even priced in reales. Close to the border with Colombia you can pay with pesos. And everywhere in the country you can pay in gold. The price of the product is then written in the amount of grams of gold needed.

28 million people live in Venezuela, 3 million of those in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Approximately 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country. We saw a few refugee camps in Brazil. Venezuela has a land mass of 912.050 km2, making it the 6th largest country in South America. However it’s felt that this isn’t enough as the Venezuelans feel that Essequibo belongs to Venezuela and not Guyana. Everywhere you can see stickers and posters saying that Essequibo belongs to Venezuela and it’s actually added to the maps of the country. For now however it belongs to Guyana.