A bitter sweet end...

The Peruvian Andes

Freshly caught Barracuda for dinner in Los Roques

A hard place to spend the day...

One of the island in the Los Roques archipelago

The slums of Caracas by night

Mangrove swamp on Margarita Island

A scramble for water following a 5 hour delay for our ferry departure.

Waking at 3 am from an uncomfortable sleep with my legs wrapped around my bag on the floor of the airport in Caracas, I am happy to be moving on. A month is enough to see many sides of life in Venezuela, the complexity of the political situation as well as the mentality of the people combine to make life very frustrating. In a country with an unbelievable range of natural wonders, one has to work hard to block out the memories of endless traffic, the almost continuous smell of fumes and the obsession with western style shopping malls. The reasons behind these things are understandable, around 100,000 people being killed each year due to violence. This has created a feeling of paranoia, security is of primary concern and thus the shopping mall has become the place to socialise because it is guarded. This combined with a national obsession with beauty (according to Lonely Planet, Venezuelans spend 20% of their income on their appearance.) creates a somewhat materialistic society.
In a country that abounds with natural beauty, I write my observations with some hesitation...I hope to see another side of this vast country should I visit again in the future...