¡Hasta Luego Venezuela, Hola Colombia!

Venezuela is an interesting place. It's a country where petrol costs 5 cents per litre, where they actively try to stick it to the US and travelers avoid like the plague due to it's reputation as the most dangerous country in South America. It's president, Hugo Chavez, has a weekly talk back show and seems driven by Simon Bolivar's dream of a united Americas. Something that would be far less interesting if Venezuela didn't have one of the World's largest oil reserves. This is the first place I've been where all of the graffiti is pro-government, with “Viva Chavez” plastered everywhere. There are huge problems though, with high levels of unemployment and an increasingly dissatisfied middle class. That said, with the shift to the left here and in the rest of South America, it will be very interesting to see what happens in this part of the World over the next 20 years.

One thing that I love about Venezuela is the food, especially their huge savory bananas called Plantas, which they have with just about every meal. My favourite way of eating these is in Patacone, which is like a hamburger, but instead of a bun you have plantas that have been squashed together and deep fried. Served around shredded pork, avocado and cheese, they are the perfect lunch or dinner. The cheese is great as well. It's white and a bit salty like halumi... and it makes a very satisfying squeak when you eat it.

The other thing I love is the people, which I think I've said that 1000 times now. I was incredibly lucky with everyone I met there, particularly the guys from Maracaibo. My last days were spent drinking huge amounts, taking heaps of photos and spending time with some of the best people I've ever met. Being with them I had one of my first moments of homesickness when, after watching a movie, Lisbette, Gabby, Dixie and Alberto were bagging out William with all of us laughing. Seeing a movie and giving someone a hard time, was such a normal night, like one I would have in Sydney that I realised it was the first time I'd been with a group of good friends since I left home and probably the only time I will be until I go home. I'm having the time of my life, have met and traveled with some great people, but the “Hi, where you From? Where you been? Where you going?” backpack chitchat gets old pretty quick. In fact, I had such a good time in Maracaibo that I'm thinking about going back after Central America, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit it in. One year really isn't enough time for a trip like this and there's still the west coast of South America and Argentina to see.

Sunday was Mother's Day here as well as in Australia and I was lucky enough to spend it with William's family. I had a great day drinking, chatting, dancing and being interrogated by his nieces. The music was salsa for the most part, but there were some fine reggaeton moments. Despite my best efforts, I was shown up by William's cousin Nelson, who dropped it lower than any man has dropped it before - truly amazing.

Sad as I am to leave Maracaibo, I think I spent the perfect amount of time there and am ready for my next round of misadventures. Yesterday I arrived in Columbia and so far it seems great. I'm staying near Santa Marta in a little town called Taganga, which is on a bay on the Carribean. When I arrived I bumped into Tamir, one of the Israeli guys I traveled with in the Amazon and we are now checked into a great posada on a hill overlooking the bay and town.

Unlike Venezuela, Santa Marta is full of tourists and it's a real shock to see so many of them. I'm going to try my best to get where there aren't many tourists, but I'm not sure how easy that will be.

From here I'll do Ciudad Perdida, then get down to Bogotá to get my eyes done before heading up to Cartagena and Central America. A friend from Maracaibo's dad is from Bogotá and I'm going to stay with his grandma which will be great.

The internet here is far to slow to upload pictures from Maracaibo, so I'll probably have to wait until Bogotá to do it.

Today I organised my trip to Ciudad Perdida, and leave tomorrow for a week so... hasta luego.