Hot as Hell and Rich with Oil...

On Isla de Zapara
Originally uploaded by Phil Chan.

“I’m in a car that keeps breaking down, driving through the countryside in Venezuela, I barely speak the language, I don’t know where I’m staying tonight… and I’m having the time of my life.”

That was what I thought as the car I took from Mérida to Maracaibo broke down for the 4th time during our 8 hour trip. I have ended up staying with William, a Venezuelan guy I went camping with in Mérida, and have been having a great time in Maracaibo. Lonely Planet describes Maracaibo as “Hot as Hell and rich in oil”, before blasting the city as boring and to be avoided. They’re definitely right about the first part, but for me, Maracaibo has been a great city and I’m having an awesome time here.

The first night here we checked out a nice little club called Rasta Bar, oddly enough a Reggae bar, where we met up with Lisbette, Gabby and Dixie, who I also met in Mérida, then headed to another of their friends birthday party, complete with live Salsa and Meringue band.

Over the weekend about 30 of us went camping on Isla de Zapara, which is a small fishing community near Maracaibo. The island is on Lake Maracaibo, which is the largest in South America, containing nearly all of the oil in Venezuela. We drank, swam, ate, drank more… then a bit more and had a great time on the Island. It was the first time I’d gone in the surf since Itacaré, and it felt great. I’m not a massive beach person, but there’s something about being carried by the surf and tasting the salt water that makes me smile.

We headed back to Maracaibo on Monday and are going camping again this weekend in some mountains north of Venezuela near the Columbian border. This week I’ve been looking around the city and getting ready to go to Columbia next week.

Venezuela is an amazing country that I’ve only scratched the surface of, and I’m sad to be leaving, but it will be great to get into Columbia, hit some beaches and do more trekking. My first stop is a town called Santa Marta where I’ll do a 6 day hike to Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City… though personally I find it strange that it’s called the “Lost City” when it clearly isn’t.