viernes, 8 de noviembre de 2013

News and Updates.

I haven't post in this blog for a while and I decided to come back and I am really sorry for that. For now I will write about what's happened in Venezuela in the last few months.


Miss Universe.


Ladies always goes first right? It happens that Venezuela is the country with more "beauty titles" in the Miss Universe competition. The first step is to be at the Miss Venezuela competition and the winner representates my country in Miss Universe. This year this activity will be held in Russia and the lady that goes for Venezuela is called Maria Gabriela Isler. It's told that she is one of the favorites.






Politics.


Since president Hugo Chavez died in march there's been a very messy political enviroment in my country. Chavez left Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver, as the presidential candidete for the  elections helded in april. Maduro won for a tiny difference (many said it was an electoral fraud and there were actually a few deaths). He basically have the same escennce as Chaves did as a president, the same speech and same actions.


 Many people are getting tired because of the insecurity and high inflation rate. The university teachers did a strike earlier this year that lasted several months (this forced me to loose a lot of classes by the way). There is an economical crisis and on november 8th the goverment announced deep economical changes that will be explained with more details in the next days. The next elections for municipality majors will be on december 8th and the enviroment is really warming up. I hope nothing happens but tention is in the air.


This are the twitter accounts of the president of the republic Maduro in four different lenguages:

English: @maduro_en
French: @maduro_fr
Portugeese: @maduro_pt
Arabic: @maduro_ar

Sports.

The national football (soccer) team didn't made it to the world cup. I actually consider that Venezuela has been improving since the last years but it is difficult to qualify in a group that has so many great selections such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador... and only a few spots to make it to the world cup. Also, the team's captain and most important figure in the last decade Juan Arango announced retairment from the national team (he plays in Germany for the Borussia Mönchengladbach). 

The Venezuelan Winter Baseball League is almost in the midseason and my team is not going very well. It's been a nice opportunity to see some big leaguers and some young prospect that haven't played yet with their teams in the MLB. 

Also the NBA just started and I am excited, specially because I play Fantasy in Yahoo.


Weather.

The rain season it is supposed to be over but it's been raining like hell in the las weeks. It's getting colder since october but because Venezuela is located near the ecuator line there's not a big change in the weather during the year, it just become warmer in summer and colder in winter. As I said in my post about Caracas, the weather in this city is like perfect, and I like it being colder. So let's see when the rain it's going to stop.


Entertainment.

Beyoncee had a show in Caracas this september in my university's football (soccer) stadium. Aerosmith played as well this year in Venezuela. 

The highest-budget movie ever made in Venezuela (A Venezuelan and Spain's production) was presented in the las Toronto's film festival and next year it will be presented in national theatres. The name of the movie is The Libertator and it's about the life of Simon Bolivar. Starring Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez it's supposed to be a great movie and I am looking forward to watch it. I love film. Watching a movie is one of my favorites activities so I will write a little bit more about movies later on.


(Edgar Ramirez as Simon Bolivar, he actually doesn't looks like him but I am sure he did a great job in the movie).



So... long time no see. What's going on in your contries? Did I miss a topic in this post?

viernes, 14 de junio de 2013

Venezuelan food (Arepas).

This is the first post referred to Venezuelan food and the obvious dish I must talk about is the arepa.  It is an everyday food in any Venezuelan table, specially for breakfast. It is a simple food made from cornmeal which looks like a small cake. It was already popular before the Spanish colonization and the tradition have been kept until today.

Also a traditional dish in Colombia and Panama, the arepa by itself is kind of flavorless but it is combined  with many other ingredients making this food's possible combinations limitless.

(Arepas cooked with firewood).

After preparing and cooking the arepa you open it helped by a knife like an oyster and you fill it with whatever you want: ham, cheese, butter, meat, chicken, eggs, pork, fish and many more.

Until some decades ago the process to cook arepas was long and complicated because the corn had to be milled first but everything changed since the corn flour was invented. It can also be fried (less healthy but tastier, like everything good in the world haha). Another type of arepa, made with wheat flour instead of corn, is prepared in the region of Los Andes. This variant of the dish is also very tasty.

It is not popular only for breakfast or dinner but it is also a very common food after going to a nightclub or parting until late because there are many establishments opened 24 hours called "areperas" that sells many kinds of Venezuelan food but specially arepas. It usually takes a few seconds from the moment you order it to the moment you are eating it and it is so helpful to avoid a hangover if you were drinking.

And now I will share this video I found in youtube where you can see how an arepera is and how the arepas are served.




Would you try an arepa? What are the most popular dishes in your country?

jueves, 13 de junio de 2013

The Catatumbo.

This is a strange meteorological phenomenon that can be seen near Maracaibo city in Zulia state. I don't really now a lot about the science behind that causes this effect but it basically consist in a almost perpetual thunder, which makes it easy to take a photo of this.



This happens in south of the biggest lake of Venezuela, called the Maracaibo lake and apparently it is the largest source of ozone in the world (around 10% of the total ozone).

(Maracaibo lake).

It was studied by the naturist Alexander von Humbolt in one of his journeys and later by the Italian geographer Agustin Codazzi.

And just as general culture: the name Catatumbo is also the name of a sniper rifle designed and created in Venezuela, for those interested in guns.

What kind of strange phenomenons happens or had happened in your country? 

jueves, 30 de mayo de 2013

Venezuelan music (Joropo)

There is a large tradition of great Venezuelans musicians along many generations meaning that my country posses a rich music culture and this includes all the genres like pop, rock, dance, and folk music.

Today I am going to write a little about one particular folk music called Joropo.

The Joropo is the traditional music in the plains region of Venezuela, and also one of the most popular music in all the country. Since it is originated in the plains (los llanos in spanish), it is also known as "musica llanera" or "music of the plains."





The instruments used are basically the Venezuelan "cuatro", Venezuelan harp, maracas and a percussion instrument called "furruco." Others instruments may be added like an electric base, a flute o violins. It also might be both, with voice or instrumental.

This regional music, as most of the Venezuelan music, is meant for dancing. Usually the dresses used by the dancing girls are very colorful with very long skirts which they lift with the hands while doing turns very quickly.

Now, because it is easier to understand from images than from a guy trying to write about Joropo, I added a couple of videos  from youtube. The first video is a choreography done by teenagers in some sort of event. The second one is a couple dancing.

Enjoy!








jueves, 2 de mayo de 2013

Sports in Venezuela.

Without any question the most followed sport in Venezuela is baseball. It is the only country in South America where baseball is more important than football (soccer). Baseball was brought to Venezuela by the Americans that came to work with the first oil companies in the beginning of the 20th century. Baseball is also the most important sport in the Caribbean sea which is north of Venezuela so that's another major influence.

There is a large number of  great baseball player in the Major League of Baseball which is the league of the United States and the most important in the world. Some of them have achieved great success like Miguel Cabrera in the Detroit Tigers, Pablo Sandoval (known as Kung Fu Panda) in the San Francisco Giants, Felix Hernandez in the Seattle Mariners or Carlos Gonzalez in the Colorado Rockies; just to name a few. In the 2012 World Series a total of nine Venezuelans participated.


(Miguel Cabrera).

The Venezuelan winter league was founded in 1945 is played every year from October to January and it is followed for most of the Venezuelans. It has only eight teams, which are:

-Leones del Caracas (Caracas Lions).
-Navegantes del Magallanes (Magallanes Sailors).
-Tiburones de la Guaira (La Guaira Sharks, my team by the way).
-Cardenales de Lara (Lara Cardinals).
-Tigres de Aragua (Aragua Tigers).
-Aguilas del Zulia (Zulia Eagles).
-Caribes de Anzoategui (Anzoategui Caribbeans).
-Bravos de Margarita (Margarita Braves).


(Teams of the Venezuelan Winter League).

The team that has won more titles is Caracas Lions followed by Magallanes Sailors, Aragua Tigers and La Guaira Sharks.

Now, I have to talk about the sport number 1 in the world, football (soccer). Even though baseball is still the most viewed sport in Venezuela, football has increased really fast in the last decade specially because the Venezuelan National Team has achieved some important wins and right now is close to qualified for the next World Cup in Brazil. The sub-17 team just qualified to the World Cup in Arab Emirates but we are waiting for the adults to do as such. Venezuela has never been in a World Cup yet.

(Venezuela National football team in 2010).

In the national football league there are two major teams which are the Caracas FC and Deportivo Tachira. Every time this two teams play each other there is a massive attendance in the stadium.

Another sport that has increase in ratings in the last few years is basketball but still it is not very followed.

What is your favorite sport? Which sport is the most followed in your country?

Oil and Gas.




I am sure that many of you have heard that Venezuela is an oil producer and exporter. It is member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporter Countries (OPEC). My country is one of the most important oil exporters in the world and it has the largest oil reserves, but the irony is that we have a big poor population. Many people wonders how come Venezuela is so rich and the Venezuelans are so poor? At the same time you see a lot of people expending a lot every day, the shopping malls are full every weekend. You might see poor people with better cell phones than you. Venezuela is a country of contrasts.

A popular tale says that when God was creating Venezuela he puts gold, petroleum, diamonds, pearls, iron, and so on; but The Lord realized that was too perfect for a country and so he decided to put the Venezuelans. I don't believe that tale is completely truth because most of the Venezuelans are really good and working people but the point is that we have all the opportunities to be a great nation and we are not.

I am pretty sure that a sociologist would love to work in Venezuela and study the Venezuelans but what I want to point in this post is that because we are a oil producer, the government subsidies most of the cost of gas for the national consumers. That means that gasoline is cheap. VERY cheap. Cheaper than water, literately. You can fuel a tank with only a few cents of dollar.

Maybe you are thinking "that's so good, I wish gas were that cheap in my country". But reality is different, it has two sides.

I will list what I consider to be the pros and cons of having cheap gasoline.

Pros: 

-We save a lot of money.

-We can hang out more and not worry about the price of fulling a tank.

-We can give or ask someone a ride easily. 

-A business depending in vehicles saves a lot, like taxi and bus lines.

Cons: 

-Nobody uses bikes.

-The air is polluted.

-A big and efficient railroad system hasn't been developed.

-Everybody wants to have a car and sometimes more than one car or motorbike so traffic is terrible.

-Car pooling is something really rare to see.

(Rush hour in Caracas).

Personalty I think that having cheap gasoline is fine but it shouldn't be so cheap. Many governments have tried to increase the gas price a bit with no success. People gets really mad every time someone in the government mention the possibility of having the gas price increased. Prices of alcohol, water, food, or everything else can increase and people will be fine, but don't mess with the gasoline price. That's another topic to be discussed between sociologists.

What do you think about this situation? What products does your country produce cheap?

Simon Bolivar University.

I haven't written since about two weeks ago because I started my last trimester in the university and I am also doing community service which is mandatory in order to graduate. My major is International Trade and I study in Simon Bolivar University (Universidad Simón Bolívar in spanish or USB), which is the topic of this post.

The USB was founded in 1970 and the idea was to create a learning center specialized in science and technological majors. It has around 900 teachers and more than 7500 students. It is a public university meaning that you don't have to pay to study there (just a symbolic yearly fee) and all the services are free or almost free.

A coffee plantation before, this university is located in Sartenejas valley which is in the outside of Caracas. It has a really good weather because it is surrounded by a lot of nature and clean air. It has a really beautiful and huge garden with trees from all the regions of Venezuela and some from other countries where you can see ducks squirrels and many birds.


(The rectoral house was the main house of the coffee plantation, it keeps the colonial architecture).


For me is the best University of Venezuela not only because I study there :D but also because it is so much prettier than any other university. The education level is very high and maybe the only bad thing it has is that it is limited only to technological and science education and a few economic majors such as international trade and business administration.

Between the many interesting things the university has I will name some:

-The chromatic garden: it was designed by Venezuelan plastic artist Carlos Cruz Diez and there are only three of this gardens around the world (I think the other two are in Belgium and Germany but I am not really sure about it).

-The library: it has five floors and it has tons of books of course. But maybe the mos interesting thing it has if you are only visiting is the big door at the entrance. It was a door from a military fort in Peru used by Simon Bolivar during the independence war of that country. It was donated by the Peruvian government to the university and it has been open only three times since then.


(The chromatic garden and the library in the back).

-The mountains around the university: there are not big but if you like to do exercise and enjoy the nature at the same time you can go hiking or biking in these mountains. I would difference two main areas in the mountains: the pine tree forest and the original forest. You can get to see a really wonderful view of Caracas from there.


(Air view of the university)

I feel really fortunate to be studding in this university and it is located near my house which is a plus!

Which university are you attending to? What are the most interesting things about your university? 

sábado, 20 de abril de 2013

My top 10 places to go in Venezuela (Part 2).


Now let's look at the rest of my top 10 places to go in Venezuela:

5-Mochima National park.



This national park is located in the east part of the coast and contains a lot of really beautiful beaches and some little islands accessible by boat. You are allowed to camp and because it is a national park it is never too crowed or polluted. It is a quiet and safe place far from any big city where you can enjoy the warm waters of the Caribbean sea. You can also eat fresh an delicious seafood. 


4-Merida.

(Picture taken by Jorge Paparoni)


The city of Merida has the same name as it's state and it is located around 1650 mt (5413 ft) above the sea level in Los Andes mountain chain. It is a typically destination for both national and international tourists because this city is surrounded by really high mountains where you can actually see them with snow in the top. This mountains are the only place in Venezuela where you can see snow and since we are a tropical country this is very attractive. You can go climbing if you are and adventurer. Also, the tallest and longest cable car in the world is located in Merida, but right now it's closed for maintenance. It is not a big city but you will find a lot of things to do during the day or night because it is a students city. Even though is a touristic city it is also cheap and people is really friendly.


3-Margarita island.

(Silver's bay)

(La Galera fort)

Margarita island belongs to Nueva Esparta state and is located around 30 minutes by plane west from Simon Bolivar International airport. You can get to the island also by taking a ferry in the cities of Puerto la Cruz and Cumana.  It provides the visitor with a perfect combination of beaches, night clubs, casinos, shopping malls and some historic places such as forts and castles. Most of the population is located in the East side of the island and it gets really crowded during some holidays. In the west side of the island you will find lonely and beautiful beaches. Also you can visit La Restinga National Park which is a mangrove swamp.

2-Los roques.

(Very tentative right?)

(The biggest island of the archipelago)

This delightful archipelago is certainly the best option to go in Venezuela if you are a beach lover. This national park is never too crowded which is strange since it takes only a few minutes to get there by plane from Caracas airport. But because it's a kind of expensive destination for national tourism you will find a lot of beaches with an incredible white sand and all the types of blue colors you can imagine all for yourself. There are different activities you could do such as snorkeling, scuba diving or sailing boats. This is definitely one of the most charming places you would find in the Caribbean sea.



1-La Gran Sabana (The Great Plain).


(Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi. License: GFDL/CC-BY-SA 3.0)



(Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi. License: GFDL/CC-BY-SA 3.0)



(A tepuy, one of the oldest rock formations on earth.
 Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi. License: GFDL/CC-BY-SA 3.0).

La Gran Sabana is located in Bolivar state and is part of the Canaima National Park. It is a vast region of plains with beautiful plateaus called "Tepuyes" which in some cases reach the 2800 mt (9186 ft) high above the sea level and are one of the oldest rock formations in the world. It offers unique views with it's many rivers, lakes, deep jungles, big valleys and a wonderful fauna. You would have the opportunity to meet actual Indigenous living in this area. They are friendly and many of them keep their old customs. This place is for adventurers since you wont find any big populated area just Indigenous and other international tourists. What you will certainly find is a land with spectacular and awesome views.



As you see, most of this places are beaches in the Caribbean sea but there is a lot more to discover and visit in Venezuela. I will go in depth with this and other places to go in my blog. 

Have you visited one of this places? Which place on the list attracts you the most? What is your top 10 of places to go in your country?

My top 10 places to go in Venezuela (Part 1).

Now, let's start discovering this beautiful country and look at some or the many places it offers to international tourists. One of the good thing Venezuela has is the versatility to please any kind of demands. There is a very famous song here called Venezuela and at some point the song says "...soy desierto, selva, nieve y volcán..." which means "...I am desert, jungle, snow and volcano...". Actually, there's not any volcano in Venezuela, but the point is that my country has a very diverse options to visit.

Politically, Venezuela is divided in twenty three federal states and one capital district. Geographically, it is divided in five regions which are: the coast, the islands, the Andes, the plains and the Amazon jungle. The coast is where the most part of the population lives and it's divided in three sub-regions, west, central, and east.

I would give my PERSONAL top 10 list of places to visit in Venezuela. Of course this is very subjective.

So here we go:

10-Cuyagua.





This beach is one of the most popular beaches in Venezuela. It is located in the coast of Aragua state. Cuyagua is famous for being frequently visited by surfers because it has big waves. It is known to have some kind of "rasta" environment where you can hear reggae music and some other Latin rhythms. It is usually empty from Monday to Friday and it gets crowed in the weekends. A lot of people go camping to this beach which also has a river where you can take the salt and sand off from your body. It might be enjoyable for young groups since this beach is visited for a lot of university students during the holidays but if you are looking for relaxation this might not be your place.



9-Coro.



This small city is not a tourist destination itself, but it's location in a strategic point gives you an easy access to other places like Morrocoy National Park. It contains many colonial and colorful buildings. It is famous because the only desert in Venezuela is located near it. This is a small desert called the Coro's dunes and it is also a national park. North of Coro you can go to another city called Punto Fijo, a duty free area where you can go shopping. You can also get to Maracaibo which is the second most important city in Venezuela, located a few hours west of Coro by car.


8-Morrocoy National park.



This national park is located in the west part of the coast of Venezuela and it has the same common name that a type of turtle located in my country and some other south american countries. It is basically composed by a bunch of cays that offers really beautiful beaches. This is a very common destination for national tourism meaning that some cays gets crowded in weekends and during some holidays like Carnival or the Holy Week which is good if you like knowing people and parting. But I think that if you come to Venezuela for the first time you might want to visit a more exclusive place.


7-Choroni.



This small village is also located in the Aragua states's coast and it has a wonderful beach which is one of my favorites. There are a lot of fishermen which mean you can eat really fresh an cheap seafood (I recommend the fried fish). It has many inns and it conserves traditional customs from the slaves brought from Africa in colonial times. At night you can walk to the breakwater area where you can hear  and dance African drums. Maybe the thing I like the most about Choroni is the environment it has. The bad thing is that the road to get there from Maracay is in really bad condition.

6-Paria's peninsula.




This large peninsula is located in the east part of Sucre state. It doesn't have any big city but small villages instead where people are friendly and food is good. It contains many beaches (most of them are barely visited), a few mountains and two national parks. It is a good place to visit for those interested in birds watching. It is not higher on this list only because it is not easy to access because the roads are deteriorated and is far from any big city.


To be continued...

viernes, 19 de abril de 2013

Military parade in Caracas.

Today was held in Caracas a military parade as I wrote in my latest post. It was actually a civic-military parade since some workers and different members from some civil groups like Indigenous. I will share some pictures that I founded on the web about this event.



(Venezuelan flags everywhere)


(Uniforms used during the independence war)





(Cadets)

(This huge avenue was build specially to do this kind of events)


Do you like military parades or you think they are a complete waste of money and time?


April 19th, 1810.

Today is a holiday in all our territory meaning that we have the day off. On this date we commemorate the revolution occurred  203 years ago in Caracas. It was actually an unarmed revolution but it is famous because it meant at that time the starting of the independence war which lasted thirteen years. By that time Venezuela (as most of the Latin countries) was a dependent colony of Spain. This was not the first attempt to to free our country as Francisco de Miranda tried it two times before this year. Even though he failed in his efforts, he left some freedom ideas going across all the country since he participated in both the American and French revolution.



 The General Captaincy of Venezuela and it's provinces in 1810.


Being a colony was uncomfortable for many people also because they were allowed to trade products only with the metropolis by selling cheap and buying expensive so the Venezuelan economy could't develop properly.

It's important to remember that Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain in 1808 and named his brother Jose Bonaparte the new king.

What happened that day...

Taking advantage of the Napoleon's invasion to Spain, the patriot members of the municipal council decided to create popular agitation against the governor Vicente Emparan while he was visiting the Cathedral during the Holy Thursday. Emparan was known for being more a negotiator than a warrior because he successfully stopped some attempts made by the higher class to form a different government and create a constitution by talking person to person to the separatists leaders.

But this time the Spanish Empire was weaker than before and the pressure from the crowed was a lot more intense. He finally opted to ask the people gathered in the Mayor square (today Bolivar square) from the council's window whether or not they recognize him as the authority and people answered a big NO. After this he decided to quit and left Venezuela on that same day. He went to Philadelphia where he wrote to the Spanish government explaining what happened on April 19th.

Painting by Juan Lovera. Vicente Emparan is the guy in the middle with black suit.


Consequences.

After this day the patriots formed a committee which took the following measures: to create similar committees in the other patriot provinces, to liberate the international trade regulations, to forbid slaves trade and to create a math academy among others. They also sent delegations to countries that might be interested in supporting this movement such as England, United States and Nueva Granada (actual Colombia). Three provinces still remained loyal to Spain.

Inspired by what happened that day, many other countries in Latin America did as such. As our national anthem says: "Seguid el ejemplo que Caracas dió" (follow the example given by Caracas).

More than a year later, on July 5th, 1811; the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence was singed definitively breaking with the Spanish Crown and forming a new country based on federal and republican ideas. Obviously the Spain Crown didn't agree with that so the war started.

Today.

Because it's Friday people will take this long weekend to go to the beach (which is the most common activity to do on weekends) or do some other activities. Also, a traditional military parade is going to be held in Caracas.

What are the more common holidays in your country? What do you usually do when you have the day off?

jueves, 18 de abril de 2013

Caracas, Caracas...

Santiego de Leon de Caracas, commonly know just as Caracas, is the capital city of Venezuela. It is located in the central-north of the country and is the most populated city. As most of the big cities in my country, it exhibits a high contrast between poor and rich people. It was founded on July 25th in the year 1567 by the spanish conqueror Diego de Losada. At the very beginning it consisted of only a few houses, a central square and a governmental institution. By the year 1812 a huge earthquake destroyed almost all the city just in the middle of the independence war.

Right know the city looks like this...



  (Picture taken from http://www.culturizando.com/2012/07/la-historia-de-caracas.html)

Also known as the "concrete jungle", Caracas is in the middle of a huge valley around 900 mt (2952 ft) above the sea level. It is the center of all financial, cultural and governmental activities. The main universities and professional institutes of Venezuela are also in this city.  It's divided in 5 municipalities (Libertador, Sucre, Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo) and the main international airport that serves the city is Simon Bolivar International Airport, which is not actually located inside Caracas. There is a common saying that translated to English would be something like "Caracas is Caracas, everything else is weeds and snakes" meaning that the capital is the most important and biggest city of the country. For those interested in Spanish language the saying is "Caracas es Caracas, todo lo demás es monte y culebra"


What to do?


I think my country is a very good place to visit especially if you are interested in natural wonders, but I don't actually recommend Caracas as a tourist destination basically because it is not very safe, it is polluted, the traffic is terrible and the beaches near it are not the most beautiful beaches in Venezuela. People is not very educated and might try to take advantage from tourists. But it would be your launch platform to other places in Venezuela since most of the transport companies and main highways to other cities are located here.


Still, as every place in the world, it has good and charming places to go. If you are interested in History you might visit the "Center" of Caracas. Notice that I used quotation marks since it is not the geographical center of the city right now but it was some decades ago, still people call this area the Center. You can find museums, cathedrals and churches, coffees, theaters and the Simon Bolivar's birth house which is now a museum.



Other things to do are take a walk in Los Proceres avenue, which is very beautiful and it has a strong presence of security forces. If you would like to have more contact with nature you can go to Miranda park or to Guaraira Repano national park (more commonly known as "el Avila") which is safe and consists in a chain of mountains located in the north of the city. The higher point is 2.765 mt (9071 ft) above the sea level and it will provide you with a splendid view of the entire city for one side and maybe a even better view of the coast on the other side as long as it's not cloudy. You can take the cable car if you are lazy like me or you can go walking. It is also allowed to camp but make sure you have the authorities written permission and respect the national park's rules.

Los proceres avenue... 

Guaraira Repano national park...

("Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi. License: GFDL/CC-BY-SA 3.0")


I will write more about Caracas in some other posts.

What do you think about this city? Would you visit it?

Introduction and some basic information.


Are you thinking about traveling to Venezuela? Did you already traveled but you want to learn more? Or maybe you are just curious about this beautiful and polemic country. Anyways this blog is going to give you any kind of information: news, customs, idiosyncrasy, advice for travelers, history, Spanish tips and much more!

First of all, I am a native Venezuelan boy and I am NOT an expert in English so I apologize in advance for any mistake I could make in my post (there's gonna be a lot :P) and feel free to correct me. I know what many of you are thinking while reading this first post: If you are a native Spanish speaker, why are you doing this blog in English??? Well, I want to orientate this page for people from English speaking countries and people from other latitudes that can understand it since there is not much information in this language regarding to Venezuela. And I also want (why not?) to practice my written English.

Maybe you already know that there's a political crisis in my country right know but since I am just starting this blog I don't want to post about this complex subject yet. I wanna keep it fresh for now.

So let's start!!!

Some elemental facts:

Officially named Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, this country is located in the north of South America. It's population is around 29.000.000 people and the official language is Spanish as many of you may know. The climate is mostly tropical, meaning that we don't have 4 seasons but 2 seasons instead: dry-season and rainy-season (the rainy-season started just yesterday). The economy is heavily based in oil production and the official currency is the Bolivar (Bs).

We will go deeper about this subjects and many more later on, including our "obsession" about this Simon Bolivar guy...

What do you know about Venezuela? Have you ever been here?