Flamingo City Hotel Porlamar

We took an early flight out of Gran Roque to the Island of Margarita. The island is the country's main Caribbean holiday destination, larger than Los Roque, is about 40km off the coast on Venezuela, where the Andes meets the Caribbean, and a much larger island than we thought. It is popular with both Venezuelans and foreign visitors so is far more commercialized; the airport is set up for charter flights from Europe and North America (not that we saw much ...

... this one includes all food and drink up to 11pm – fantastic, my first all inclusive experience whilst backpacking! I even have a hairdryer and a fridge in my room, so it is very luxurious. They don’t speak any English here (but do know a little German), so somehow I am managing to get by on my amazing Spanish skills :s I think my most in-depth conversation has been with Guaco the parrot that sits by reception and can only ...

I am here in Ciudad Bolivar trying to catch up with the blog entry that I have missed over the last few days. This was just a small trip to Isla de Margarita and I never knew that there was such a place, nothing happens and everything is happening. There is so much development here but the transport to the Island is appalling, at least the one we were on ...

Após a assustada chegada a Caracas, onde fomos abordados por "trocadores"de grana loucos pelos nossos poucos dólares e pelo assombroso hotel que passamos a noite, fomos na manhã seguinte para a interessante Isla Margarita. O tempo nã estava bom mais o clima o melhor possível. Estava eu, minha esposa, primo e prima, cunhado e cunhada! Chegamos ao hotel Lagunamar e nos deparamos com um espaço imenso e um bom hotel ...

... Anchoring should be done only in the center of the large group of boats at Palomar then our dingy raised out of the water before locking our selves in the boat everynight.  Things could get worse. That same morning a fellow cruiser was run over in his dingy and killed by one of the many speeding pirogues. The world is full of better places.                                              

... It has also been described by some as an attempt to destabilize Venezeula by creating panic over its finances - their bonds fell by the largest amount in 6 months after the news. Yesterday I climbed Matasiete, a mountain covered in steep rocks and cactuses, with Eduardo and friends...There was no path, so we had to weave our way up through the cactus plants, trees and shrubs...The climb was really beautiful, although getting ...

Researching into microfranchises, I am looking into what types of small-scale businesses can possibly be set up here in Venezuela. Ones that can provide employment and income generation opportunities for the poorest in society. However, there is a problem. Anything that involves producing or selling goods here becomes difficult. No longer are traditional economic questions relevant...but you have to look at the conditions imposed by an oil rich country. Currently any ...

... nor does not propose a solution to reverse it. Ultimately, micro-finance and its co-variants are a means to provide mobility and temporary access to markets, easing some of the inequalities inherent to the current corporate-globalist system. They cannot change macro-structures, which are taken as a given within their framework. Microfinance can indeed empower some of those currently at the bottom of the pyramid, however hailing it as a solution to poverty seems far-fetched.

... back, but she had told me to go to the airport, get my ticket there and pay in Bolivares. Boy, did that pay off, because I got the ticket for the 35 minutes flight to Caracas for only $20 USD, since I had changed into Bolivares on the black market! The Check-in and Security was super fast, got into the plane and off it went. A great flight, besides the fact that my stomach was feeling like ****, probably from something I had eaten the day before.<br>

... and showering, eating dinner, and then playing video games until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer - usually around two, three or four. Then I would start the whole routine over again. Breaking up the monotony of the week, I would usually visit my girlfriend on the weekends. That was my programme until the 16th of February when Karen and I left for Venezuela . Our flight was at 6 in the morning so we had to leave for the airport at two. I thought it would be best to ...