A weekend on the carribean

Trip Start Nov 18, 2008
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Trip End Nov 17, 2009


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Where I stayed
Hostal Colonial
(Choroni hotels)

Flag of Venezuela  , Central Venezuela,
Monday, December 8, 2008

After our last instalment we spent a whole day trying to book a flight to Ecuador. Finally managed but we couldnīt leave till Monday evening. The extra days in Venezuella gave us time to relax at the lovely possada with monkeys and turtles and a swimming pool run by an german guy in Ciudad Bolivar for a couple of days, then travel to the carribean coast at Choroni in Venezuela for a couple of nights! Itīs a small fishing village on the Caribean coast in the "Henri Pittier national park" with a really carribean atmosphere: lots of sunbathing, swimming in the warm sea, eating seafood and drinking Guarapita -local coconut alcohol made from cane sugar.


We Left Ciudad Bolivar on a night bus to Caracas then straight onto another bus to Maracay and finally onto a little bus that had way more speakers than any boy racer in Britain!! It was a multicoloured bus with a massive sound system and Regatone latino music blaring out as the bus climbed up through the forrest on hairpin bends to a height of 1812m which was cold and cloudy before dropping down to the turquoise waters of the carribean at speed with a really strong smell of burning rubber, music blaring and horn honking loudly at every corner. It was a pretty crazy ride!!
Once in Choroni we booked into Hostal Colonial which was simple and clean with big breakfasts on offer. We headed down to check out the beach and immediately ran into Carmen and Natasha (the two girls from London who were on our angel falls trip) who we had just said bye to in Ciudad Bolivar 2 days ago.


We spent the day on the beach with them, then in the evening we watched as the local fishermen lashed 3 boats together, drove a truck up on top of them and sailed it round to another community with no land access!! A weird sight to see a truck bobbing about on the waves leaving the harbour and then disappearing round the corner!
Carmenīs mumīs from Chile so she speaks perfect Spanish and organised a boat trip out to a remote beach- Chao for the 4 of us next day. A local fisherman dropped us off and came back in the evening for us. It was pretty hot so we ended up in a café eating chocolate ice cream and trying chocolate liqueur and being scared by the old Venezuelan man telling us tales of tourists who had had amputations and died from infected bites! Pete had a really bad reaction to some mozzie bites - his whole ankle swole up and was hot and bruised. Carmen translated what the old man  was saying but his hand actions gave it away a bit!! Anyway peteīs now much better thanks to Ibuprofen, antihistimine and hydrocortisone!
 
Saturday night in Choroni- It seems that when Venezuelans head to the beach they like to drink a lot, an awful lot! Everyone was out on the street with beers or rum it was pretty funny to watch. We sat down by the harbour where the hippy community sell lots of bracelets and necklaces. There were cars sitting with their boots open pumping out loud Regatone Latino music and boy racers cruising about in their old bangers with a beer in hand! This was one thing that just wouldn't happen at home. The Police went past and didn't batter an eyelid.
 
Venezuelaīs been cool but weīre now ready for some altitude! And an escape from the mozzies.................. Next stop Ecuador.
 
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