It was a struggle, and one I wasn’t too keen to win. You see, Venezuela and I are in the early stages of a fine romance.  When it came time to tear myself away from lovely Merida, I found myself thinking - people on buses and planes don’t have to go round trip, do they?  Interestingly, due to one of those wonderful airline 'problems', my five hundred mile passage back to the Virgin Islands took 2 days, possibly an encouraging validation of my thoughts?  It seemed Venezuela finally let me go but reluctantly. This was my third visit to rich and diverse Venezuela, and my first time in Merida,  Lat. 08.24N, Lon. 71.08 or only about 480 miles north of the Equator.  So, riddle me this, why was I dressed in long pants, t-shirts, topped off by two sweatshirts while having an early breakfast or late dinner?  The weather here is nothing short of perfect.  After about 800am, the sun rises high enough to be able to shed the sweatshirts and go about with light tops, but long pants were never uncomfortable. Lovely Merida, an old world city/town with a cosmopolitan feel, situated on a meseta, a flattened elongated “table” of rock about 5000 feet above sea level and flanked by mighty rivers.  Looking off the edges of this mesa made me wonder -  how are the houses clinging to that edge going to stay there for much longer?  A game of roulette I would not be willing to play.  When entering the city, white river rocks of all sizes capture the eye, most of them rounded, dotting the lush landscape rushing by the bus. For countless millennia the relentless river water has hewed and rolled these rocks into their current shapes.   Much of the lower elevations display a grid of these rocks delineating pastures or home sites. Towering mountains dominate either side of the city. As we drew closer to the city we were amazed to see the large trees waving copious drapes of Spanish Moss.  Up here? We were accustomed to this in Florida, but here?  Odd. We also began to wonder if the national bird was the turkey vulture. Hundreds rode the thermals up and around, circling the mountaintops. Usually snow-capped year round, dominant Pico Bolivar rises to 16,523 feet/5007m.  His neighbors, countless peaks, one with a distinct bull-like shape named El Toro.  Up early in the morning, you will be treated to this majestic panorama over your cup of robust Venezuelan coffee - but be quick for as the sun’s rays heat up the land, the clouds begin to blanket the peaks.  But even this phenomenon can make for excellent photo opportunities.  One evening, at sunset, the thick clouds which curled around the peaks were lit a deep rosy color.  Fabulous. Getting to Merida: I began my trip from Puerto la Cruz.  I had been visiting friends I had made over the two former years when I had my boat there for Hurricane season.  This year, no boat so I have time for me and to see some more of tantalizing Venezuela! A friend, still with boat, decided to take some time away from sea life to go see Merida with me.  Having scoped out options for getting there, the bus was a no-brainer at $27 US.  (A plane ride nudged $300 one way!!).  Having asked around, we settled on the doble-piso bus-cama, (double decker bed bus) from Flamingo Express.  Many other companies exist but this is the one we chose. The “beds” are formed from the deeply reclinable seats which are well spaced.  By visitors who have gone before, we were advised to bring very warm clothes, and told that a blanket and a pillow would make the night much shorter.  And they were not wrong.  This ride averages 17 hrs. long in temperatures to rival the Andean peaks themselves - maybe a cruel form of pre-conditioning. Seems the air conditioner shares a water pump with the engine and is not able to be regulated.  That’s the story, anyway. One very important note: Do not go anywhere in Venezuela without carrying your very own roll of toilet paper, especially for the bus.  As to the facilities on the bus, use them early.  Drink little to avoid using the bano late, as the conditions deteriorate rapidly!  Take advantage of the two rest stops.

RESOURCE LINKS FOR VENEZUELA About Moving to Venezuela Resources for Venezuelan emigration including both professional & official sources. Articles on Living & Investing in Venezuela An Index of Articles On Living, Working, Investing,Traveling Overseas & Real Estate in Venezuela. Art & Culture for Venezuela News, Media, Art & Travel in Venezuela. Banks Of Venezuela See Venezuela banks in our Latinoamerican Bank Section. Coro - The Venezuelan Colonial City The Historic City of Santa Ana de Coro - Venezuela - The Colonial City of Venezuela Isla Margarita - Financial Resources Financial Resources in Margarita Island. Embassies & Consulates for Venezuela Our sister site with a complete list of embassies for Venezuela and the entire world. Bookmark this page before leaving. Venezuela: Government & Country Information Information about weather, maps, flags, population and others. Hospitals in Venezuela See hospitals in Venezuela @ EscapeArtist.com Investing In Venezuela Including real estate & banks. Latin-American Search Engines A Gallery of Latin American Search Engines including query boxes  - Esta es la lista de catálogos busqueda en español. Links, links & more links Search Engines and links in Venezuela. Maps of Venezuela A large number of differing Venezuela maps, including city maps. Schools & Education In Venezuela Resources for Educating in Venezuela.  Newspapers & Media for Venezuela Escape Artist World Press is a growing index on this site. Real Estate for Isla Margarita Real Estate in Margarita Island Real Estate In Venezuela Real Estate in Venezuela Real Estate In Venezuela II Current real estate listings of Venezuelan properties. Travel & Tourism for Isla Margarita Travel, Tourism, Travel Guides, Vacations, Car Rentals, Resorts, Accomodations, etc. in Margarita Island. Travel & Tourism for Venezuela Travel, Tourism, Travel Guides, Vacations, Car Rentals, Resorts, Accomodations, etc. Previous articles on Venezuela: Venezuela: Hato Nuevo - Hato Huevo is a nearby oasis for the weary cruiser who must hide from the ‘tormentas’ for the whole summer and with all the work, doesn’t have a lot of time or simply needs a breathing spell.  Here is a place to find a tranquil getaway and a place to retouch nature, llanos style.  If you go on any weekday, you may be the only visitor, as I was - the weekends are very busy with the local Venezuelans enjoying this special place. Retirement Planning for Offshore Living The advantages of outsourcing your retirement have never been better!

Though for some obscure reason, passengers are not to open the curtains, sitting up front did position us to peek out at the passing scenery.  (At one stop, I waved at the driver who was walking outside whereupon he shook his finger at me back and forth No-no!) Having heard this from others, I wondered what could they be hiding out there?  I’m still wondering as I saw nothing awful.

Movies are shown during daylight hours - we were treated to two shoot-em-ups,  English with Spanish sub-titles.  And the hard of hearing will have no trouble. After dark, there are no reading lights available.  It is a good idea to bring one of those head lamps, sold in most camping stores,  if you wish to read.

The night shivered and groaned on - most everyone was quiet (except the “cockpit”) and we all looked like alien pupae wrapped up in our coats/blankets, whatever we had.  A couple of stops were made for bathroom and food breaks. You will not find any gourmet food at these “truck stops” but you can buy stuffed arepas (unless you like chicken gizzard stew, which tasted different but fine, do not order the arepas con pollo asada), cachapas (corn pancakes), snacks and drinks of all sorts and some broasted chicken.  Of course, visit the bano.

When we arrived at the Terminal de Pasajeros in Merida,  and after I restored some feeling to my lower limbs, I RAN, not walked to the nearest café marron grande’ to further thaw out. We grabbed yet another inexpensive Venezuelan taxi to go to the posada and begin our adventures.  Buses run all over this area but we were not yet indoctrinated.

There are so many helpful agents/tour promoters in Puerto la Cruz.  One extremely helpful fellow known for many years for we boaters is Carlos Andreas (English speaking), aka “Charlie Alpha”. Find him at charliealphams@hotmail.com or visit www.charliealpha.com.ve (website under construction at this writing).  He can take care of a multitude of things for you in his area/country.

This time, I worked with Allen MacLay, a local tour guide also in Puerto la Cruz (English-speaking-0416.893.2886 or yachtingvenezuela@yahoo.com) who suggested we stay at a posada in Tabay, a small village a very short bus ride from the town of Merida,  yet in the lovely countryside, near the Tabay hot springs. 

We came to Casa Vieja (www.casa-vieja-merida.com)  in the area of El Paramito, in Tabay.  Proprieter, friendly Joe Klaiber, an ex-pat German with lovely and equally welcoming Venezuelan wife, Alejandra who (likely without much help from three adorable children and three huggable dogs, Mimi, Tuchow and Bandito) have taken a 200 yr. old house and added onto it making a charming and welcoming place to stay for a very affordable price.  We had excellent meals there (price not included but very reasonable).  They offer laundry services as well.

But that’s just part of Joe’s story.  Having lived and extensively traveled his adopted country as a tour guide for many years, Joe is very knowledgeable and eager to share the many options for where to go.  If your plans and time do not fit in with a scheduled tour, you can be sure he will come up with something for you to do.

And our available time, indeed, would not fit in...so, as he does, Joe contacted a tour guide to take us out for two nights and three days.  His name was Kai, also a German ex-pat and very knowledgeable about the area. The plan was made...

The Paramo and High Country
Our objectives: A taste of the high mountain treeless area known as the Paramo, way up where the air was thin and very very cold and densely covered with the strange plant, the frailejone. We wanted to stop in some of the ancient little villages along the way and we wanted to cap it all off with a trip to Los Llanos, the vast endless plains where you can stop counting species only when the ink in your new pen runs out.  And still, they keep coming. 

We got it all - actually just enough to let us know we must return and for a much longer time.  We drove on the miraculous (‘cause it’s still up there!) precariously hillside-hugging Trans Andina Highway built by Juan Vincent Gomez in the 20’s, currently maintained very well, thankfully.  The land dropped away outside our car windows to dizzying depths.  The lower and amazingly, higher slopes were covered with geometric shapes in an assortment of colors.  We went through Mucuchies (home to the famous 100 plus pound, faithful and fluffy dog) - the puppies were held up to the passing traffic for sale - $18.00 US!! I didn’t want to touch one or it would be mine... 

We stopped at San Rafael de Mucuchies to view the little stone church to visit and have a café’ marron and taste a cup of the local home brew - the powerful “tea”, calentado.  It was hot and very full of anise flavored alcohol.  One cup got the job done.
 

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We went further to the Parque Sierra la Culata and Parque Sierra Nevada.  In we walked, through fields of more yellow blooming St. John’s Wort,  multi-hued ground hugging lichens and mosses with tiny colorful fantasy flowers, more frailijones and some very low growing scrubby tree-like survivors which would require a botanist to identify.  The views went forever, wondrous colors from the hillside farmers and glimpses of ancient rivers still working deep inside their hard won banks far below.  The highest mountains were accepting their daily draping of the clouds.

Periodically, we heard loud yells and clomping behind us, a signal to move to the side to allow the tourists on their rental horses to pass. The park is home to companies providing them for a ride deeper inside. We passed on this, this time.  Curiously, thousands of fir-like trees have been planted at these elevations.  They are not indigenous.

We visited the Condor center.  Sadly, the hopefully expectant plans for the re-introduction of this largest of all birds, has failed in these Andes.  The scientists were able to breed some in the not so distant past and release them.  Now it appears that a certain species (read: human) irrationally distrusts them.  It is speculated that those released met a very foul end.  The project has been abandoned here but you can see the few who are being lovingly cared for by the Park Service.  While there you can view a video tape of the former efforts. 
 

The scenery up here was dazzling - from our lofty peak, we looked down at cloud forests with giant white leafed cecropia trees looking like grey boulders on the mountain slopes from a distance.  Deep valleys with the patchwork quilts of many colors dressed the mountain flanks reflecting the farming done at crazy angles on these slopes.  The fields can only be tilled with teams of two sure-footed oxen who somehow don’t fall off.  Many little glacier lakes shone distantly in the thin air. 

Occasionally you can spot the fish farms snugged up to the banks of the rivers where they grow one of the specialties of Merida, fresh trout (trucha).  Strawberries, many potatoes, all sorts of fruits and vegetables are grown here, and exported all over the country.  It is so very rich in agriculture.

Descending to the Llanos:
We began our descent to sea level, or closer to it.  Down and down we went, hugging the road, occasionally daring a peek over the side.  It was apparent that the rainy season had had its way with some parts of the road as rushing water was sometimes running across it under our wheels.  Unfortunately, some of the road had gone too.  We speculated, each one silently, if we might be able to come  back over this same road.  There is no other way back.  Some of the clouds had draped their way low enough to give us the excitement of driving through them.  It was like a thick fog.  The cloud forest was all around, peppered with numerous two foot long drooping basket shaped nests of the oropendula birds.

That night was spent in the little village of Caceres.  As we drove thru the Upper Llanos area, the road bordered the Santo Domingo River.  Entering the village, the first thing to hit us was the smell of rich coffee - this small industry, home-grown, is a specialty in this place.  I bought as much as I could carry, delivered roasted, and freshly ground.  It was and is delicious now that I’m home.  Birds sang everywhere and so, unfortunately did the locals.  We stayed at Posada Altamira which sits on the edge of Caceres’ Plaza Bolivar.  It was Friday and time to celebrate.  They did, way into the little hours. They had a great time - some were still at it when I woke up at 600AM.   The woman who runs this posada is like all we have met, warm, welcoming, helpful and an excellent cook.  I recommend staying there for sure, but choose a week day.

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But who could be disappointed with sightings of more 70 species of birds - sometimes six different species of egrets at once in vast numbers, omnipresent capybaras with roley poley little youngsters, an anteater in a tree sleeping away the day, piranhas for the catching (for dinner if you can handle the mesh of bones), hundreds of iguanas and caiman, teju lizards (cousins of monitors), a few rare Orinocco crocodiles - one with a single prized young on a rock, countless water turtles, four white tailed deer, and much, much more.  Ramon, our on-site guide, even found a tiny burrowing owl for us . His eyes were great for spotting wildlife. 

Our hosts for our one night in the Llanos were the staff of Hato el Frio (in the very old days, before malaria no longer was a real problem, the chills accompanying this disease gave rise to the name of the Hato) - (go to www.elfrioeb.com), this a sprawling 200,000 acre cattle ranch with over 35,000 head and 1000 or so horses.  The owner of this Hato lives in Spain.   This Hato has given a home to a Biological Station (Estacion Biologica) whose main effort is to breed, and thereby resurrect, the endangered Orinoco crocodile.  The success has been meager but they continue to try.  International visiting biologists regularly man the Research Station and you can talk with them informally to gain as much information as you like.  We met Rafael who was soon returning to Spain to write his doctorate. There are many other busy Hatos but none we know of with such a research facility.

We took a tour deep in these Llanos by jeep on the afternoon we arrived.  We couldn’t take a bad picture, there was just so much to see.  True, there was much water everywhere, but the abundance of wildlife just kept us enthralled.  And to cap it off, we were treated to a brilliant pink Llanos sunset.  Using the meat from one of the Hato’s cows, Ramon decided to fish for some pirana.  When he stopped the Jeep at nearly dark, then reached for what looked like a toolbox, I said, oh, oh, here we are in the Llanos, land of the anaconda and we have to fix the jeep in the dark.  Not so...just some fishing amongst the cormorants who had already eaten their fill and were retiring for the night.  There was enough light to see the 6’ caiman who hauled out waiting for a hand out.  He got it.

We returned to the Hato for dinner, great conversation with Julio, one of the managers there who had excellent tales to tell about his 20 years in the Amazonas.  He was nursing an injury to his right arm delivered, he said, by an entwining anaconda about a year ago.  Tai, our guide and Rafael, the biologist rounded out our dinner companions.  Outside, the call of a night jar kept us company along with one little mischievous capuchin monkey.  Earlier that day, he had run down, and, appallingly for us, eaten a green baby iguana for his snack and our “entertainment”.

The next morning our plan was to go find some more birds and hopefully, the pink river dolphin.  We rode in the open jeep, nudging the strangely porcine capybara aside and spotted much more wildlife on both sides, including the huge, and uncommon Jabiru Stork, on it’s nest.  This is a very large bird which loves the wetland’s habitat.  We also spotted a small flock of maguari storks keeping the cattle company.  he road to the launch site was closely bordered with hyacinth-choked water, populated with numerous caiman, flocks of egret, colorful lily-hopping chacana with young, turtles and countless other water and roadside birds too numerous to list here.

We ended our ride at a ranch hand’s house on the banks of the Guaritico River.  There, the guides launched one of the aluminum research boats, slapped a 40 horse outboard on it and off we went.  After several pulls on the starter cord, of course.  Off we went, immediately surrounded by tens and tens of large belted kingfishers who nest in holes in the hard dirt river banks.  They wheeled over our heads calling loudly as kingfisher’s do.  Even louder as they were twice as large as any I had seen ianywhere.  We went further and further in (outboard buzzing agreeably) when we intersected the Rio Apure.  It was on this river that we became surrounded by maybe 10 pink and grey splotched river dolphins, jumping all around us - obviously excited to have someone to play with. Hard to photograph - click, oops, another swirl in the water, but they were there.  They have nubby dorsal fins and thick bodies with large bottle noses under very small eyes.  Their river home is murky so the need for seeing is not great.  But, they must have a dynamite echo-location apparatus!  Then Ramon nudged us into the brush having spotted a female hoatzin, sitting near her nest making a great racket. 

All this, just a small portion of our day on the Llanos rivers. We returned to the Hato, full of stories and pictures, to prepare to return to Tabay, to our Casa near Merida.

So, now we had to return to civilization and more adventures.  As we drove, just to tantalize us further, we had a sighting of the rare jaguarundi with one young crossing the high speed highway, happily, successfully.  Noting that the road had been hastily repaired, we arrived back in Tabay around 730PM, over-saturated by having seen so much  in such a short time.  It was like moving from planet to planet.

By the way, the food everywhere was delicious.  Along our way, we always stopped at a restaurant or roadside stand for very good food.  Fruits in this country are simply the largest and most succulent of anywhere I have traveled.  Chicken and the famous Arepas con Harina Trigo of Merida(wheat instead of corn) accompany every dish, as Merida is known for them, frequently served with huge slabs of white queso pais (country cheese which, strangely, won’t melt).   When you order juice, no bottled variety here anywhere in Venezuela!  You are presented with a selection of pineapple, melon of all kinds, passion fruit, orange, papaya all freshly squeezed, pressed, processed.   All fresh, all fruit and nothing else.

One oddity, even though the national dish is Pabellon Criollo (beautifully seasoned shredded beef served with white rice, black beans and plantains), you really have to look for it.  It is my favorite.  One thing is always true-there is too much of everything. 

The Teleferico
This cable car, extending some seven miles out, over and up into the Andes is definitely not to be missed.  All the books say so, all the friends who have visited previously say so, and now I say so.  Go! The view down above the dwindling city of Merida is not to be missed.

So much has been so much written about this attraction that I have only a few tips to share:

1) Go a day or two before you plan to ride to buy your tickets.
2) Try to get on the 715AM, or latest, 745 AM rides. We were lucky as the day’s heat didn’t obscure the peaks very early.  But usually, if you go later, you will not see much but clouds.  Pretty, but no peaks.
3) The stop before the top is called Loma Redonda.  From this stop, consider, with advance planning, to take the mule/horse ride up to one of several posadas to a much higher altitude.  You could then take a jeep down the next day or so.  You might want to stay up there long enough to get accustomed to the height.  Some say it takes two days.  We did not have time for this but I will make plans for that next time. 
4) Altitude adjustment: My friend and I have been sea dwellers for many years.  Maybe that’s why we felt very very drunk and extremely tired at these heights.  We were not alone, as other people seemed to be borracho/a (drunk, male or female) as well.  We seemed to slowly improve but not totally.