VZ

[papi]

Anybody here spent much time in Caracas?? I have an offer to go work there but will most likely pass, here is what I see as the pros/cons:

Caracas –

pros
1. marvelous chica opportunity, less gringo exposed, beauties
2. nice country, climate??
3. good company to work for
4. easy visa process

Cons
1. very high crime, worse than Colombia, high murder rate
2. low pay
3. expensive housing
4. Anti-American, [snip] leadership

[Kiltboy1]

Papi

I have been to VEN. 2 times in the past months. Mu current Novia is from a small town about 4 hours outside of caracas. The country is waonderful and the woman IMHO are more beautiful and tend to be more US Ready , IE, more mature and i have never had a woman ask me for money of gifts or clothes(you colombia guys know what i mean), BUT

CARACAS  is really dangerous. A lot of street crime and at night,  on par with the crime in cali i would say , well, just stay inside . You get outside of Caracas and it is 100% different. The people are friendly, no anti-american sentiment at all and the women, WELL, If you like tall women, bodies made to be loved and a real sence of pride in that they in general are not interested in BEING TAKEN CARE OF, more professional,like to work and are very natural

Then that is your place . But Caracas, NO WAY JOSE !


KB

" JUST LOOKING FOR A WOMAN THAT WILL LET ME SCRATCH MY BALLS IN PEACE"

[papi]

gracias KB. Caracas sounds too hot now also from others that have written me

[conocerme]

Papi - I used to have a novia in Caracas that was a Colombiana so I spent about 9 months coming and going there.  She was an illegal there so we once actually had to travel back into Colombia so she could get a new visa because hers had been taken.

Kiltboy gives a good report of current conditions.

I actually liked Caracas because you do not see many gringos there.  You would run across some of them that work for the oil companies that are prevalent in Venezuela. Many gringos there have latina novias. You can run across some beauties there that just love gringos. Caracas has a good subway so getting around was easier than say Bogota.  I liked their subway and there are a few good malls also. Great weather also. The Caracas Hilton area is a great hotel complex.  Fine Cuban cigar store.

Downside was that it is an expensive City.  You would not believe what some of the dump hotels charge in some of the better barrios.  There just is not a lot of choice or competition for hotels so they try to nail you.  Good (and bad) restaurants are also expensive.

Bueno, pues -
Chao

[papi]

yea, i hear you on the cost of living. housing like apartments are apparently sky high. i dont get it. Sounds like the wild west on crime. Plus Chavez issue. chicas of course sound tremendous

[Brazilophile]

How did you guys get into and out of Venezuela?  I heard the only international airport is near Caracas.  Is that true?

Also, the highway from the airport to Caracas was damaged last year and the government is having problems fixing it.   I read that it can take anywhere from 3-6 hours going between the airport and the city using the available back roads, depending on traffic conditions and weather conditions.

If Caracas is not the place to go, how do you get to other cities, like say Maracaibo?

[conocerme]

Brazilophile -

Maybe Kiltboy has more current information because I have not been there for a number of years.

But, the Caracas airport is actually right on the coast around 40 minutes or so from Caracas.  You land right next to the ocean.  One of my last trips was when they had had tremendous flooding.  The airport was fine but some of the surrounding small towns were in bad shape and of course some of the barrios in Carcacas had sustained heavy flooding.  Even then, the highway was not in real bad shape.  You then start to climb into some coastal mountains from the airport via a good 4-6 lane highway/freeway for about 40 minutes until you reach Caracas in a large mountain valley.  I have trouble believing that you would need 3-6 hours going via back roads unless the main highway was really, really damaged badly.  Even with all the heavy flooding back then, there was only 1 lane in each direction closed in some areas.  I really have trouble believing that govt. would not move heaven and earth to have the highway open.  But this may be possible.  

I do believe this is the only International Airport servicing Venezuela.  You could also just fly from the airport to Maracaibo instead of going into Caracas.  I am not sure of hotel accommodations at the airport if you needed to stay.  I would check closely on that.  The surrounding towns are not a good option.

I personally would not dissuade anyone from at least visiting Caracas, particularly if you know someone there and have traveled before in S.A.  Go and see and decide for yourself.

Sure, it can probably be dangerous, but many cities can be.  Again, I have not been there for a number of years.

As far as an anti-American reception by the people because of Chavez.  Most of the middle and upper class cannot stand him.  It is only because of the large majority of poor people that vote for him, that he can survive in office.  I also would not let this stop me from going there.

Just my opinion.

Bueno, pues -
Chao

[Kiltboy1]

My last trip was there about a month before the airport bridge got taken offline. The airport is very modern and immigration was the easiest of any foreigh country i have traveled to. The airport is on the coastline and going anywhere west is a breeze. if you want to go east, best to take a short flight to maybe puerto la cruz and go from there. There are direct flights from miami to maraciabo as well. I love ven, but it is more expensive then colombia with the expcetion of margarita island. Damn dirty cheap , i mean a 3 star all inclusive joint for 30 bucks a person a day and we are talking great food, booze, entertainment. best deal on the planet. The mainland tends to be about 15-20% more then colombia in general and the hotels are much more expensive. The chicas, welllll

INCREDIBLE !!!!!

KB

[conocerme]

Hey KB -

If you have the time, write more about Magarita Island.  I recall hearing when I was there that many people of Venezuela go there.  I never got the chance to go though.  I recall that it is not far off the coast?  Would this be a good place for a gringo to look for a novia/wife?

Also, what happened to this airport bridge you mentioned?

Thanks

[Kiltboy1]

Conocerme

The bridge that leads from the airport, which is about a 40 minute drive  from caracas was deemed unsafe. I think the heavy rains cracked the foundation, so it is under repair. as far as a good place to look for a wife, well i guess Margarita Island  could be. The main city there called Polymar , has about 250,000 people. There are a lot of Euros there as well as i met many from Holland. If you have the time, you could set yourself up in a rad pad for not much jack and then just meet the locals which there are a lot of the mainlanders that work  there(think the playa del carmen area) and you will get an ideal of the place. Also, the mainlanders all go there to vacation, so it is a great place to meet a lot of ladies. If i were going to go to Ven to spend several weeks to maybe meet a special lady, margarita would be very high on the list as it is cheap, transient, so you get a constant supply of new ladies to meet and safe. Hope this helps. Oh, met my sweety online and was absolutely blown away by her, so i really never needed to look further, but of course i am not blind either and WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW

I used to be sold on Colombia , but after going to Ven, to me the sincerety of the ladies is so much better because i think it is a rich country compared to colombia(sanz the narco money), so they are not so needy to ask you for things, clothes , ect. My girl has never asked me for a dime, never even hinted. calls me almost everyday from ven just to see how my day has been and she is soo damn hot, jaja, i sould work for the tourist department, but really, you could really be sitting in a goldmine in margarita and also a ferry ride away in puerto la cruz, another lush seaside port ripe for the picking !

KB

[conocerme]

KB -

I am already married to a calena.  I asked the question about how a gringo might do on Margarita Island for novia/wife material because I know many guys that are not already married want to know of other areas to look besides Colombia or Peru, etc.

Best of luck with your sweetie, sounds like you found a good one.

Chao

[Brazilophile]

Apparently, Hugo Chavez has just banned Continental and Delta from flying to Venezuela, and has restricted the flights that American Airlines can make.  He says it is in retaliation for the restictions on the flights Venezuelan airlines can make to the US.  The ban takes effect on March 1, 2006.

[Maestoso]

Bush is such an excellent president. its truly sad that he only gets 8 years.

[FanMan]

Bush is such an excellent president. its truly sad that he only gets 8 years.

Spoken in jest of course :wink:

[conocerme]

"They have miscalculated me as a leader." —George W. Bush, Westminster, Calif., Sept. 13, 2000.

"I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating." —George W. Bush, U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 2000

"This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mential losses." —George W. Bush, speaking at a South Carolina oyster roast, Jan. 14, 2000

[Kiltboy1]

A world of Madmen, GWB being the Head Ringmaster !!!

[FanMan]

"They have miscalculated me as a leader." —George W. Bush, Westminster, Calif., Sept. 13, 2000.

"I think anybody who doesn't think I'm smart enough to handle the job is underestimating." —George W. Bush, U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 2000

"This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mential losses." —George W. Bush, speaking at a South Carolina oyster roast, Jan. 14, 2000

 His father was "borderline" acceptable, only because he truly was a learned man, who just lacked the killer instinct I think. But this Shrub Jr. as he is known, is on "knucklehead testosterone overload" Truly a man without a plan,when it comes to foreign policy.
  As far as his domestic agenda, as Mr. Reagan would say.....Are you better off today, than  you were four years ago?....