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June 20, 2008 I just completed a three-month stay in Caracas, Venezuela. This was a truly delightful experience, halcyon days. By sheer luck I ended up in a middle- to upper-middle class neighbourhood called Paramso-La Paz, on the southwest side of town. All about, seemingly within a stones throw, stood beautiful little green mountains. I arrived in late January, and left in late April, but now I regret that I didnt apply for a visa extension, which would have entitled me to remain till the end of July. In my neighbourhood, most of the houses were near-mansions, generally white, with red tile roofs, and surrounded by high fences or walls that formed a continuous bulwark on either side of the street. The area was heavily grown with large trees whose roots had invaded and broken the already narrow sidewalks in numerous places, with the result that it was necessary to walk in the street. But never mind that. Most of the streets were virtually empty of car and pedestrian traffic, at least during the morning and afternoon. Until the beginning of spring, it was slightly cool in Caracas , which is in the Northern Hemisphere by the way, a fact that escapes everyone. It is winter in Caracas at the same time that it is winter in the United States . Sometimes in the early morning it was around 60: F (16: C). But now, in May, it is warm and partly sunny all day long, with perfect intervals of sunshine and shade. Gray days are unusual and rain is infrequent. I lived on Calle 9, where there is a large Islamic population, believe it or not. In fact, it was through Palestinians living in Venezuela that I got the room where I stayed. My room was also in one of those near-mansions. I got my usual opportunities to speak Spanish and some chances to speak a little Arabic, which I had studied in my Egyptian days. I didnt do much sightseeing. I went downtown and to the financial district several times, and around my immediate neighbourhood. I was within walking distance of about 10 cyber cafis, as well as several shopping malls, the most fastuous of which was as opulent as many a mall in the United States. The main mall of Caracas is Centro Plaza in the Chacao district, which I visited, but the Centro Multiplaza on Avenida Paez, about a kilometre from my room, was just as handsome. Despite all of the fine things that I enjoyed in Caracas , the whole economic situation in Venezuela is far from being ideal. The Venezuelan Bolmvar Fuerte (BF) is traded at an officially-fixed rate of about 2 BF for $1. However, there is a flourishing black market in dollars. I got 3 BF for $1 from my Palestinian friends, but I probably could have gotten as much as 4 BF for $1, if I had shopped around and bargained hard. In many countries, you can get dollars from ATMs, but not in Venezuela , where you get BFs at the official rate. So when I had exhausted the $1800 that I had in cash in US dollars, I had to settle for the official rate from ATMs, and this meant that the cost of my food and lodging increased by 50%. Furthermore, though most ATMs in Caracas display the Mastercard emblem, I found that my card wouldnt work in them. Finally, I looked up Citibank online, and got their address in Chacaito, the financial district, where there was a functioning ATM. Anyway this whole situation with the BF has brought on an elevated rate of inflation, about 20% per year, as against maybe 5% in the US . At 20% per year, prices would quadruple in 8 years, which is about the length of Hugo Chavez presidency. This inflation is very visible and annoying. For example, a cheeseburger with fries, but without a beverage, costs $7.50 at McDonalds. Places that feature home-cooking are just as expensive. At the local grocery store, 4 ounces of chocolate candy costs $4; with nuts, it4s $5. In the US , you can get 6 ounces of better chocolate with nuts for about $2. I saw a pair of childrens sandals, mostly vinyl, in a store in Caracas . My guess is that in the US , at Wal-Mart, they would have cost $5 or less. In Caracas , they were $30. A can of cooked beans is about $3, whereas in the US , you can get cans of the same size for 50 to 75 cents. Four ounces of bologna is about $2.50 in the supermarket, whereas in the US , you can get generic bologna at $1 for 8 ounces . Im not too fussy; I ate a lot of hot dogs in Venezuela . In the malls, prices are usually not displayed in the shop windows; you have to enter and inquire, if you dare. It cost me $163 to take the bus from Caracas to Czcuta, Colombia, less than 500 miles away, but in the US, one can go all the way from Los Angeles to New York, about 2500 miles , for about $150. The minimum wage in Venezuela is about $380 a month, the highest in Latin America . But if I were making $90 a week, I would not be overjoyed at the thought of paying $7.50 for a burger and fries. There are some cheap things in Venezuela . A ride on the beautiful new Metro is only 25 cents, and computer time in a cyber cafi is about $1 an hour. I even found a place that sells it at about 60 cents if you buy 20-hour blocks of time. Bread is cheap. Otherwise, youre out of luck. But even at the inflated rates, I could have managed just splendidly for three more months, enjoying those lovely, peaceful mornings in Paramso-La Paz. Right now I am in Barranquilla, Colombia. Im going to start making my way slowly back down south, so that by October, Ill be in Santiago, with an ultimate destination of Buenos Aires . At this time of year, its approaching winter down there; they ARE in the Southern Hemisphere. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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