EXPLORE VENEZUELA
Venezuela is a beautiful, diverse, and very large country that offers a wide variety of natural and cultural experiences. To cover them all is, of course, well outside the narrow scope of this guide, and I strongly recommend picking up a Lonely Planet or South American Handbook; but here are a couple of thoughts.
Mérida is a beautiful Andean university and resort town located on a mesa at an altitude of 10,000 feet. To get there, catch a bus from Coro that travels through the night and arrives at the crack of dawn. To maximize your comfort, take what they call an Executive Bus. You will need some warmer clothes in Mérida, as the town gets cool at night. And you will no doubt want to visit some of the beautiful parks and hiking trails at the higher altitudes; these are quite cool even during the day.
Mérida is a charming city, with a sophisticated, European flair about it. It is somehow all at once cleaner, safer, and cheaper than most cities in the country. There are a lot of good restaurants, and during the day, many serve a fixed menu (menu del dia) of very good food, including soup and a drink, that will barely cost you over two dollars.
Once you get off the bus, you may be accosted by all kinds of "guides" offering you apartments and tours. Firmly decline all such offers. Some may be perfectly legit good deals, but you will be constantly hounded by these "guides" to go on tours that are very easy to arrange for yourself. Chill out and stay chilled - there is no reason to rush into anything. Act like you know what you are doing, and politely tell anyone to buzz off if need be.
A good place to stay is the Hotel Gran Balcon, located on Avenida Paseo De La Feria. If you skip the main desk and walk through the parking lot towards the restaurant, there is an administrative office to the left. There, you should ask for Gloria; she speaks English and is charming, especially compared to the rude girls at the front desk. You may be able to arrange a slight discount with her for a multi-night stay, particularly if you mention that you currently have a cheaper place, but prefer Gran Balcon. I had a beautiful room towards the back, looking out at the mountains. For small groups, there are some cute little bungalows right next to Gloria's office that you should ask to see. The room rate is around $18.00 per night. The telephone number is (074) 520-366 or 524-056 and the fax is (074) 529-055.
There are considerably cheaper hotels in town. These tend to be aimed at the long-term traveling backpacker type who is really stretching the Bolivar. They are clean and fully adequate, but usually share bathrooms and have not much of a view, if any. These places are not good to kick back and relax in (unless you have a real monastic view of relaxation). Of the more expensive hotels I examined, none seemed particularly better than Gran Balcon, or worth the extra money.
Mérida is famous for its cable car, or teleferico, which may or may not be in operation. A variety of tour and climbing organizations are located near the cable car. Though I never actually took a tour, I did investigate some of the operations. Based on what I saw, I would recommend Guamanchi Expeditions. They even have a web page that you can explore: http://www.ftech.net/~geca. (They will also send and receive e-mail for travelers at a very reasonable fee.)
Guimanchi offers a wide range of impressive mountain excursions, ranging from easy treks on horseback to serious expeditions, as well as jeep safaris into the Los Llanos region (featuring river dolphins and other rare beasts) and mountain bike tours. Prices are in the $35 per day range, and vary depending on the size of the group. You needn't pay for a hotel, as they will store your gear while you are gone (the trips range from one to several days). They are very well stocked and can equip you with everything from mountaineering boots and parkas to sleeping bags, as the trip requires, all included in the base price. They also offer daily mountain bike rentals. The staff is a mix of locals and Europeans. Guamanchi Expeditions is located at Calle 24 No. 8-39 - VT. 1556. Telephone and fax number is (074) 522-080. E-mail is "geca@bolivar.funmrd.gov.ve".
If you do find yourself spending some time in the Caracas area, you'll probably go on an expedition to Colonial Tobar. Snuggled in the hills about an hour or two outside of the city, it is a "German Town" of sorts, featuring artisans and little places to stay, shop and visit. It's the kind of place wealthier Venezuelans flock to on the weekends. It's picturesque, but that's about it. Unless you're hobnobbing with some of the young rich, shopping for cute crap, making love in a cabana, or maybe strolling the countryside, you ain't doing a whole hell of a lot.
However, up a twisting, winding stretch of uninhabited and mountainous scenic highway in nearby La Victoria, you will come across fearless young men and women soaring through the air on paragliders. Paragliding is like hang gliding, but instead of a fixed kite wing, the contraption looks more like a parachute, behaving like a wing. As in hang gliding, the practitioners race down steep hill sides until they are aloft. Catching thermals, blasts of warmer air heading upward, they spiral up and up until they decide they've had enough. Then they slowly descend, soaring at their whim until they catch another updraft.
I met up with a young paragliding pilot named Orlando Leyton. Orlando runs a paragliding school and equipment center called "Soaring, Escuela De Parapentes". You can get a series of lessons that will give you the skills necessary to man one of these crafts yourself. Or, like me, you can opt for a tandem ride, which is large on fun and short on commitment. The scariest part is running like a madman, attached by a harness to Orlando, down the steep hill that some might be inclined to call a cliff. After that, you just mellow out and enjoy the ride. A half hour of air time set me back about $25.00. Lesson packages are quite reasonable. Orlando can be contacted at (014) 440-272, fax (02) 985-0418. Orlando is still perfecting his English, but it is adequate enough to safely inform you of the instructions necessary for your ride to be a success. Paragliding rides can also be arranged in Mérida, though the cost is quite a bit higher.