Isla Margarita - This idyllic island is about 42 miles long and is adorned with unspoiled beaches and peaceful lagoons. There are no mosquitos and other insects are not common at all. Pearl fishing has for centuries been the main source of income. You can still se it being done from December through March. Other than an occasional shower from January to March, there is hardly ever any rain. The sheltered bays are great places to hide away. Hotels are very new for the most part and cater to international tastes. There is snorkeling, scuba, sailing and swimming available. At Margarita, there is a free trade zone which has encouraged prosperity. Porlamar is the chief town on the island.

Ciudad Bolivar - This as a romantic city which is located about 400 miles from Caracas. It is here that you will find it best to buy gold. In the local forests there are diamond prospectors and Indian villages which you can visit by tour excursions. Do take an excursion to see Caroni Falls which is simply spectacular. Even better is magnificent Angel Falls whose waters cascade down over 3,200 feet.

Maracay - Just outside of the city is Lake Valencia which is the second largest in Venezuela and has 22 islands. The lake is excellent for boating but swimming is not recommended. Nearby is the Museo Aeronautico. The fascinating and beautiful Playa Cata is a refreshing drive over the Andes from Maracay.

Merida - The city rests at an altitude of over one mile and has an average temperature of about 66F. It is here that you can find the longest cable car in the world which takes you up in four stages to 15, 640 ft. About an hour's walk from the last station is a wonderful ice cave filled with ice stalactites.

Valencia - This is the fourth largest city in Venezuela and is an important center of commerce. With an average temperature of 76F, the climate is ideal. The city still retains the characteristics of its old colonial times.

Caracas - The capital of Venezuela is also known as the "City of Eternal Spring" which it derives from its excellent setting allowing no real extremes in temperature. The city boasts a beautiful Botanical Gardens which covers about 175 acres. The Cathedral has a lovely facade. The structure was built in 1595 but has had to be reconstructed twice due to earthquakes. Inside are the family vaults of the Bolivar family. Outside is the immaculate Plaza Bolivar where there are concerts on Sundays and also a changing of the guard in front of the equestrian statue of Simon Bolivar. Interesting museums are the Museo Bolivar where relics from the revolution are housed, the Museo de Ciencias Naturales which has a number of pre-Columbian ceramics, the fascinating Museo del Arte Colonial which is a replica of an 18th century villa and the Museo de Bellas Artes which has a number of works of art by local and South American artists. An interesting experience in store for the visitor to the Parque del Este where there is a replica of Columbus's ship "Santa Maria." There is a lake and beautiful landscaped gardens and many places to have a picnic.

Isla Margarita - This idyllic island is about 42 miles long and is adorned with unspoiled beaches and peaceful lagoons. There are no mosquitos and other insects are not common at all. Pearl fishing has for centuries been the main source of income. You can still se it being done from December through March. Other than an occasional shower from January to March, there is hardly ever any rain. The sheltered bays are great places to hide away. Hotels are very new for the most part and cater to international tastes. There is snorkeling, scuba, sailing and swimming available. At Margarita, there is a free trade zone which has encouraged prosperity. Porlamar is the chief town on the island.

Ciudad Bolivar - This as a romantic city which is located about 400 miles from Caracas. It is here that you will find it best to buy gold. In the local forests there are diamond prospectors and Indian villages which you can visit by tour excursions. Do take an excursion to see Caroni Falls which is simply spectacular. Even better is magnificent Angel Falls whose waters cascade down over 3,200 feet.

Maracay - Just outside of the city is Lake Valencia which is the second largest in Venezuela and has 22 islands. The lake is excellent for boating but swimming is not recommended. Nearby is the Museo Aeronautico. The fascinating and beautiful Playa Cata is a refreshing drive over the Andes from Maracay.

Merida - The city rests at an altitude of over one mile and has an average temperature of about 66F. It is here that you can find the longest cable car in the world which takes you up in four stages to 15, 640 ft. About an hour's walk from the last station is a wonderful ice cave filled with ice stalactites.

Valencia - This is the fourth largest city in Venezuela and is an important center of commerce. With an average temperature of 76F, the climate is ideal. The city still retains the characteristics of its old colonial times.

Population: 24, 600, 000

Area: 352, 200 square miles

Language: Spanish

Time: hours from New York

Electricity: 110 volts AC / 50 Hz. Us plugs used

Geography: Venezuela borders Brazil to the south, Guyana in the east, the Caribbean to the north and Colombia to the west. The country is quite geographically varied. 1/4 of the country is located in the Amazon Basin which is dense, inaccessible jungle. 1/4 is Guiana Highlands which composed of gigantic table mountains. Another area is the Sierra Nevada de Merida mountains which has the highest peak in Venezuela of 17,000 ft. The remaining area is lowland and very beautiful islands.

International Airports

Caracas - Simon Bolivar Airport (CCS) - The airport is 17 miles from the city. Bus and taxis are available. Transit time usually takes about 30 minutes.

Margarita Island - The airport is 5 miles from the main town. Taxis are the only real source of reliable transport.

Tipping: 10% is already added to the restaurant bill. Leave loose change.

Shopping: Store hours range from 9 in the morning until 7 in the evening. Many close at lunch time. Shops are usually open until noon on Saturdays.

Food and Drink: If you want great food stay in Caracas. It has everything. There is almost no cuisine not represented in Caracas. Elsewhere, Chines and Arab restaurants plus gringo fast food emporiums abound. The national dish is called "Pabellon" and consists of rice, shredded beef, fried plantains and beans. Coffee is the natural drink in Venezuela and expresso is particularly strong. Beer and rum are plentiful as well as fruit juices. The water in most places is very good - but ask.

Social: 70% of the population haas mixed blood of some form drawing from European, African and American Indian background. The country is remarkably young with over 1/2 the population below the age of 20. Literacy and education are taken seriously here and have a strong effect on the standard of living. Be careful to show respect for Simon Bolivar as his memory is very highly regarded.

Business: English is spoken widely in business circles. Business suits are worn. They are always made of lightweight material. Business appointments are recommended.

Banking: Banks are open from 8:30am until 11:30 and 2pm until 4:30 pm. Banks are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Currency: The Bolivar (B)

Money Exchange: American Express Travelers Checks are very well accepted. So are US$ greenbacks. Banks are very easy to use for exchanging currency.

Credit cards: Master Card, Visa, American Express and Diners Club. ATMs are in wide availability.

Climate

With its proximity to the equator, the temperature is fairly regular throughout the year, but does vary with altitude. The dry season is from December to April and the rainy time is the rest of the year. The mountain areas receive great amounts of rain.

The boatmen looked at the river and shook their heads dolefully. It was the tail end of the rainy season and river levels were already falling. The chances were that this expedition to Angel Falls was going to be a short one.

We camped on the river bank, slinging hammocks, lighting fires, and wondered if this was it. Thankfully it rained that night, a rhythmic lullaby on the wonky tin roof above our heads, and we were all smiles in the morning. The water was up by a good metre. We might make it after all.

Not that we had any doubts, of course.
When the cloud is not too thick, it is possible to fly over the Falls, like Jimmy Angel did in the 1930’s. Well, not exactly like he did — tour operators these days prefer not to leave their clients stranded on the top. Like most people then, Jimmy Angel was in Venezuela to look for gold. Completely broke, he was hired one day to fly his monoplane to a table-top mountain (tepui) in the lush La Gran Sabana region to the south, where there was, he was told, lots and lots of gold. Indeed, there was so much gold he couldn’t take all of it for fear of overloading the plane. But what the hell, he figured, he could always come back.

Angel did attempt to go back, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t find that particular tepui again. One day he saw a summit which looked promising so, ever hopeful, he landed, only to find a boggy surface which mired his plane, a sorry lack of precious metal, and the tallest waterfall in the world.

Some 15 times taller than Niagara Falls, it would be named after him, but the story goes that he wasn’t too impressed at the time.
Immortality was scant consolation for an 11 day walk to the nearest village, with no gold.

His spindly plane, El Rio Caroni, was left on the summit until 1970, when it was removed and put on show at the airport in Ciudad Bolivar. Small and ungainly, it sits by a low fence, a relic of a more daring past. It’s a wonder it ever got in the air, it looks so fragile. Our group, an assortment of Canadians, Brits and Swiss, were making the journey in a large dug-out canoe, having flown to the lodge at Kavak, in the heart of Canaima National Park. It is little more than a collection of huts with strong beams and sandy floors set next to a clearing, Kavak is a good place to practise getting in and out of your hammock.

The local Pemon Indians, who own this land, organise trips to the Falls and look after the day-to-day running of the Lodge. It was they who took us in hand as we set off for the river, carefully stowing our gear and collecting drums of petrol. Glenn and Susa experimented with one of the smaller dug-outs while we waited, managing to capsize it in the process, and Susa spent the next half hour drying out her passport. Simon was then bitten by a snake, but was assured it wasn’t dangerous.

Hats firmly on our heads, we were ready, the engine kicked in with a roar. One of the boatmen sat on the bow, dangling his feet in the water, occasionally raising an arm to indicate left or right as rocks showed through the surface and the water ahead started to churn. Getting a boat through rapids can be a precarious business. Often we would stop for everyone to get out and walk through the trees on the river bank, while the boat was manhandled through the frothing water. There were a couple of sticky moments when the canoe looked out of control, but then it was through and everyone cheered.

On the second day we caught our first glimpse of Angel Falls, twin plumes of water falling from the sky. The mountain, dark and tall, was shrouded in cloud. Anything could be lurking up there, and probably was.

The base camp at Angel Falls was large, with room for two or three groups. We slung our hammocks, changed into dry clothes and marvelled at the sight of the Falls over the top of the trees, the rock turning gold and red in the setting sun. A kerosene lamp and countless fireflies illuminated dinner, which was a mellow affair with plenty of rum. Bruno, with his endless supply of schnapps, was especially popular.

In the morning we began the last stage of our journey, the climb to the Falls themselves. It took about an hour to climb to the Mirador, the group of rocks which serves as a vantage point. It’s tough going, steep and hot, but well worth it. From there you can see the Falls in their entirety. The sun doesn’t penetrate the canopy, and the dense vegetation is all roots, lianas and damp, rotting leaves. The guides sauntered ahead of us, like they were out for a stroll, but my breath sounded thunderous in my ears.

The effort was worth it. I had heard the Falls were so high that, during the dry season, the water is mist by the time it reaches the bottom, and I could well believe it. The walls are sheer, the water white and wild, and only the brave swim in the pool just above. We made our escape more quickly than Jimmy Angel had managed. Two more days on the river awaited us, two more days to get to Canaima and the flight to Puerto Ordaz.

Another early start, the familiar ritual of loading backpacks and life-jackets, and then the Falls were behind us. We saw them every so often, as the river twisted back and forth, and then they were gone, reclaimed by the cloud, waiting to be discovered once again.