Choroni

Finally came that day when after all those weeks of hard studying I was able to go to the bus terminal and buy a ticket to do some bigger traveling. Obviously (as the northern type notoriously harassed by the winter) I got tempted by the fact of proximity of Venezuelan beaches and therefore my first big trip was to the playas of the Caribbean.

I didn't have much of the problems with the company, since the word "beach" is a key word here in South America too. We decided to go to place called Choroni-small, totally relaxed place beautifully located on the shore of the Caribbean Sea in the scenery of Henry Pittier National Park. Good (cheap) way to travel here in Venezuela is a bus; and indeed buses here especially on the long distance routes are very comfortable with the exception of it's well known air conditioning overuse. This is one of those things here that everyone knows that is not right, but nobody does anything to change it. So every single person in Venezuela will warn you that it's freezing in the bus and you need a sleeping bag or at least a blanket. It is even common to see people wearing hats and glows.

It was eight hour drive from Merida to Maracay - capital city of Aragua state in the north-central part of the country with quite unpleasant face of heat and uninteresting architecture. From there we took a buseta (small bus working on shorter distances), which took us to Choroni.
The Maracay-Choroni ride was one of the most spectacular I have ever experienced. The road sneaks through the mountains covered with tropical forest of the National Park. Stunning views accompanied by race car like buseta driving at an elevation of the 7000 feet provided both breath taking views and the irresistible feeling of being the next day headline news in the local paper.
Buseta's drivers here in Venezuela are in a category all by themselves. Because public transportation is provided by private and independent bus drivers, buses function more or less like a taxis. They have no real schedule or firm stops. They are just assigned to a certain route and the rest is open. Moreover, in la buseta you can expect to encounter playboy looking driver, loud music (usually reggaeton) and overall atmosphere of the night club with black lights sometimes accompanied with stroboscope. Some would say that these guys pimp out their ride to the maximum. If there is a competition of racing an overloaded buses Venezuelans would be the champions.

Right after arrival and settle up in the posada we went to the beach. To my big surprise the waters of the Caribbean Sea happened to be cold. With my iron rule "I don't go swimming unless the water temperature reaches 76F" I couldn't enjoy the Choroni beaches in one hundred percent. Fortunately I was making up this inconvenience every night with my friends and a bottle of guarapita - famous local mix of rum, passion fruit, coconut and sugar.
Despite the fact that Choroni is a very popular beach destination, the town didn't lose anything from its fantastic, relaxed atmosphere. isolated from everything with mountains from one side and sea from the other, this place lives its own life and only national flag on the main beach reminds that we are still in Venezuela.

Do you know?
About 50 km. (30miles) away from Merida on the altitude of 3.600 meters (12.000 feet) above the sea level we can find one of the most important astronomical observatory in South America. Due to its location-close to the equator- this facility benefits from access to both northern and southern skies. Llano del Hato national Astronomical Observatory is one of the few that is open for public and is known for its cooperation with the local community working in partnership with Universidad de los Andes in Merida.