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TRAVEL- VENEZUELA
MICHAEL SCHELLER
THERE ' S MUCH MORE TO A COUNTRY
A
country that has been intriguing me in South America was Venezuela, for it tends to be less travelled and has more of an unknown and adventurous taste to it.
With the Bolivarian Republic of, there is this mismatch; negative news and official travel warnings on one side, and reports of travellers who had said they had a wonderful experience there on the other. It’ s a reputation that reminded me a little of countries in the Middle East. Venezuela seems to be gaining interest with overlanders, but it is not on the scope of most Pan- American itineraries, which made me more curious to see what it was like.
After travelling the Guyanas, Venezuela seemed like a logical next step to close the loop of South America while bypassing dense rainforest lying underneath. Although Venezuela and Guyana are neighbours, there’ s no road in between, partly for challenges in terrain, but also for political tensions between both countries. The larger western part of Guyana, known as the Essequibo region, is being disputed by Venezuela.
The republic claims that some 125 years ago, the area would have been falsely administered to then- British Guiana. Venezuela went as far as including the region in their official maps, adding an eighth star to their flag, and having the“ Guyana” inscription removed on the triple border mark on Mount Roraima. The only way then to enter Venezuela from the east is via entering Brazil and passing through Boa Vista.
Having left the capital of Brazil’ s Roraima state and having enjoyed my last açaí for a while, I sat on the highway heading north. It was incredibly hot, after all this area still is part of the Amazon Basin. Just
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