The madness of Venezuela

Most of the travellers I've spoken to felt it was too dangerous to go to Venezuela, yet they were very curious and found it a fascinating place. Safety was my biggest concern too; I'd been advised against travelling to this country by several friends; a film crew from a Chinese travel program went to Venezuela and had to be picked up by armed guards on arrival; the FCO advised against all travel to the Venezuelan-Colombian border (though that wasn't where I was going).

Bearing in mind that my entire stay was organised through a hiking agency - from pick up on arrival to drop off on departure at Caracas airport - my experience was probably quite sheltered and skewed. Nevertheless I'll share my experience and some of the things I learnt during my two weeks there.

1. Currency

If you do go to Venezuela, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE US DOLLARS with you. At the time of my visit, November 2015, the official exchange rate (e.g. xe.com, rates used by credit/debit card companies) was around 6 Bolivares to the dollar. The exchange rate at local casa de cambios (e.g. Italiocambio) was around 200 to 1! But if you changed your dollars on the black market (e.g. anyone in the street or shops willing to do so, but be careful), the rate ranged from 600 to 800 Bolivares to the dollar!!

Which is why you should never use your credit or debit cards under any circumstances!

The largest note is Bv100 (a typical lunch in a local restaurant sets you back Bv1200). It is not uncommon for people to carry thick wads of cash. Wallets are pretty useless!

The highly ridiculous differences in the exchange rate was largely due to the huge desire for US dollars, presumably because of the highly volatile commodities, and the seemingly worthless local currency.

Locals cannot change their Bvs for USD. Importing goods (e.g. medicine) is therefore extremely expensive for locals, but sometimes they have no choice as pharmacies do not have 60% of what they should have (due to insufficient funds to import).

2. Oil and petrol

1 Bolivares buys you 10L of gasoline (that's 1/600 US dollar if you changed the money on the black market)!!! The country is rich in oil, and has been relying in it since the start of the 20th century, but currently it has no capacity to refine. A big refinery blew up a few years ago, and has not been repaired it replaced. It now trades oil with America for part cash part gasoline.

When I was in Santa Elena there was a very long queue for the petrol station. It was mainly because Santa Elena was so close to the Brazilian border that people were crossing from Brazil to fill up tanks or locals filling up to resell the petrol over the border.

3. Industries

Many Venezuelan industries have collapsed. Many mining and metal extractive industries now owned by the Chinese. Its reliance on oil has meant that all other sectors have been neglected, hence the import of almost everything (e.g. toilet paper).

4. Livelihoods

Some Venezuelans only earn Bv8000 ($15) a month, a whole chicken costs Bv1200-1800. Typical local breakfast costs around Bv100-400. Food basket for an average family costs Bv80,000 per month but supervisor at post office earns only Bv15,000.

Several years ago Chavez lowered the price of beef from 20/kg to 3.8/kg enforced with guards for 3 years so no more meat sold on official market. Corruption prevails, according to a local.

Unemployment is high. Education system was screwed up in the 80s/90s, even everyone could pass high school and university. School teachers were lazy and students didn't have to do much to qualify, who have now become the "lost generation". Most of the population is 35 or under, but lots of people do not understand the failures of the state. Some blame the Chinese for 'milking them'. Lots of people have left the country for better opportunities.

Due to low stocks, when buying things in some shops, e.g. pharmacy, proof of us required - only certain digits can buy on certain days of the week. A way to ration and stop people from buying stock up to sell on black market.