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Venezuela posts
Abandoned Caracas skyscraper is home to 2,500 squatters
Mar 8th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
In downtown Caracas, thousands have found home in an unlikely structure. The "Tower of David," a one time symbol for Venezuela's economic growth prospects, is an unfinished 45 story skyscraper filled with idle Venezuelans and enterprising small business start-ups. According to the New York Times, a housing shortage in Caracas has led many to make the most out of the housing opportunity ...
Venezuela's Caracas airport shut down due to power outage
Jan 26th, 2011 at 12:30PM: Simón Bolívar International Airport in Venezuela just emerged from a rough night after it was forced to send inbound flights to other airports. Four main power sources for its runway lights were knocked out, effectively making the airport unusable.
The outage lasted eight hours, and planes heading to Caracas had to be rerouted to airports in Porlamar, Maracaibo, Curacao and San ...Venezuelan church back from watery grave
Mar 11th, 2010 at 11:00AM:
Potosi, Venezuela hasn't been on anyone's travel radar much since 1985. That was the year when the town was deliberately flooded by the Venezuelan government to build a hydroelectric dam. That left most of the worthwhile souvenirs from Potosi rather soggy. However, severe droughts in the region have resulted in an odd miracle, of sorts. The water levels in the man-made reservoir are so low ...Family Guy cartoon banned in Venezuela
Sep 27th, 2009 at 3:00PM: digg_url = 'http://digg.com/television/Family_Guy_Cartoon_Banned_From_Broadcasting_in_Venezuela'; I think we'd all agree that there are some bad TV re-runs out there that deserve to be taken off the air. But I'm not sure that Family Guy is one of them.
Venezuelan authorities have banned the cartoon from future broadcast. Any TV station that doesn't drop the show will be fined.
What ...Amazing Destinations That Can't Be Reached By Car
Mar 25th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Modern transportation has made it extremely easy for travelers to get to just about any place in the world. Each day there are international flights that can take us to the four corners of the globe and modern roads and trains will deliver us to the best sights and monuments to be found at our destination, before whisking us back to a comfy hotel, complete with hot and cold running water, room ...The Highest Cities in the World
Mar 15th, 2009 at 10:00AM: The BootsnAll Travel site has a great article up listing the highest cities in the world. Amsterdam doesn't make this list however, as we're talking the cities that fall at the highest altitude. These mountain communities will have you gasping for air as soon as you step off the plane, both with their thin air and stunning mountain scenery. Topping the list as the highest city in the world is La ...Brazil's Other Adventurous Side
Feb 27th, 2009 at 8:30AM: With Brazil's big party, Carnival, coming to an end a few days back, I thought that it was appropriate to look at the country's other adventurous side, far away from the beaches and party scene of Rio and the other major cities. Brazil has plenty to offer the traveler who is looking to get off the beaten path, and explore some of its more remote regions. One of the more famous of these attractions ...Chavez wins reform = Walesa and Americans beware
Feb 16th, 2009 at 10:30AM: I was appalled to hear the news coming from Venezuela today: its President, Hugo Chavez, proposed a reform to lift elected official term limits and it passed (again, barely) with just over 50% in a nationwide vote. This surely means Chavez will run again and could possibly mean he will remain Venezuela's president beyond 2016. If you're sitting at home thinking this has nothing to do with you, ...
What is a "dangerous" travel destination?
Jan 6th, 2009 at 2:00PM: I've been thinking long and hard about what it means to travel to a "dangerous" destination lately because I'm in the process of planning a 2-month trip to Cuba. While Cuba is not considered "dangerous" to citizens of other countries, it does send a little shiver up an American's spine when thinking about the potential consequences of traveling there without a visa, which I might end up doing. I ...Cuba in the mix
Dec 19th, 2008 at 12:00PM: Late last week, Raúl Castro paid a symbolic visit to Caracas to meet with Venezuela's controversial President, Hugo Chavez. It is Castro's first international trip as Cuba's head of state, and his talks with Chavez will likely mark a longer term, closer relationship between the two socialist countries. According to an op-ed article in Diario Las Américas, Chavez has long proclaimed ...
Sean Penn on Hugo Chavez: "He is clearly not a dictator by any international standard"
Dec 3rd, 2008 at 9:30AM: Say the name "Hugo Chavez" and a creepy tingle crawls up my back and, if I could, I would scream at the top of my lungs in frustration and anger. Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's long-standing President, is what many Americans believe to be an evil, socialist dictator. While I certainly don't agree with ultra-Conservatives like Pat Roberts that someone should kill the guy, I do believe Chavez needs to be ...
Russia's ties with Cuba
Dec 2nd, 2008 at 12:00PM: Russia's President, Dmitry Medvedev, completed a four-nation tour of Latin America late last week with a final stop in Cuba. The relations between the two countries appear to be strained and, at present, intense; however, Russia, like China, has an interest in drilling for oil off Cuba's shores and is seeking further military cooperation from the advantageously positioned Castro-ruled nation. ...Venezuela dares US to put it on the terror list
Mar 15th, 2008 at 8:05PM: Venezuela is slowly but surely becoming one of the biggest allies of the US. Just kidding.
According to CNN, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez dared the U.S. on Friday to put Venezuela on a list of countries accused of supporting terrorism, calling it one more attempt by Washington to undermine him for political reasons. Chavez said the threat to include us on the terrorist list" is Washington's ...The Price of Gas Around the World
Jun 26th, 2007 at 4:09PM:
The next time you pull into the station for a fill-up, keep this in mind before you curse the prices: People elsewhere have it a lot worse than we do in America (and we tend to gripe about it the most, it seems!). Take Asia for instance -- Hong Kong averages a whopping $6.30 per gallon, with Seoul, South Korea, not too far behind. Europe also pays well above what we do in America. London, ...
