Many folks have asked privately for an update on our Venezuelan experience
so far. So I thought it might be of interest to the general list. This will
be as brief as possible!

Coordinates for those Google Earth fans ;-)
N10 12 473
W064 39 797

Gasoline yesterday for the dinghy...75 liters for 8000 Bolivar's or US$.11
per gallon in Puerto La Cruz at the marina dock!

Diesel is not available currently to foreign flagged vessels in this state
but to the east of us ~40 miles in another state it is US$.07/gal

We have had no security problems at all tho there are security people,
police, "state" police, and some military presence where ever you go. Sort
of like in any US airport today.

Some food is cheap especially local produced food, imported goods are on a
par with the US. Food quality is very good, IMHO. Restaurants are less than
the US or even cheaper if you decide to eat off the street vendors.

A bottle of scotch is $5 and beer is $10/case for 12 oz. Good VE Vodka is
$3!

Marina prices range form where we are which is consider the top at $10/ft
which includes water, electricity, cable, internet, pool and lots of other
amenities to as low as $3/ft.

A 2 hour massage is $20 and is top quality according to the wife who is a
connoisseur of these things ;-)

Taxi's range from $4 to $6 per hour air conditioned and will take you
anywhere you wish to go. Buses to town are $.20 and run often but are not
air-conditioned.

Temps are ranging in the low 90's during the day to the upper 60's to low
70's at night. We are surprised at this as its cooler than the BVI's 500
further north.

Barcelona is the closest airport, 15 miles, and has frequent flights to
Caracas. RT airfares to Miami and/or New York runs $600 to $800 total. Most
flights either go thru Miami or San Juan and then wherever.

What have I missed?

Oh, the check-in is handled by an agent who does it in one day. It is
virtually impossible to do it yourself unless you speak fluent Spanish AND
know where each office is and when they might be open. This service cost
about $20 in addition to the normal fees. The total was $160 for 3 of us and
the boat. This gives Swan Song 6 months and us 90 days. We can renew the
boat in 6 months increments up to 18 months total and people up to a year.
Pets are no problem as they are in most Caribbean Islands.

And Nancy says absolutely gorgeous sunrises off the stern and sunsets off
the bow in the marina everyday :-)

Four trawlers here in this marina: Cheshire Too, a steel Charlie Morgan
custom 60' from Florida; Pipedream, a 42' Hatteras LRC from Florida; a 62'
custom from Canada. Near by there are several Grand Banks, Marine Traders
and similar boats of all sizes. One beautiful Romsdahl called Sea Quest but
we haven't met them yet.

A few thousand other powerboats share the waterways of this area as one
would imagine with the price of fuel.
It seems that the boaters here are very courteous and knowledgeable as a
group. Lots of waves to each other and mindful of there wakes...even the Sea
Ray guys/gals!

So that's it from Venezuela from our point of view after 4 weeks :-)

Cheers

Dave & Nancy
Swan Song
Roughwater 58
Lying In Puerto La Cruz, VE

Hi Guys,

Nice report on Puerto La Cruz! It has been many years since I have been in
Venezuela and in  different Venezuelan ports.  PLC was always a hospitable
town and port - more American friendly and low crime compared to some of the
other ports in those days. Do you have any experience or reliable info on
other Venezuelan ports?  Thanks again.

Ben Hawkins
Portland, Maine
USA

-----Original Message-----
From: passagemaking-under-power-bounces@lists.samurai.com
[mailto:passagemaking-under-power-bounces@lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of
Dave Cooper
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 8:23 AM
To: 'Passagemaking Under Power List'
Subject: [PUP] Venezuelan update