<Scott wrote in part: I'm curious how Dave is seeing Venezuela change, if at all? I'd really like to go there on the way back.> As in most countries Venezuela has a law that if you are not Venezuelan and stick your nose into their politics you either get the boot or jail and the choice is not up to you. Soooooo, being a guest in a country always requires one to be on good behavior. That we are and will continue to be. There are many different Nationals cruising Venezuela and we all see changes everyday. Lots of very good ones and some we'd rather not. Hey who ever has a perfect mix?? We feel no more threatened today than I did when I first came here in the 80's and early 90's. Venezuela is a country of polarity and will remain so for my lifetime. As with any polarized situation you try to avoid where the two sides meet. If you do this then all is well. Showing up in downtown Caracas or anywhere there's large groups gathering for anything is never a good idea. OTOH, going to the Symphony tonight will be very nice and not something that you can do in Bequia for example. We won't wear our guns nor will we take our security guard, we'll ever leave the armored car home and travel in a regular taxi. Gosh almost like New York or San Fran or even Seattle.....well maybe not Seattle ;-) The press likes to play up many things out of proportion to the actual events. They will cover something on one side and not the other. Tough to see from the outside what is really happening inside. Venezuela is a great country and to miss it because the press has scared you off would be wrong. Is it or will it be a utopia? Hell no! Sometimes I think the press is like you guys in Washington State. The fog, wind, rain bears, etc, etc make it a bad place to cruise ;-) Here we have pirates, killings, muggings and have to lock ourselves up every night. Duh!! Sure does make those anchorages here nicer than up island where there are a hundred boats in an anchorage good for 25! Here there's one boat in an anchorage for a thousand! The blue plate special at the Marina restaurant is $3 plus $.40 for a cervesa. The dockages is in B's so it just keep going down. It was the equivalent of $385 US in August and now its under $300/mo. There's a nice 2 bedroom condo poolside for $40K. You can buy a slip for $5000. Fuel is almost free...$.035/gallon today! Yes, that 3 1/2 cents. We flew up to Angel Falls last week in our friend's private plane last week. Gorgeous country and flying over the Oronoco Flow with the ships way up in the jungle really made us realize that there's another place for us to take Swan Song. Up river a few hundred miles into the jungle ;-) check Nancy's website www.missnancysjournal.com for some pictures. Lake Guri is a man made lake of over 2000 sq mi without anybody on it! It flows into the Oronoco river and with a few locks it could be open to cruising. At 162 meters (~500 ft) high the locks would have to be tall ;-) It was the largest hydro electric dam in the world when it was built. Others in China and Brazil have now surpassed it. Elder Bush and a few others rich & famous folks show up there to fish in a few of the camps from time to time. 30lb bass are claimed! So what's not to like?? What's to fear? Venezuela sure doesn't have a monopoly on crime from what we see, read or hear about! As always YMMV... Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58

Great response, Dave. I would add that the US press is definitely prone to scaring people away from places that are politically out of favor. Saw that a lot when I lived in a predominately Muslim country on the 'treacherous' Straits of Malacca and all its pirates. Local sailors and yacht owners didn't lose much sleep over the pirates, they just took a few simple precautions. (Although, admittedly, the big commercial shipping guys did worry -- they were the pirate's target). But then, we can't have too many people going to Venezuela and having fun. :-) And as far as your comment below (fog, wind, rain, bears), the reality is that those foggy, windy, rainy things (haven't seen a bear yet) are pebbles on the pathway to cruising Nirvana for those that like the area. But the bad press can scare people away for sure. John Marshall N55-Serendipity Sequim Bay, WA > > Sometimes I think the press is like you guys in Washington State. > The fog, > wind, rain bears, etc, etc make it a bad place to cruise ;-)