2007 - Road trip to Venezuela

Last summer, my family decided to cross the Amazon rain forest by car in order to arrive at our destination on Margarita Island in Venezuela. It was not the first time that I went to that country, but definitely one of the most insightful. When we crossed the Brazilian-Venezuelan border by car I began to remember my other trips to Isla Margarita. Every time I went to Venezuela I learned something fascinating about Venezuelan culture and something new about my family.

The primary reason that we travel to Venezuela are the beaches. My family loves the salt water and the tides of the ocean; however, we live in part of the Brazilian Amazon that does not have any ocean. The Amazon state is surrounded by the waters of the Amazon River and the closest sea water is located in the Northeast of Brazil that can only be reached by plane. It is true that a trip by plane to any place in Brazil is more expensive than a trip to Venezuela by car. But ironically, the Amazon river offers fabulous fresh water beaches with white soft sand in the middle of the jungle; however, we take for granted our natural beauty and still desire to travel to see the ocean. After living in the Amazon for several years, our desire to swim in the ocean grew stronger than to swim in the Amazon River. Not only are the salt water beaches more appealing to us, but I believe our human nature tend to value whatever we lack access to. Thus, my family has traveled several times by car to Venezuela.

Isla Margarita is located in the Caribbean Sea and belongs to Venezuela. The island is a photographer's paradise. The gorgeous blue ocean with Cristal clear water, the majestic nature, and the adorable people make that place like heaven. I think the fabulous blue ocean is so appealing to my family that we usually travel ridiculous amounts of time simply to touch the salt water and return back to Brazil. It usually takes us four days driving from Manaus to Isla Margarita and another four days to return. We often spend only two to four days on the island. When I told a friend that my family traveled such a long distance by car just to enjoy the sea waters for a few days, he said that we were completely out of our minds: “You must be nuts to do that. I think your family gives you alcohol before you enter the car, so that you are too drunk to make any decision”. I laughed about my friend's comments for a while, but I began to question whether it was worth it or not to drive that far merely to glimpse the ocean. Immediately, the journey flashed in my mind: we saw beautiful landscape, encountered people from different walks of life, and learned about different aspects of Venezuelan culture. In retrospect, I think the ocean was simply an excuse for us to cross that country by car. Now, I realize that when people think about traveling, they tend to underestimate road trips either because they are keen on arriving at their destination or because now they are accustomed to traveling by planes. It is true that traveling by car might be tiring and time consuming; however, the road trip in Venezuela lent me a rare insight into the culture of the country. While a trip by airplane allows me to reach a destination quickly, a road trip allows me to see incredible things that I would never notice through a little airplane window. Nevertheless, I have to acknowledge that the airplane has facilitated my life getting me from one continent to the other.

During the road trip to Margarita Island, I thought about the numerous landscapes and realities I observed from the car window. The bad snapshots I took while the car was moving displays some reality about that region. For instance, I noticed the contrast between one region and another and I thought about how capitalism had affected some regions and ignored others. We crossed the country from the farthest south to the extreme north and took a ferry boat to arrive at Margarita Island. I saw two Venezuelas: one going backwards and another advancing forward. The Venezuela next to the Brazilian border and far from the capital was extremely poor. People struggled to survive without electricity, water, and health facilities. In terms of tourism, it lacked decent facilities such as restaurants and hotels. The "other" Venezuela seemed very advanced with big malls, fast food chains, and international resorts.

Unlike the other trips that I just enjoyed my free time, in this road trip I became more aware of the reality of that region. I realized that Margarita Island was an international destination that has been adapted to offer the best facilities and services to foreigners. Although the southern part of Venezuela was impoverished, the north seems to be an extension of the United States. The regions near the capital have many American fast-food joints such as McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Cinnabon. By the way, I could not believe that Isla Margarita already had Cinnamon Rolls! It seems that many fast food chains have been introduced to developing countries. In terms of the mall, I noticed that it offered more international brands than local stores: Oscar de La Renta, Guess, Gap, Banana Republic, and Ralph Lauren. One of the reasons for the existence of so many international brands is that Isla Margarita is a free trade zone. It was quite interesting to observe the elite class inside the malls spending their money freely, exorbitantly. The bourgeois in the northern part of Venezuela seemed not to worry about the impoverished people suffering in the south. At the end of my trip, I came to the conclusion that "Americanized" cities in Venezuela revealed a sharp contrast between the wealthy and the poor.