On the Way Out – Maracaibo, Venezuela

We head from Coro down the highway to Maracaibo, a huge city in NorthWest Venezuela, which is built across a stretch of water connecting the Gulf of Venezuela and Lake Maracaibo.

Our visit to Maracaibo is merely an overnight stop before exiting to Colombia.

We have heard reports from others though, that you can do a (rather expensive) visit to the SouthWest side of Lake Maracaibo and witness one of the most amazing natural phenomena, namely endless lightning storms seemingly into the lake, though not associated with any rain storm. Look it up on the web and you’ll see some amazing pictures.

Sadly this, and a visit to the famous mountain-town of Merida, with its endless supply of ice cream flavours, is out of our reach this time.

At Maracaibo we manage to navigate our way reasonably easily to Hotel Paraiso Suites (350BF/double, #N82b-70 Av. 9B, Las Veritas). This has very nice, spacious rooms with refrigerator and sofas etc. (and a water cooler in the reception.) They also have secure parking and are only a few blocks from the Plaza de la Republica.

Around the plaza is quite a nice place at night. Large buildings and monuments, colourfully lit. A lot of young couples hang out there too. And there are several classy bars and restaurants nearby. For those on a budget, just look for the Arabic food or fast food places. Sadly though we must report that the Arabic food at the place on the plaza was not really very good.