Showing posts with label Santa Elena de Uairen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Elena de Uairen. Show all posts

Thursday, 13 September 2018

VENEZUELA: Venezuela Tourism Is Trouble As Venezuelans Flee The Country Because Of Economic Hardships

Venezuelan migrants face difficulties when entering bordering countries, including the risk of human trafficking, while attempting to flee from economic problems back home.

Since the oil price crash of 2014, hyperinflation forced at least 2.3 million Venezuelans to leave the country.

The conflicts between Venezuelan migrants and local residents caused Brazilian president Michel Temer to send the army in an attempt to ensure safety in the region two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, Temer signed a decree to deploy soldiers for two weeks along the federal roads of Roraima, which borders the south of Venezuela.

These soldiers will reportedly ensure the security of Brazilians as well as thee migrants from crisis-hit Venezuela.

And in Peru, Venezuelan migrants are required to provide passports instead of national ID cards to enter.

It's reported that Peru witnessed a 50 percent drop in the number of migrants on the first day the new rule was implemented.

Those who could not provide passports could only enter the country by seeking asylum.

Similar measures were taken in Ecuador, only to be overturned by a court ruling.

The exodus is more disastrous for those who want to seek new lives in Colombia, the north part of which borders their home country.

A report issued on Wednesday by The Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP), said sex trafficking of Venezuelan migrants is particularly rife along Colombia's northern borders where criminal gangs and guerrilla groups are active.

It's very difficult for Venezuelan migrants because they come across major illegal groups who take advantage of their vulnerability. We've heard several testimonies of the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women, Juan Carlos Garzon, head of the FIP said.

Child migrants are being trafficked into forced begging in Colombia, according to children's charity Terre des Hommes.

The charity surveyed more than 900 people, mostly Venezuelan migrants, along with the border in August.
Colombia is to step up efforts to manage the Venezuelan migrant crisis by asking the United Nations to intervene, Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said on Wednesday.

We're going to continue to request the appointment of a special envoy to coordinate a multilateral action to combat this humanitarian crisis, Holmes Trujillo told Blu Radio.

Holmes Trujillo said the government would submit a proposal at the UN General Assembly in New York next month, while also pushing for the creation of a multilateral emergency fund to support the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans risking perilous conditions to flee the economic crisis in their homeland.

Colombia has already called on its southern neighbors, Ecuador and Peru, to agree on a common strategy to address the problem.

More than two million people have fled food and medicine shortages as well as collapsing public services in Venezuela, the UN says.

More than a million have entered Colombia in the last 16 months alone as President Nicolas Maduro's Venezuela grapples with a four-year recession and hyperinflation.

But Ecuador and Peru last week announced tightened border control measures, meaning thousands of Venezuelans have got stuck in Colombia, unable to continue their journey south.

Colombia has given temporary residence to more than 800,000 Venezuelans, but many of those hope to travel further afield to Peru, Chile and even Argentina.

Around half of them aren't carrying passports but both Ecuador and Peru have said that will be a requirement now to enter their countries.

Colombia's migration director, Christian Kruger, said he was worried about the consequences of such a move.

Asking for a passport isn't going to stop migration because they're leaving their country not out of choice but out of necessity, he said.

Ecuador announced on Tuesday it would organize a meeting of 13 Latin American countries to discuss the migrant crisis, with Venezuela invited alongside those most affected and regional giants such as Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

Relations between Venezuela and Colombia have been strained recently. Maduro blamed Colombia for a drone assassination attempt on him in early August, while Colombia accused Venezuelan soldiers of border incursion earlier this week.

Brazil's President Michel Temer has sent troops to the border town of Pacaraima after residents clashed with Venezuelan migrants, driving them out of makeshift camps.

Following the decision, Temer met key ministers, including those of defense and public security, amid regional tensions rose over the exodus from Venezuela.

The situation in Pacaraima, on the opposite side of the border to the Venezuelan town of Santa Elena de Uairen, was calm early Sunday, partly because locals managed to force out Venezuelans living on the streets.

More than 1,200 Venezuelan migrants returned to Venezuela after Saturday's violence, said a spokesman for a Brazilian migration task force.

The city looks deserted today, it's very quiet because police reinforcements have arrived and the markets are reopening said a local in the town of around 12,000, who wished to be anonymous.

The public security ministry announced it was sending a contingent of 60 troops to join teams in the area on Monday.

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have crossed the border into Brazil over the past three years.

The latest tensions began early Saturday, hours after a local merchant was robbed and severely beaten in an incident blamed on Venezuelan suspects, in Pacaraima, where an estimated 1,000 immigrants had been living on the street.

Dozens of locals then attacked the immigrants' two makeshift camps and burned their belongings, forcing the Venezuelans back across the border. Shots were fired, stores were shuttered and debris littered the streets.
It was terrible, they burned the tents and everything that was inside, said Carol Marcano, a Venezuelan who works in Boa Vista and was on the border returning from Venezuela. "There were shots, they burned rubber tires."

Roraima state Governor Suely Campos made a plea to temporarily close the border and asked the national government to send security reinforcements to "face the increase in crime" she links to Venezuelans in the region, particularly in the capital Boa Vista.

Meanwhile, Venezuela called on Brazil Saturday to provide "corresponding guarantees to Venezuelan nationals and take measures to safeguard and secure their families and belongings."

Tensions are rising in Latin America over migration triggered by the crises in Venezuela and in Nicaragua.

Peru and Ecuador are halting immigrants at the border by requiring them to present passports, which many lack, instead of identity cards.

Last week alone, 20,000 Venezuelans entered Peru, authorities said. On Sunday, 18 undocumented Venezuelans were detained in the capital Lima, according to police.

Brazil closed its northern border on Monday to block the entry of Venezuelans.

The measure followed Sunday’s decision by federal judge Helder Barreto in the northern Brazilian state of Roraima, on the Venezuelan border, to put a stop to the entry of more Venezuelans until a greater number of immigrants from the economically beset nation are transferred elsewhere in Brazil.

Barreto on Sunday ordered the border closed until the frontier state of Roraima can create humanitarian conditions to receive the massive and disorderly influx.

But the injunction has not gone into effect yet pending an appeal by Brazilian government lawyers.

According to the judge, the measure applies to land crossings at the border, not air or sea arrivals.

Over the last three years, tens of thousands of Venezuelans have arrived in Roraima, overwhelming social services and causing a humanitarian crisis with families sleeping in the streets amid rising crime and prostitution.

The state government on Thursday decreed Venezuelans seeking medical and other social services in Roraima would have to present a valid passport, which many of the refugees do not have.

Barreto ruled that such a measure was discriminatory and countered Brazilian laws. He suspended a provision that would allow the deportation or expulsion of Venezuelan immigrants who committed illegal acts and ordered the vaccination of those admitted to Brazil.

However, he ordered the suspension of the entry of Venezuelans into Roraima until the state can reach an equilibrium between the arrival of migrants and their exit to other parts of Brazil.

Following recommendations by the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the Brazilian Air Force in early May began airlifting Venezuelan immigrants from Roraima for resettlement in other cities of Brazil.

To date, some 820 Venezuelans have been flown out of Boa Vista, the state capital, by the Air Force.

But state officials say more than 500 Venezuelans cross into Brazil every day on average and many stay in Roraima because they cannot afford to move on.

Brazil’s federal government has declined requests by Roraima’s governor to close the border. Solicitor General Grace Mendonça renewed an appeal to the Supreme Court on Monday to suspend the state decree restricting services for Venezuelans, saying it interfered with federal powers.


Tourism Observer

Wednesday, 20 April 2016

VENEZUELA: Try Roraima Trek

The Roraima Trek is one of the highlights of Venezuela. Mount Roraima is the highest of the Pakaraima chain of tepui plateaus in South America. Its 31 km2 summit area is defended on all sides by tall cliffs rising 400 metres (1,300 ft). The mountain also serves as the triple border point of Venezuela,Brazil and Guyana, It lies in the southeastern corner of Venezuela's 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi) Canaima National Park. Bizarre rock formations, amazing landscapes and unique plants dominate the scenery.

Day 1. Arrival to Caracas- Puerto Ordaz (D)
Arrival to Maiquetia International airport, assistance by our bilingual guide. Who will explain all the details of the expedition .Flight to Puerto Ordaz (45 min). Transfer to the hotel. Welcome dinner and Overnight.

Day 2. Grand Savannah – Santa Elena (BD)
Breakfast. Departure in four wheel drive vehicles to take the route of Gold seekers and then cross the region of EL DORADO. Forest reserve of Imataca, kilometer 88 and finally Santa Elena de Uairen a gold mining town founded in 1922 by Sr. Peña –a gold prospector who named the town after his first daughter. In Santa Elena you will be able to appreciate the presence of indigenous people and Brazilian influences since is located just minutes from the Brazilian frontier. Overnight in Santa Elena with dinner.

Day 3. Santa Elena - Paraitepuy (5 hours / 12 Km.) (BLD)
Breakfast. We meet with our porters in Paraitepuy: a small indigenous community of the Pemon Indian. Visit the small community. We begin our trek across rolling grassland of the savannah. Crossing several streams we ford the Tek River where we will camp having a fantastic view of the stark face of Roraima ahead and Kukunan Tepuy to its left. From here we can also see the pinnacle of rock next to Roraima, like the one by which Conan Doyle’s heroes climbed to the top. Dinner and overnight.

Day 4. Trekking in Roraima (5 hours / 12 KMS) (BLD)
Trek across rising savannah to the base of the mountain to camp in a meadow alive with multi-colored birds and fireflies at night, this place is considered in guidebooks as being one of the best campsites in the world ! The Roraima wall is extremely impressive here rising 3,000 feet directly in front of the camp, with the quart in the rock glittering in the late afternoon sun.

Day 5. Trekking in Roraima (5 hours /3 KMS) (BLD)
In the morning we set off up the route that leads diagonally across the face of the Roraima wall. The narrow trail winds through the mountain rainforests and crosses the small streams where hummingbirds, orchids and brightly colored flowers are abundant. Higher up, the vegetation changes to pre-historic tree ferns and the trail leads under a waterfall descending from the cliff edge hundreds of feet above. After 4 -5 hours we arrive at the entrance to the summit, guarded by massive grey rocks and emerge at the top – looking back for an incredible view. We visit the Valley of Crystals, the river-valley of the Arobopo River shaped like an amphitheater, around which are grouped large dark rounded stone columns. The river itself runs over a bed of crystals and crystal fragments. We visit the northern point of Mount Roraima for stunning views from various points on the edge.

Day 6. Trekking in Roraima (9 hours / 20 Km) (BLD)
We explore Roraima’s summit trekking a long circular route to the triple border point, where Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil meet. We walk through strange rock formations, surprisingly lush valleys and places where the ground is covered with sparkling quartz crystals. There are rock pools everywhere and in them you may be lucky enough to see the strange black toads, unique to Mount Roraima. The plant life is bizarre, as over half the species are unique to Tepuys or to Roraima alone, including several species of orchids and carnivorous plants. We also visit the Oil Bird cave (Guacharo bird).

Days 7. Trekking in Roraima (6 hours / 14 KMS) (BLD)
In the morning there is still time to explore the surroundings of the Tepuy . Begin the descent from the Tepuy. Overnight

Day 8. Santa Elena de Uairen (BLD)
Breakfast. Walk until reaching Paraitepuy, where a chauffeur will be awaiting you to transfer to a traditional restaurant in the region, where you will enjoy a delicious lunch. After living an unforgettable, unique experience, transfer to the posada in Santa Elena. Dinner and overnight.

Day 9. Santa Elena -Puerto Ordaz (B)
After breakfast, transfer to Puerto Ordaz. On the road you will stop to see the highlights of this wonderful path of the Grand Savannah. Transfer to the Hotel. Overnight.

Day 10. Puerto Ordaz- Caracas (B)

After breakfast, transfer to the airport to take the flight to Caracas and continue with your international flight.

fixed departures :Dec 21st, 2015, Dec 25th, 2015, Dec 28th, 2015, Jan 12th, 2016, Jan 17th, 2016, Apr 12th, 2016

Price per one person in Single Room is: US$1575

Price per person base 2-3 pax in Double Room is: US$1250

Included:

 Assistance at the airport in Caracas.
 All private transfers.
 2 nights in Puerto Ordaz with breakfast, dinner and taxes.
 2 nights in Santa Elena with full board.
 5 nights in Roraima Tepuy in tents with all camping equipment, porters for food and equipment while trekking in Roraima. Full board and soft drinks.
Excursions:
 Trekking to Roraima Tepuy.
 Professional bilingual guide.
 Domestic flights: Caracas - Puerto Ordaz - Caracas

Not included:
 Domestic Airport taxes (3US$ per person/ per flight)
 Personal Porter
 Sleeping Bag
 Insulator
 Lunch on day 2
 Dinner and lunch on day 9

Additional Information:
 Total travel distance: 40-45 km trekking up and the same for the descent.
 You will be able to leave some luggage in Santa Elena. We recommend bringing lock or security device to close the bags.
 The return is made walking to Paraitepuy and then by car to Santa Elena.
 About the visit to Piedra Pintada y Valle de los Cristales: Are located about one hour away (walking) and the group have to start the descent before noon. This can be done if the group is not too tired, most people usually just walk a little around.
 People can bath in rivers and streams along the way; the higher you are, the cooler is the water. (Jacuzzis are the only bath option in the top)
Food during the trek:
Includes: 5x breakfast with cereal, bread, arepas (typical corn bread), cheese, ham, jam, coffee and juice.
6x light lunches with bread and various salads. 5 x dinners
 Carriers have the equipment and food. We strongly recommend that you carry a food supplement (chocolates, cookies, candies, to recharge)
 Sleeping bags: We recommend people to bring their sleeping bag and padding. Sometimes the ones rented are not in very good condition.
 There is always humidity and nights are cold. The weather at the top of Roraima has been calculated at 4 degrees at dawn. During the day it is usually windy with 21 degrees and humidity. At night, down to 10 or 9 degrees.
 You cannot throw garbage in any area of the National Park.
 In case of a serious emergency of one passenger, the only way out of the national park by helicopter.
 The passengers should have a good physical condition, since some days there are up to 7 or 8 hours of hiking.
 It is possible to hire indigenous carriers to have the backpacks and personal effects. Each one can carry up to 15 kilos at a price of $ 30 per day per carrier. It can be a carrier for 2 people while not exceeding 15 kg luggage

CONTACT: Amazon Adventures

EMAIL: jmc12@amazonadventures.com