- What's up guys?
Before we dive into the first video
of my exciting Venezuela series,
I wanna thank the sponsor of this video, which is Wren.
They have helped me offset the carbon footprint
for my flights to Venezuela, by planting trees in Tanzania.
It is a very simple way to do something
about the climate crisis
and Wren has agreed to protect five acres
of rainforest for everyone who signs up
using the link in the description below.
And with that being said, let's jump into today's story
and watch to the end because it gets pretty crazy.
Bienvenidos and welcome to Venezuela, my 194th country
and final country in South America.
Hang tight guys because I have amazing content
coming your way.
(energetic music begins)
Words simply cannot describe the feeling
of being in Venezuela right now.
It was the single hardest visa I've ever had to get.
I got it pre-COVID, back in February of 2020
at the Venezuelan embassy in Manila.
I had to go back and forth there
like six different times
over four weeks and meet with the ambassador
and convince them that I am a good person
and that I'm okay to come to Venezuela
and make awesome stories.
And they finally granted me the visa.
I got the visa.
(kisses)
The only problem is it expires next month
and the country just opened up
so I am one of the first official visitors,
foreigners or locals, to be in Venezuela right now
since the country opened up.
But if I'm being completely honest with you,
I am pretty nervous to be here, to be shooting videos.
It's a different kind of nervous than being in
Somalia or Libya or Afghanistan.
There, I have to worry about getting kidnapped or bombed or,
or being a victim in a terrorist attack.
But here in Venezuela,
I have to worry about petty crime and theft.
And also the police.
I gotta be really careful.
I gotta keep a low profile and I'm gonna do my best
to get the stories that I wanna get
while enjoying this beautiful country
which I've heard so much about.
Okay, let's back up a little bit.
(fast paced music begins)
As you guys know, I'm in the middle
of shooting a docuseries about visiting every country,
but I had to leave my camera crew behind in Ecuador
because they weren't able to secure their visas in time.
Chris and Greg.
Thanks man.
I'll do my best to get all the footage I can
and we'll be in touch, hopefully.
I was forced to hire a local camera crew
in Venezuela last minute,
but I'm still responsible for shooting,
directing and managing all of the audio.
It's a hell of a lot of work,
but I was up for the challenge.
So there I stood in the (indistinct) airport
with a bag full of new Sony gear,
realizing that I was about to embark
on one of the craziest adventures of my life.
Pretty nervous, kinda going on a whim.
I don't know what to expect.
Gonna be meeting my buddy Emmanuel,
putting my full trust in him to take me around
and show me a good time.
So, I'm really excited to finally
check this one off the list.
I know it's not the best of times for the country
but I'm looking forward to making some good stories
and trying to tell amazing messages about the people
and culture of Venezuela.
So off we go now boarding my flights to Caracas.
Gracias.
And we're off.
I flew from Ecuador to Panama
and then from Panama to the Dominican Republic
because that was the only way that I could fly
to my final destination, Caracas.
(plane engine revving)
(upbeat music)
Okay. Okay.
Oh my God. (foreign language)
- [Emmanuel] How are you?
- Awesome, bro. Yeah. I made it.
- [Emmanuel] How are you?
- That was tough, in the airport, but I made it.
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
(cheers)
- Venezuela. Bienvenidos.
- Yes.
- Oh my God. I finally (beep) to Venezuela. Holy (beep).
I did not think I was gonna make it here.
- Yeah. You did it.
- With COVID and with like all this (beep) happening.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
(laughs)
- I'm very, very excited to show you my country so,
- Yeah. I'm so excited man.
- Let's begin this trip.
- So I arrived last night when it was dark outside
and I just woke up to these insane views
at Emmanuel's place.
Look at these.
(cheers)
All right. Well, day one in Caracas.
Emmanuel on the wheel.
- What's up my friend
- Time to explore this beautiful city.
Right now I see these big green hills
and I am just so freaking excited to explore this country.
It's been on my list for how many years now?
And the time has finally come.
Do you know what's crazy to think right now?
I am like one of the only tourists right now
in the whole country.
Because my flight was all Venezuelans,
did you know that? - Yeah.
- There was like no tourist on our flight.
- The government only opened the country two weeks ago
for people coming from Iran,
no one is coming from Iran,
just the cash.
(laughs)
Turkey, same story.
Dominican Republic, one way to Venezuelans
that go to Miami, comes back, comes by.
And also Panama and Mexico
because it's the only precedent in all
Latin America that's (foreign language).
(energetic music begins)
- I think it is pretty safe to say that Venezuela
is not your average tourist destination,
at least not over the last 10 or so years.
Once upon a time, this country was one of the richest
and most prosperous countries in the entire world
and now, it debatably has the worst economy
that any country has ever seen
throughout the history of mankind.
A series of poor decisions by the people in charge
over the last half decade has caused problem
after problem, after problem for the Venezuelan economy.
Massive hyperinflation has caused the Venezuelan currency
to essentially be worthless.
As I make this video,
one US dollars is 1.4 million bolívares.
If it continues inflating at this rate,
that amount will be double in the next 94 days.
- This doesn't mean anything right now, anything.
500 bolívares is, is.
- And 500 bolívares before they take out five zeros.
- In some ways the capital city of Caracas
feels like anarchy.
You can literally drive as fast as you want
and run red lights in front of policemen
and they won't do anything.
Why did you run the red light?
- Because no one respects the lights.
Few years ago, there was a really danger
on stopping in red lights because you may get robbed.
Like always when I pass red light,
I just watch to the other side.
Just like if it were,
if it was on stop, not the red light.
- According to a variety of sources,
this city of 5 million people has the highest murder rate
per capita in the world, but the edginess of Caracas
makes me that much more excited to explore.
You really gotta know where you're going in this city,
otherwise you could get in the wrong corner
or meet with the wrong people and no bueno.
My local buddy Emmanuel, who I've been in touch
with on Instagram for over a year
and fellow content creator
will be by my side the entire trip,
giving me a grand tour of his beloved nation.
- Look at that.
You have really nice view of what (foreign language) is.
- I was drawn right into the chaos
when it was time to fill up our gas tank.
At that very moment, on my first morning in Caracas,
it started to sink in that I was actually in Venezuela.
Right now we're filling up the car with gasoline
and it's quite an interesting experience.
It blows my mind that Venezuela has so much oil
yet it's so difficult to find gas right now
and to fill up your car.
There's no cars on this bridge.
- Because the gasoline.
That's an advantage for us.
- How long do you think those people have to wait in line?
- Five, six hours when in Caracas.
But if you go outside,
you could stay 15 days before you can put gasoline again.
They give you like a number
and you have to go every day to gas station
to see which number it goes into the line.
So hope. Maybe 15 days without putting gasoline.
- But It's, it's really incredible
how you actually have free gas though
'cause nobody else has free gasoline.
- I am not agreeing with that,
but that was one of their main assets
of the government to buy people's vote, you know?
Like okay, I'm gonna give you free gasoline
because we are the most reserve,
oil reserve country in the world.
You can read this.
In Valencia, lines to put gasoline are four days.
Otherwise, you have to buy it in the black market.
The price is between two and $3 per liter.
- [Drew] Who told you that?
- A follower.
Someone says, "The luck is with you."
Because we put gasoline super fast.
- If you are confused,
don't worry because I'll be doing a deep dive analysis
on the oil and gas crisis in Venezuela
in a separate video.
This is only a teaser of what's to come.
Trust me, as someone with an economics degree,
my brain is literally exploding right now.
- The city is like socially, let's say, divided
by west and east side.
West is like the poor side.
And right now, we're in the East part of the city
where it's supposed to be the rich part
or the high class.
But also, there is some slums here.
- And you're born and raised in Caracas?
- Yeah. I was,
I was born in a really poor neighborhood
because when I was a kid, my dad was starting, you know?
He moves from Portugal because of the second world war.
My grandpa didn't want his brothers to go into the war.
They were spreading news in Europe
that there was a Caribbean country
with plenty of opportunities, et cetera, et cetera.
So they came in a,
in a big boat, like for three days.
My dad moved to Venezuela when he was eight
and then he start like fisherman,
then they start working in a meat store.
- Hearing Emmanuel's background made me realize
how diverse his country is.
I came to find out that over two thirds
of the population are Mestizos,
meaning they have mixed European ancestry.
In any regard there's too much talking
and too little eating going on.
Emmanuel and his girlfriend, Valerie,
took me to get one of the best meals in town.
- We come to (foreign language),
one specific place to eat cachapas,
one of our main dishes here in Venezuela.
(foreign language)
I was trying to figure out how to make a round number
because they don't have to exchange in the small bills.
So I was adding like 10, 10, 11,
and try to make 35 exact dollars.
- What did we, what did you order?
- I ordered cachapa.
There is like a traditional dish made out of corn.
They blend corn with milk and some other stuff
and they put it on the grill.
And then you put Venezuelan cheese inside and close it.
- What is Venezuelan cheese?
- It's the best cheese in the world.
- What kind of juice is that?
- Parchita.
- What fruit is it?
- You try it and you figure it out.
(laughs)
- It's like a slushie.
Like, it's like blended ice, mixed with passion fruit.
So delicious.
When I've had passion fruit juice in other countries,
it's not this fresh.
This is the fresh one man.
Excelente.
They just served the cachapa here which,
from first impression, looks like a big,
looks like a big pancake with all this,
I don't even know what this is.
Cheese, pork, - [Emmanuel] Yeah.
- All this delicious stuff inside.
How do I eat it? Like a taco?
- [Valerie] No. - [Emmanuel] No.
- Oh, you cut it with a, with a knife.
Everything in one bite?
- [Emmanuel] Yeah. everything in one bite.
(laughs)
- Are you so happy to watch me try this right now?
(laughs) - [Emmanuel] Yeah. We're all,
we're super excited about your impression.
- Oh my God.
Wow. That's amazing.
The pork is delicious, it's perfectly soft.
And this cheese, you were,
you were right about the cheese, incredible.
How is it bro? Tell me how it is.
- Amazing bro, amazing.
- Look at that. Look at that cheese.
Look at that.
(speaking Spanish)
From one to 10, how good is it?
- Diez.
- First meal here in Venezuela. It was amazing.
I don't even know what it's called.
What's it called again?
- [Emmanuel] Cachapa.
- Cachapa. Oh my God.
It was delicious.
And now we are about to hit the streets of Caracas.
I don't really know what to expect
but I know it's gonna be incredible.
As long as Emmanuel is with me, I'm safe.
(laughs)
Which place are we gonna visit first?
- You can, you can see there images of Che Guevara,
- Yeah.
Then our president was (indistinct) and Chávez
and Maduro is the small one,
and Fidel Castro also.
- We proceeded to drive around Caracas and it is enormous.
So many different neighborhoods, so many markets,
funky architecture, incredible viewpoints
and a culture that was very inviting to learn more about.
(laughing)
So baseball is the national sport of Venezuela.
- Yes, yes.
- And we're just driving on the street
and we found like a baseball game,
just like a bunch of dudes,
just hanging out, playing baseball.
- [Emmanuel] Yeah, just hanging out.
- And that guy was pretty good, that just hit that ball.
- [Emmanuel] Almost home run.
- Yeah, it was very good.
- [Emmanuel] Nice to capturing the moment.
- There are many Venezuelans in the MLB
like Miguel Cabrera and,
- [Emmanuel] Ronny Cedeño
- Yes. Cedeño
Willson Contreras.
- [Emmanuel] Yeah.
It's awesome man. Venezuela is a hotspot for baseball.
Our final stop of the day was one of the main plazas
which was a lot fancier than I ever expected.
We've made it to a beautiful little plaza here.
There's a wonderful monument
with the Venezuela colors on it.
Nice apartment buildings around here.
There's a fountain behind me that's not currently working,
but it's just a really really nice place to hang out
and kinda see a side of Caracas that
maybe me and you didn't know existed.
- We are now in Plaza Francia or France square in Altamira,
one of the nicest place of Caracas.
You can come here, you just sit around the square.
You also have access to the subway.
- It feels like a perfectly safe, normal life here
in this part.
- In this part of the city, yeah you have,
also you have lot of police around,
national guards on everything. Yeah, yeah.
In this part of the city, you're very safe.
- Emmanuel, it's been an awesome first day here in Caracas.
Did you have fun?
- Yes. Of course.
- Dude, this place is electric, man.
Like (foreign language).
That's the slang in Venezuelan words.
So what are we doing over the next week bro?
Where are we going?
- We're visiting Choroní and (indistinct).
They are one of the nicest beaches in Venezuela
that you can get by car or just small drifting boat.
- Right.
- After that, we're trying to go to fish
with the fishermen in town. - Absolutely.
- We're enjoying tambor.
That is a typical music in the town.
You will enjoy a lot.
And after that, we're going to Morrocoy.
I could say the best beaches of the country.
- There's a lot I wanna see.
I know that this guy's taking care of me.
I don't even know what Morrocoy means,
I never looked it up on the internet
but I know it's gonna be amazing.
Thank you, bro.
- Thank you.
- Can't wait to see more of your country, man.
- Awesome, awesome.
(foreign language)
- Peace. - Yeah, let's do this.
- I just wanna take a second again to thank Wren
who is the sponsor of this video.
Wren is a company that helps you understand how
much greenhouse gases you're admitting into the environment
whether it's through flying or driving
or even eating and they help you offset that damage.
So basically within minutes,
I was able to offset all the carbon footprint
from my flights to Venezuela.
It was that easy.
The truth is that I've become increasingly alarmed
with the looming climate crisis
and together we have a responsibility to educate ourselves
and help fight against it
so that the world can be a more pleasant place
for generations to come.
Given the amount of times that I fly every year
I've been looking to find an easy way to give back
to the environment
And Wren has been the answer for me.
By answering a few questions
about your lifestyle on their built-in calculator,
you can see what your carbon footprint is
and how you can reduce it.
And because it's almost impossible to
reduce your carbon footprint to zero
you have the option to offset where you have left
by planting trees and protecting rainforests
in countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the UK.
For insanely busy working people like myself,
I don't have the time or energy to plant trees
every time I fly or drive or consume something,
so I can just pay a reasonable amount to Wren
and they can have it all taken care of.
It's quick and easy and I've actually pledged
to have Wren offset all of my life emissions for the future.
As a bonus, Wren has agreed to protect five acres
of rainforest for everyone who signs up using the link
in the description below.
Every time you contribute to offset your carbon footprint,
you will be receiving an email with an update
about the actual forest that you are saving.
All right, guys, that is it for this video.
Thank you so much for watching and stay tuned
for the next nine videos in this epic Venezuela series.
I can't wait.
Peace.
I'm Drew Binsky,
and if you like my travel videos,
please click subscribe and ring that little bell
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