Okay so I bet you're wondering what is couch-surfing and what does it have to do with Venezuela? Well imagine a non-Spanish speaking travel writer hitchhiking across the country and sleeping in other peoples' homes. Sounds like grand ol' time unless you have no clue what the country is about. But sure enough there are people across the world that love traveling and care enough to share with us what they experienced. And now we have Jamie Maslin.
In Maslin's new memoir, Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens, our couchsurfing travel writer offers an irreverent, informative, and entertaining account of a young adventurer's journey through a breathtakingly beautiful country that tourists rarely get to see. Did you know the murder rate in Venezuela is higher than Iraq's? Well that's where Maslin spent days upon days traveling.
And now the question of what he experienced? Sure there were corrupt cops but there was also the following:
- Recognizing the Venezuelan body-complex epidemic that fuels the country’s love for beauty pageants that transform young girls into grown women through surge
- Meeting a poverty-stricken populace looking to exploit naïve travelers
- Witnessing natural beauty in flat-topped jungle plateaus, waterfalls, rolling deserts, and the famous lightning that appears suddenly in the sky with no rain or thunder
2 comments:
I have a friend that has met some really cool people couch surfing, and I'd definitely do it.
That is true that Venezuela is the most unsafe place to travel.Lamentalbemente mucha inseguridad. About the beauty pageant is a tradition since 1950. We wached every year the Miss Venezuela and all the girls dream to be one! But Venezuela is more than Chavez and Misses. We have a lot of treasures to offer. History, culture, beaches, great food, mi gente carinosa, and much more!
I invite you to visit my blog
www.latinaconestiloelocuente.com
and leave a comment, too.
Post a Comment