In a plan to guarantee a merry Christmas for its citizens, the Venezuelan government has launched special holiday price regulations on food, clothing, toys, hardware, electronics and shoes.
Read MoreAt one of the ubiquitous state-run gas stations in the western city of Mérida, a taxi driver pulled in to fill the tank of his Honda sedan. He bought 42 liters of gasoline (about 11 gallons) and hands over a single bill worth 5 Bolívares Fuertes (BsF), officially worth about 79 U.S. cents and unofficially, on the black market, worth 3 cents. He overpaid. The fill cost him what would be 47 cents officially, and the rest was left as a tip.
Like many Venezuelans, he’s used to paying next to nothing to keep his cab running.
Read MoreSince stationing myself in the western Venezuela city of Mérida last fall, I’ve kept Google Alerts for news from the country. Each day, waiting in my inbox, is a laundry list of stories from international media outlets reporting toilet paper and condom shortages, 3,000-person lines at a grocery store and yucca fries replacing potato ones at all McDonald’s (the potatoes are back in some areas, by the way).
Read MoreThe diversity of flavors in Venezuela is a direct reflection of the country itself - the Afro-Caribbean north, the mountainous, Andean west, the caballeros of the central plains and the Amazonas in the south. Across this spread, you’ll find different takes on national dishes, deserts and snacks. We check out five of the greatest and strangest dishes that you just have to try when travelling in Venezuela.
Read MoreOn February 4th 1962, a solar eclipse obscured Mexico City between 2 and 3pm, likely Central Standard Time. The age of Aquarius was upon us, announced a man named Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez. The Piscean age of close-mindedness was over, and time be damned if he was 90 or 600 years off, as many Astrologists claimed. He declared he was the official messenger of the era, “giving the content of a cosmic letter,” and that Dionysian waves, emanating from the Greek god of wine, madness and religious mysticism, had traveled to Earth and set off a time of revolution and explosiveness.
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Read MoreOn the tiny island of Galindez in the Antarctic Peninsula, about 1,000 nautical miles from the nearest city and inhabited by more penguins than people, you’ll find 12 Ukrainian men and the last bar on earth.
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