thanks to everyone for all the advice! im starting to think from the apparent high cost of things, maybe it's better just to head very quickly to colombia. the bigger picture is that my boyfriend and i will be traveling in venezuela, colombia, ecuador, peru, and probably bolivia for 9 months. maybe chile/argentina time permitting. thus budget is a very serious issue. we are well-travelled resourceful low-key ppl and are happy to walk, camp, and scrimp in comfort and to move slowly and skip most tours and luxury extras. we are definitely looking for the absolute cheapest things possible, MAXIMUM $20/day if not far less. which doesnt seem crazy considering the prices quoted in the guidebook for the countries we intend to travel to and the fact that we're not looking for a party.
venezuela was kind of a last-minute add-on on account of it being a cheap air connection to north america. but it was never really our intended destination or somewhere we had our hearts set on exploring. the beaches on the northwest coast seemed like good stop-offs considering they were on the route to colombia. knowing my situation, does it make more sense to spend as little time in VZ as possible? better beaches and much cheaper prices elsewhere? are the northwestern beaches so expensive? the guidebook makes it seem reasonable to camp....
k
