Tue April 14th 9:59 am Capitalism thrives in Venezuela !! As you all back home get ready to pay your ransom to Obama tomorrow (tax day ) we observed how capitalism can flourish even in a socialistic country like Venezuela. Sunday evening, just before sunset a local came by in his peneros and handed us a small slip of paper....it was an ad for his restaurant up on the hill. It was called "The Green House" Yes it was indeed green. Joyce asked if he spoke English...nope...off he went to the other 4 boats in the anchorage. We didn't think much about it until Monday when we were motoring over to check in with the Coast Guard. Joanna had invited us over dinner, but thought it would be fun to check out the little restaurant, since the ad said lobster. We dinked ashore with J & P and walked up the hill. Phil and Joyce using their Spanish determined that indeed they did have lobster, at $15.50 per person. All we had in $USD was $100 bills to trade on the black
market in Margarita. The offered 4.5 B's to the $USD, up from the 3.3"s we had last year. The official Hugo rate of 2.15B's to 1 $USD. If you put your card in the ATM...that's what you get. Venezuela businessmen who want to do business outside the country are forced to go to the black market to get their $USD's, which is the
standard currency for doing business in Latin America. That case of beer that cost 7$USD last year will cost only will cost only 5 $USD this yr, unless cost have also increased. Well this guy would also take Euros...not quite the same rate,
but we did have Euros left over from the stupid Frenchy islands. It was quickleydecided to put Joanna's lagasinga in the fridge and have dinner ashore. We made a 6pm reservation and returned to the boat. The sun was getting ready to set as we made it up the small hill. P and I enjoyed a cold Polar (the above mentioned beer) as we all watched the sun start to drop into the sea. Our host pointed to a spot about 3-4 miles to the south. We could see a large splash even at that distance. He supplied a pair of binoculars, and we could see the tail of a sperm whale as it crashed back into the sea. This went on for about 10 minuets. Our host indicated
that last September a mother with her baby were also sighted. The baby came in between the islands not far from where we were anchored. This thing must have been huge for us to see the splash from that distance. Joyce continued with her sunset pics, just gorgeous from our vantage point up the hill. Dinner was served. The food was simple,1/2 of a lobster, some outstanding Cole slaw and white steamed rice. We were more than satisfied at the portions for the $15.50 until he comes back with 2 more lobster split in half for 2nds. We gorged on the lobster and downed a few more cold Polars. Total for 4 lobster dinners and 3 rounds of beer was 66 $USD including tip. Damn that's value. Now let's put this all in perspective. Here is a family living in what we would call poverty, on an dry island with maybe 160 other people. All supplies except fish and lobster must be brought in from the mainland 40 miles to the south. This is a socialistic country where 95% of the people live in absolute poverty,
where Hugo decides what can be sold by whom and for what price. He even has his own time zone different than the rest of the world. He keeps the poor, poor while he and his elites live high on the hog....gee sounds like the direction the US is going. He keeps the masses under control by selling his abundance of oil to the masses at $.11 cents USD per gallon. When he puts price control on eggs, the farmers
kill off the laying hens to make a living selling chicken instead of eggs. So soon, there is no chicken or eggs. There always seems to be something with price controls...what ever that is ...well, then you don't see it in the stores.
Last year it was cooking oil, eggs,butter, rice (a staple) and toilet paper. Any industry that defies him is the target of being nationalized by the government( IE GM and the US Banks)
So here on this far from the center of government power is this entrepreneur. He provides a great service, at a fair and reasonable price, deals in cash and does damn well for he and his family. Maybe we should all think about this business model. This guy lives in paradise, either gets his own lobster or pays some fisherman for his fish and lobster. The rest of the meal consisted of 15 cents worth of rice and 1/2 of a head of cabbage. We were seated at the only table, with a million dollar view. He and his family were very polite and made sure we were enjoying this experience. I had to use the banos..bathroom, which was inside their home. The whole interior was of the home was spotless. I noticed 2 children in a small bedroom with bunk beds, reading or studying. One would never known they were even there. What a refreshing change from islands we have been visiting for the last 3-4 months. If this was Union or St Lucia, the lobster dinners would have been 60 USD each, the service would have been rude or non existent. We will be in Margarita tomorrow night. As you read this, you will have paid your ransom to Obama. My fear is that tomorrows payment is just the beginning. For America to survive this attack on Capitalism by Obama and the left, maybe we should heed this entrepreneur. Move out of the tax and spend cities, provide a product or service at a fair price with the best possible customer service, deal in cash...no government involvement... and live our lives like the founders put forth in the Constitution. Take away their tax base....and they have no money to spend.
Happy Tax day!!!