i have been and it is beautiful, but remember it is another country, and in many ways much less civilized than the states. you may think this is a good thing, but taken as a whole, it is just very different. for one thing, the disparity between rich and poor is so vast that it becomes overwhelming. i found it heartbreaking to see young children forced to peddle their wares on the beaches and the streets just to put food in their mouths. the rich have no regard for them either.
some of the lessons i learned there ( i think i spent 6 weeks there and 2 weeks completely alone as a 24 year old woman):
-don't trust anyone, my cousin's boyfriend and his sister ripped me off for every penny i had on me and then bailed on me when they were supposed to show me around while my cousin was on a cruise.
-if you're a woman, watch out--a man will rape you quicker than you could imagine--women are regarded as less than human and i don't think rape is a crime there (this was something my grandmother warned me about, but was reinforced while i was there). nor is drinking and driving, not wearing your seatbelt or dragracing on the major highways (which they do in downtown caracas on thursday nights.)
-the work ethic is basically non-existent. for the most part only men work and take off by siesta time to begin their drinking and partying for the night, which will go on until the early morning. this is fun for a few nights until you realize the same antics go on every night, whether you are there or not.
-most of all i was overcome by the sense that compassion for human life is not the least bit cherished. Twice I was in places that were bombed shortly after I left, a Tropiburger within 5 minutes and a large shopping mall within hours.
-watch out for food poisoning, especially with the beef, which is supposed to be of great quality. i had food poisoning at least 4 times while i was there, ick!

I remember meds being plentiful and inexpensive. I wasn't knowledgeable enough at the time to truly take advantage of it, but i did come home with a large supply of perdutas and codeine-which i kept in my makeup bag. i was stopped by US customs (they have me on their watch list) and thus searched throughly, but they completely ignored the meds, they were looking for jewelry or something more illicit--which of course they never found because i didn't have anything.
i wouldn't recommend shipping large quantities back to yourself in the mail because mail in venezuela is known to be completely unreliable--people are just so corrupt.

i know i've let loose a lot of gripes here and believe there are more, but i'm glad i went because i learned so much about myself. being half venezuelan, i found out where my wild, carefree side comes from, and that i don't really want to be that way all the time, not a desirable characteristic. it is a beautiful country, the island is very caribbean, no great waves, but great beaches, the cost of living is low, even now i think. most of my family that was living there has now moved to luxomberg and portugal. my cousin and aunt still live there, but after the cruelties they put me through i could never speak to them or see them again. the rest of my family got out with their money while they had the chance, which was fortunate for them.
if i had a choice of going somewhere in south or central america, i would choose costa rica. people there are said to be much more genuine (although there are still theifs and cons) but one could still get all the meds they wanted, ship them reliably, and get some great surfing in as well. a lot of my friends are investing in costa rica real estate right now and i predict it will become more of a hotspot in the next few years.
if you do go to margarita or caracas, i'd love to hear about your experiences afterwards. and i do expect others to disagree with or deny my experiences in venezuela, but i'm just speaking the truth as i expereinced it.
best,
voo