A mix of travel tips, history, music and fine food as I explore Venezuela in the footsteps of the great German scientist and adventurer Alexander von Humboldt.
Wilmer Sifontes (maracas), Diego la Verde (harp), and Jose "Chebeto" Requena (cuatro) entertain visitors to the Venezuelan stand at the World Travel Market in Excel, London.
By Russell Maddicks
The Venezuelan Tourism Board, Inatur, set out its stall today at one of the largest tourism fairs in the world, the World Travel Market, which is taking place at the Excel Centre in London until Thursday 10 November.
To the joyful sounds of harp, maracas and cuatro, visitors to the Venezuelan stand were treated to giant photos of some of the country's top travel destinations, including Angel Falls, Margarita Island and Los Roques.
Manning the stalls and hoping to drum up new business for Venezuela's tourism industry were the Merida-based tour operator Natoura Travel and Adventure Tours, Anke Nöthling from the Cacao Travel Group and representatives from the Venetur chain of state-run hotels.
To give visitors a flavour of the country, snacks in the form of canapes made from fried plantains topped with cheese or shredded chicken, and empanaditas, were supplied by Mi Cocina es Tuya, a Venezuelan restaurant in Crystal Palace.
The biggest surprise of the first day was an impromptu appearance by the newly-crowned Miss World, Ivian Sarcos, who brought an extra touch of glitz and glamour to the event.
Alexis Pulido of Mi Cocina es Tuya with Venezuelan beauty Ivian Sarcos, the new Miss World. Photo courtesy of Robert Ramos.
Ivian Lunasol Sarcos Colmenares, a 21-year-old from Guanare in Venezuela's Portuguesa State, beat 120 of the world's most beautiful women to win the coveted Miss World crown in London on Sunday, 6 November 2011.
The glittering ceremony culminated with Miss Philippines, Gwendoline Gaelle Sandrine Ruais, named runner-up, and Miss Puerto Rico, Amanda Victoria Vilanova Perez, in third place.
Sarcos' victory brings Venezuela's total wins in the competition to six, a world record.
Previous winners include Susana Dujim in 1955, Pilin Leon in 1981, Astrid Carolina Herrera in 1984, Ninibeth Leal in 1991, and Jacqueline Aguilera in 1995.
Venezuela also holds six Miss Universe titles, only surpassed by the USA with seven.
In 2009, 18-year-old Stefania Fernandez made Miss Universe history when she was crowned by her compatriot and 2008 winner Dayana Mendoza.
It was the first time any country has had successive victories since the pageant began in 1952.
No wonder Venezuela has a reputation for producing the most beautiful women in the world.
Combining a rare beauty with a fine brain, Ivian Sarcos is a human resources graduate, but her life has certainly not been all glitter and sparkles.
The newly-crowned Miss World was born the youngest of 13 children and was orphaned at the age of eight when both her parents died within nine months: her mother in a domestic accident and her father in a car accident.
At the age of 10 she was taken in by nuns from the Santa María Micaela del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús convent in San Carlos, Cojedes State, and considered becoming a nun before deciding to follow a university career.
She put herself through college by waiting tables in a fast food restaurant and later worked in a store in the Sambil shopping mall in Caracas to pay her way through university. It was there in 2009 that she was spotted by a friend of Osmel Sousa, the head of the Miss Venezuela organization.
Hollywood couldn't come up with a more dramatic fairytale than the story of Ivian Sarcos and the incredible drive, determination and luck that saw her crowned Miss World tonight in front of a global TV audience of 1 billion people.
After the ceremony, an emotional Sarcos spoke about the tragic loss of her parents, saying: "This has taught me that life, although it may be bad, doesn't have to end badly. Although I no longer have my parents it has taught me to be stronger."
