Caracas Cumberland

... in a two-engine plane flying over the Gran Sabana. We passed directly over Canaima and marveled at the natural beauty of the location. The falls, the two rivers coming together, the hotel and grounds. It was extraordinarily attractive and beckoned you to experience it at ground level. My real regret was having to cancel the trip to Canaima and Salto Ángel that my wife, Sandy, and I had intended on making when she came in late July because of my being enlisted as manager of the ...

... somewhere for a bit to eat. The streets are covered in litter and there are many buses and cars parked on the curbs. I say Cars and Busses, more like rust buckets, all getting some much needed repairs which are done by local upstart mechanics with hammers and plyers... We decided to splash out and enjoy a dinner at a restuarant on the sea which was called Cristal Mar or Rip off Corner as we found out. We were advised that all the food on the menu was "no good ...

... of brown. Brown filled with the mestizo poor. Brown filled with Chavez-backed supporters. Poor here is not hard to deny. All you have to do is look at the mountains to see the shacks of shacks stacked on top of one another. Ironically, in Western standards, they have "The Million Dollar View." But from their point of view, that´s not for me to judge. Yet there are some interesting curiosities I´ve noticed here. With ...

... it is hard to imagine them finding anything. I still can't work out why they gender split the lines for bag searching when they then have men searching both lines' bags. No two people gave us consistent answers as to what these measures are for. But the silliest was that the checkpoints were to slow down the traffic. The machine guns would seem superfluous given that there are also judder bars. The guides were mostly ...

I have been stuck in Caracas for the last couple of days, waiting for my money to transfer through. Aside from wandering around the "nice" parts of the city by metro invaded by huge shopping malls complete with designer-label-clad youths and middle classes, I have been observing the huge number of barrios/slums that cover the mountains - visible through the gaps between the numerous skyscrapers. I really want to visit these places, so am trying to get in touch with a think ...

Isla Margarita si svou image nikdy nezlepsila. Dalsi plaz, kterou jsme si nejak nechali vnutit taxikarem (pac neznal tu, kterou jsem puvodne vybrala ja) byla strategicky umistena mezi letistem a pristavem. Nad hlavami svistela letadla, na plazi auta a bordel, ve vode oblibene zelene rostlinstvo. Tady aspon bylo shlukle do velkejch chomacu, takze se mu dalo ve vode vyhybat a nevylezt uplne zelenej.. (Hlavne ze se ptam taxikare, jestli tu jsou na plazi taky ty zeleny kytky co tam byly ...

... through the whole island in a safari jeep, stopping along the way at historical sites and some incredible beaches. The evening ended at a lookout with what was an indescribable sunset....what a great time, with great guides (carlos and hector.) Hey did you guys know I am exotic here? What a change for once. I would never come home if it weren't for those damn buggies. Love you all and miss you much! XXOO, Wendy

... were approaching his car that we spotted the official Ford Explorer taxis waiting outside and managed to give him the slip! It turns out that kidnappings at the airport are extremely common, with fake taxi drivers taking people away at gunpoint. Hey ho, just another day in the world of travelling...! We finally arrived in Caracas at the apartment of Ben´s friends Matt and Lucy, who were extremely great hosts and made sure we had a great time! Cheers guys!

... sand, palm trees and crystal clear water I've enjoyed many a day basking in the sun with a book, whilst Andy has totalled over 100 hours on his gameboy - an achievement which he is very proud of. Fish Dishes As most of you know I don't eat fish or shell fish, though I have been assured repeatedly throughout my time in Venezuela that the fish dishes are exceptional, to the point where even I have had to lean over and take a bite off Andy's plate. Whilst ...

... Nicole took a nap and I did some journaling. At 4pm we went into the terminal and spend the little bolivares that we had left. We both got tacky Venezuelan t-shirts. Good times! Tonight we left La Guaira at 11pm and everyone was on the back deck to say good bye to Venezuela because we are now on our way to Brazil! Classes resume tomorrow until we get to Brazil, so everyone is in the study mood (yuck) and doing journals and readings.