Hotel Altamira Caracas

... take foreign cards. Also, Kia at Caiman Tours in Jaji near Merida was great. As for Caracas, it's not the prettiest of places, even the central square Plaza Bolivar with its small cathedral was a bit of a let down though it looked nicer in the evening when it was lit. We had a good day walking around but numerous things were closed to the public. These included the Mirador Torre Oueste, the 52nd floor open air lookout, which ...

... that´s easy but there are two little fellows that are a handful. They are mostly good and obedient but they do take a while to do what they are told and this is usually occumpanied by plenty of whining. In summary this is what I have learnt so far about young boys: They will eat anything and everything. Affection is shown to eachother through varying degrees of physical expresión including but not limited to punching, pushing, tackling and hitting with soaking wet ...

... and there were a lot of people on the roads enjoying their holiday. Unfortunately it meant a relaxing time on Playa Colarado was permeated with crowded beaches, constantly loud music and most disappointedly streams and streams of rubbish littering this beautiful area. However, determined for a good beach I did manage to find (although the route to get there was most unpleasant and stinky) an almost deserted cove and got to enjoy a more ...

... 2007. Chavez's great socialist revolution was to be determined on 2 December. This may sound exaggerated (and I think it is) but that is the way that the Venezuelans, including Chavez, describe it. Caracas was plastered with pro-Chavez slogans. This appeared to be not about policy but about whether you were 'with' Chavez or not. The most common slogan, and it was on almost every wall and hanging from countless banners on street lights, was ...

... Whilst waiting, we watched some guys singing Spanish music - they attracted quite a crowd. To my side, two police officers beat a drunk to the ground and continued punching him in the head before one noticed me watching and marched him off to a side alley. I´m not sure what happened next. When Dawna arrived, she´d brought me a bag of gifts she´s brought from the Body Shop where she trains management in Canada and the USA. I was extremely grateful to have ...

... there are stacks of hotels in Caracas it seems....and yet not a single freekn one had any vacancies. I literally tried at least 30, and it was getting v late. A few English speakers told me to get off the streets, but what could I do?! Well, in hindsight I should have used my Visa card and gone to a 5 star hotel (I did find one with vacancies, but it was US$140 a night, and I couldnt even figure out how to use the ATMs). Instead, i eventually went with this young couple who ...

... person for the changed continental flight and an extra day in Caracas, most of which was spent in or near the airport and another meal in TGIF's (Their food is appalling). Our re planned schedule gave us a bonus stop for two nights in Los Angeles and a few more days in Fiji. So now everything has been delayed by a week till we get to South East Asia. Which isn't that bad really. I'm just very happy that we survived it all, one with fewer bruises than the other!

After considerable delays getting to Canaima, eventually landed and got on some boats to a refuge upriver towards the Angel Falls (highest waterfalls in the world - 970m high for those unfamiliar with it). Had a very pleasant walk up to the Angel Falls the following day. A lot of rain provided us with a spectacular view despite being in the dry season. Returned to Canaima to celebrate the New Years. Strange to be in a little back water ...

... didn't seem to c*re *bout their bites or the monkey's obvious *nd incre*sing distress. It w*s re*lly upsetting, to those of us who noticed. R*chel got * video of it *nd it could re*lly qu*lify *s *nim*l *buse the w*y they're m*nh*ndling *nd tossing *round the poor cre*ture. L*ter *t supper we *ctu*lly ended up sitting with * nurse who got re*lly p*nicky *bout the monkey bites especi*lly when she he*rd th*t the *nim*l th*t g*ve them w*s *cting str*ngely. So we did our best to ...