Hotel Centro Lido Caracas

... companies really helped. Ben at Osprey Expeditions in Caracas, despite our call at the last minute, bent over backwards to help us quickly and efficiently and sorted us an overnight at the base of the Falls. He knows all the tour companies and speaks excellent English. In Merida the guys at Guamanchi Expeditions were straight talkers, not pushy and very professional, they even helped us with information on finding cash machines ...

... is driving these busted V8´s around. $1.50!!!! Hi all, Amy here. David has given a pretty acurate description of what it is like here. It has been an interesting experience so far and I have really enjoyed it. By the way, I have acquired skills for cooking for 30 people so if anyone needs a chef for a small wedding or other ocasión just let me know. As Dave has said already we are often left in charge of 5 boys of varying ages. There a couple of older boys in the house ...

The simmering heat remained with me as I left the Orinoco Delta and made my way north towards the Caribbean sea. Even the local people were feeling it and the it was not uncommon to see children playing in portable swimming pools and picnics by the river but my favourite scene was a woman lying in a hammock cooling herself down with a garden hose - absolutely classic! <br><br>Beaches <br>Being the Easter break things were a lot busier than ...

... but weren´t dismayed by the results. They said that in the longer term they will win. Its strange...there really seems to be a strong understanding amongst the Chavistas that they need to be calm and supportive...and cannot react to the opposition. Their unity is unbelievable too. A lot of Chavistas actually voted "No" too, as there are certain elements of the reforms and the way in which Chavez is pushing them they don´t agree with. Well at least this is acting as a ...

... 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 ...

... faced with a trip on the night bus to Merida but Homero kindly dropped us off that evening at the station which was in the pits of Caracas and made sure we got on the bus safely. For some reason the bus companies like their buses well air conditionned and I seriously think that people that are planning on doing any expeditions to the Arctic should do a few bus trips over here as it would prepare them well!

So I disembark and contrary to the hundreds of Caracas horror stories I´ve heard I'm through immigration in a flash and soon find myself in an air conditioned car on my way to a fiesta. I quickly realise how terrible my Spanish is trying to communicate with Ronaldo the driver of the family I'll be staying with but I manage to figure out that I have the option of going straight to the house or to a music festival hmmm.... So after a 2 hour ride through heavy traffic he deposits me at the ...

... that Simon Bolivar was born in which was beautiful and wonderfully kept plus it was free. Are getting stared at quite a lot here as there are not a lot of tourists around. Have also spent a while trying to get somewhere to upload photos which we thought we had found but is taking ages. But have met several very helpful people on the way which has made us feel quite at home here. Went for lunch off one of the plazas ...

... 30 minutes to get there it took us 3 and a half hours as the doomed highway bridge had broken due to the heavy rains of the past few weeks. Then the kind officials made me empty my backpack for a security check - something the paranoid US officials had even declined. Then a few more kicks in the balls followed just for good measure just so I never forget Venezuela as my worst country visited to date. Finally was out of there on my way to Miami.

... d*y ($20 US e*ch). Considering th*t the going r*te is $10 (US) to C*r*c*s *nd *nother 10 to get home *nd we h*d Jesus *t our beck *nd c*ll *lllllll d*y, we got * gre*t de*l! First thing we did w*s drive to C*r*c*s, or r*ther, we tried to drive to C*r*c*s, Jesus's c*r broke down/overhe*ted in *n underground tunnel *nd we st*lled up tr*ffic *nd everything, it w*s re*lly sc*ry. But he got it working *g*in *nd we he*ded off, only slightly terrified. First we went to the bot*nic*l g ...