La Fontana Bogota

... 8220; ist in 3 Niveles unt**teilt. Die Kids sind, wenn sie neu kommen **st in Nivel 1 und je nachdem, wie sie sich v**halten kommen sie dann in Nivel 2 od** 3. Was genau die Vorteile von den höh**en Nivels sind, auß** dass man mehr V**antwortung z.B. in den einzelnen Zonen hat, hab ich noch nicht so ganz rausgefunden. =) Ja gut, den höh**en Nivels wird auch mehr V**trauen entgegengebracht, sie dürfen in die Schule und auch arbeiten od** eine Ausbildung machen, wenn sie etwas finden.<br ...

... police history. It was free entry, so we tipped our guide. He spoke very good english and told us that every boy has to do one year in the police or army, and that if they want to stay in the police force they have to pay for it. This is basically because they guarantee full time employment once they are in the police and so many of them need and want the work that they can afford to charge them for it. <br>After the police museum we visited the museum of ...

... We passed through some dreary looking but very busy streets and came into view of the Plaza Bolivar. It was magnificent, a large open area flanked on all four sides by grand 18th Century buildings, it had a very similar feel to St Marks square in Venice, or Trafalgar square in London. It was enough to take your breath away. The plaza appeared to be filled by other locals, perhaps Columbian tourists and ...

... it took me about 45 minutes on the very crowded bus. When the bus arrived at Portal Norte, I got off and literally stumbled onto the minibus to Zipa. I will say that these minibuses are total luxury compared to what I encountered last summer in Central America. They were full on minibuses with ample leg room, my own comfy seat, and a limited number of stops. Wow! <br><br>Zipa was a quaint town with a beautiful main square. The cathedral was made of bricks and was so lovely I ...

... up, playing records and drinking rum until the sun came up. Amazing time playing back to back with the world's best Dj. What a privilege. About 745 am, I ended up taxi-ing it back to Luis apartment across town and slept a few hours. Then woke up to a nice thunderstorm, and the short burst of rain that Bogota constantly provides. Spent the day relaxing and recovering from my first party in a foreign city. It was one of the best to say the least. Saturday, I enjoyed watching my ...

... agency, it still had higher prices that in country booking, but that was the only way for me, since i had so few time to arrive on site and solve transportation and lodging, that I didn't want to risk the trip. I used Roquemar travel agency, they are located inside the Maiquetia international airport arrival and I negotiated to pay them only on arrival (nothing in advance) I think they accepted because what low season My Package included: flight, lodge with full pension ...

... so instead of going out and partying I spend an edgy couple of days behind the razor wire as the tension mounts. On Sunday we're up before dawn to head straight to the voting center with my excited hosts where we join a massive queue of people waiting for the doors to open eager to rid themselves of El Dictator. Lanky Reservas with pimply faces and machine guns as big as they are patrol the grounds while airforce officers preside. Everything ...

... one of thousands of things. There are little areperias all over the place. In Los Llanos we often had them for breakfast, filled with scrambled eggs and cheese. In Puerto Colombia and Los Llanos we ate great fresh fish - and our guide in Los Llanos was a professional chef so he made some great dishes with them. There was a great local smoked cheese that we had a few times - for lunch while we were canyoning, and in Los Llanos. It comes in a round block, like brie, and it's got ...

... but we got there just on time... Phew! We reached the front of the check-in queue only to be told (after much punching of computer keyboards and puzzled looks) that we were NOT booked onto the Iberia flight to Madrid. WHAT?! Our paper tickets were whisked away into a back office, and after a few phone calls, the manager returned and explained that someone had cancelled our flight. After a few more calls she established that that someone was LanChile - their system had ...

... Instead of rebuilding, the government decided to relocate the people to the squatters leaving the town abandoned forever. The mudslides of 1999 took 50,000 Venezuelan lives. I will remember Venezuela for its jagged coastlines, pristine beaches, friendly locals, and overcrowd cities. The poor people of Venezuela need help and assistance. We can only hope that Chavez keeps to his word and helps out his own people. Note: To view my pictures, go to http://community.webshots.com/user/ezli fe228