Las Americas Caracas

... as we moved up the by then swift-flowing stream we realized that a strange, unidentifiable noise was growing progressively louder and louder. After what seemed several hundred yards the noise became a roar as we entered a place where the small canyon expanded magically into a circular room-like opening perhaps fifty feet across. Except for the slot canyon itself, the space was totally enclosed by vertical, reddish-brown rock walls. The noise was generated by an incredible ...

... yet, as the slum extends away from the center of town and closer to the airport. The slums are always on the way to the airport. They are there to greet you when you arrive, and they are there to bid you a farewell, one last glimpse of this land before you jet yourself out of it. The slums are really hard to miss. They go for miles and miles, squeezed tightly ...

... a few sites.. the plaza Altamira was gorgeous, and the scenery was beautiful. Being a tourist in the city did make us feel a bit uncomfortable as everyone was staring at the "gringos". But still a very good experience. Venezuela is like no other country I´ve ever been to. At night.. red lights become merely stop signs and in traffic.. really.. anything goes.. the shoulder is just another lane. Cabs requirments are working brakes, and engine. Jean and his family lived in an upscale ...

... clear that there is a lot of polarisation - you are either a hardcore Si or No...This is understandable because you either believe in socialist and egalitarian ends or not. So far, the reforms look like they would enhance democracy. In fact some of the local councils that have already been established look like they are here to stay, and they not only serve the Chavistas - there are many people from the opposition gaining power and mobilizing people through these democratic councils.

... kidnap capital of the world. Got checked in and went to the gate and met with as arranged with fellow travelers. The onward plan to El-Tigre was late in, in fact it turned out, it had not left due to storms. It then left, then it arrived, now at least 3-4 hours late. Never mind we would get there anyway. Actually no. We could not depart for El-Tigre at this time due to the same storms. So we wait, it is now ...

... to the ticket office to be told that this company didn´t run to Merida but 2 other ´reliable´ companies did - at 2 seperate locations, or there was one of the 2 bus terminals that would have buses going in that direction. ****, it was 7pm and we had to take pot luck. We decided on one company that a couple of people had said were the best and took a very expensive taxi there. Once there we were told that their buses to Merida ws fully booked for ...

Waved Adios to the crew of the SV Illusion and took a taxi in the afternoon to Trinidad airport to sleep for the night. Flight check-in was 5am and a nightime taxi is 50 percent more, so we bedded down in the airport. ---Sleeping in Trinidad Airport--- Comfortable rating 2/10 Ambient noise 8/10 Food & Drink availability 5/10 Alltogher a Team Cooper overall rating of; *** Acceptable *** Arrived in Caracas with two ...

... beer ice cold, sometimes half frozen in small 250ml bottles so it never gets cold. the beer it sells (polar ice) is also a top drop so i recommend it to anyone! we stayed at the bar until after close (still in the same seats)and had a top chat with the barman and his wife. The next day we couldn't handle another night out so we headed up the coast to gringo heaven, el agua beach. When we arrived we walked around a bit until we found a cheap room for the next ...

... waterfalls in our lunch hour. There was a chap that lived up at the old hacienda who had lived there for about 30 years. During our trek we picked fresh mandarins and passion fruit from the trees, saw coco growing. We managed to see a few monkeys in the wild too. Next we set off for our first camping at Barinas which saw us all hopping round at 3am to pull the fly sheets on to our tents because it was hot and we thought it didn't look like rain so we left them off ...

... of metropolitan Caracas. Huge high rise buildings, fancy malls and restaurants characterize this part of the city. We walked for a long while, just taking in the city, heading east in the general direction of a huge park called El Parque del Este. On the way we dodged into a fancy mall called Sambil to try to find something to eat. We found lots of fast food- Wendy's (which are everywhere in Venezuela) Pizza Hut, and others...but luckily we also found a Venezuelan ...