We were told that Caracas was big, ugly, unfriendly and dangerous. I am sure it is all those things but we went along determined to make the best of our time there. We were staying at the Hotel Floresta at Altamira. We had an 8th floor room with a great view. And a fridge! Our first job on arriving was to book a hotel near the airport for the night of the 30th. We had a very early flight and were warned that the road to the airport was dangerous at night. Only trouble was that because it was Copa America [View Full Entry]

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We have now started our vacation trip. The destination this time is Venezuela. We first arrived in Caracas. We have heard a few horror stories from Caracas such as people getting robbed already at the airport, Caracas being the city with the highest murder rate in Latin America and taxi drivers being criminals. Well, the last statement maybe isn´t a surprise. Taxi drivers are criminals all over the World. But the over all crime rate is supposed to be very high and not even in the airport a tourist can feel safe. We decided to play it safe and stay only [View Full Entry]

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7 till 8 juni: Ett dygn i Caracas i Venezuela. Vi var radda, vi hade last att det skulle vara en av varldens mest kriminellt belastade och farliga stader. Eftersom vi inte hade lyckats ordna med boende i forvag gick vi direkt till en turistinformation pa flygplatsen. Efter det gick allt valdigt smidigt. Hotellet vi bokade hade fri upphamtning och avlamning fran flygplatsen och lag dessutom relativt nara den. Hungriga satte vi oss pa hotellets restaurang och chockades av priserna, en pastaratt kostade ca 17000 och en kottratt ca 40000 bolivar. Lite inflation manne? Det var svart att fa reda [View Full Entry]

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UntitledThird time lucky. I caught the plane. Delayed waiting for final passenger. Typical. Meant I had all of ten minutes to savour Milan Malpensa airport while running for Alitalia flight 666. Seriously. And I watch Lost so I know all about planes and funny numbers. Food on first plane - n/a, fell asleep Coffee on second plane - good Food on second plane - chicken crepe, strange Coffee at Caracas airport - good, small Coffee in Caracas in general - good, small Food in Caracas 1 - Hamburguesa Pollo. Brilliant. Fat with egg, ham, cheese etc. F [View Full Entry]

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Caracas, Venezuela May 4-9, 2007 After spending 24 hours on a bus and stopping for several military checks travelling from Cartagena to Caracas, we arrived stiff and sore to the Venezuelan capital. I have to admit that I was also relieved to arrive safe and sound as we heard unpleasant comments about crossing the Colombia-Venezuela border. Unfortunately, my first impressions of Caracas were darkened by the "non-welcoming" attitude of its inhabitants. I had the impression that because I am white I was automatically classified as a gringo. And believe me, it is not a good thing being [View Full Entry]

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3 years in the making and my travelling has final begun!!! After very little sleep on Thursday night we got the plane to Caracas via Madrid. The flight to Madrid was not really eventful but on the next leg we met some quite interesting, and very drunk, Venezuelans. Most said we were mad going, 4 teens who couldn't speak Spanish, pretty much making out we were going to die as soon as we left the airport... Lucky for us Dan had a man in Caracas who sorted out a cab for us and we arrived safely at our Hotel in quite [View Full Entry]

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Antligen framme. Resan via Paris gick bra tills jag kom fram till Caracas flygfalt. Hur kan man missa en passkontroll? Hursomhelst, jag promenerade automatiskt efter alla andra passagerare och kom till bagage upplockningen, sedan genom tullen och ut fran terminalen. Sedan slog det mig att jag inte hade fatt nagot stampel i mitt pass, for att inte tala om att nagon skulle ens ha tittat pa det! Eftersom jag inte ville vara en olaglig immigrant borjade jag reda ut saken pa min annu lite handikappade spanska, och efter tre timmar pa flygfaltet hade jag fatt mitt stampel. Jag hade bara pa [View Full Entry]

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Although we were warned about the dangers of caracas, we were happy to find it free of tourists which allowed us to really soak up this politically charged country. for months, we had seen the defiant el presidente chavez shake his fists in the face of democracy and we were eager to see life from inside.....how locals had been "touched" by his social reforms. one thing was clear...his campaign and propoganda budget had no limits. it was impossible to turn your head in any direction without seeing his face plastered on either a wall, tree, bridge, car, bus,..you get the picture. [View Full Entry]

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Jouluna ei paasty surffaamaan, mutta sen sijaan mahtavina paalle vyoryvat aallot antoivat kerrassaan mainion tilaisuuden aivan uuteen lajiin-bodysurfingiin! Odotetaan mahdollisimman isoa aaltoa (ihanteellinen tilanne on jos kaksi tai kolme aaltoa murtuu yhtaaikaa) ja sitten hypataan kuohuihin mukaan ja melotaan niin kovaa kuin jaksaa. Valilla saatiin tosi pitkat patkat hyrykyytia kuohuissa. Kaiken taman seurauksena suolaa ja hiekkaa oli tietysti kaikki paikat taynna, mutta mitapa tuo nyt haittaisi. Venezuelalainen joulu eroaa ainakin ajoituksensa puolesta. Koko joulukuun odotin milloin jou [View Full Entry]

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Good Morning to All!!! Today is Christmas. Although with the lack of snow, the 28degree weather, and the babies STILL waking up at 3am, it really doesn´t quite feel like it. Even so, this is the best place I can be right now - the kids are full of hugs and kisses (boogers and spit and all) love and the need for attention. It´s perfect! We´ve been celebrating Christmas for the last 2 weeks with a party almost every day! I think there have been only 2-3 days where we haven´t had someone come here and drop of bags and bags [View Full Entry]

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