A bit more Venezuela nd Bogota

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We arrived in Bogota, Colombia on Saturday but before I write about that I thought I would give a quick summary on Venezuela. So here it is…

The good bits….

· Surprisingly good food (except at the ranch). We ate very well for very little money. They serve a lot of beef but also chicken etc. Lots of corn based stuff including corn breads like arepas. The largest avocados we have ever seen, also other interesting fruits and veggies. Very tasty soups

· Brilliant guides who were delighted to help and go the extra mile including changing money for us at black market rates

· Very under developed tourism with hardly any other Brits, no Americans and a few Germans

· Very few people speak English

· Great and fascinating countryside with brilliant and undisturbed wildlife at the ranch

The bad bits….

· A mad government backed by a nasty National Guard

· A real divide between rich and poor. The poor are very poor

· With fuel costing virtually nothing, heavily congested and polluted roads with no control over vehicles. So if it will move – you can drive it whatever the state it’s in

The ugly bits…

· Corruption

· Being aware of the threat of violence if you are dressed up

· A lot of women have very large bottoms

Summary… We had a brilliant time in Venezuela, it was a real adventure and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Will probably never go back though.

Now to Bogota…

Like a lot of South America, Bogota has very poor bits and very affluent bits. We are staying in the historic old town which in truth is a bit grubby and shabby. We have done the main sights including the cable car to the top of Monserrat, the very good gold museum, the Botero gallery and a visit to a couple of swanky upmarket shopping centres in the Zona Rosa (the affluent part of town).

Aside from a meal in an upmarket and brilliantly themed (and expensive) grill restaurant where my fledgling Spanish failed me and I ended up in the ladies toilet, nothing much to interest blog readers.

We leave for Villa De Leiva tomorrow.

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