Blogs from Altamira , Caracas, Capital, Venezuela, South America

Hello again, Been meaning to get onto this for a while and just keep putting it off as there are sooooo many people around me who are sooo much better at writing. But hey, this was never meant to be good writing - just a way to keep in touch with the people I love. And so. People I love, I hope you are well and happy and not suffering the January Blues too much now. Loving all the wintery photos from my beloved Edinburgh, including that nuts sky high ride what fell down on the ground and such! You crazies. Last time I wrote, I was waiting for Ben and Omar to arrive and to see a little bit more of this beautiful country. And that we did. Turns out I hadn't communicated particularly well ... read more

Wednesday was a funny old day. In the hotel lobby for 5:00am for someone to take us to Havana Airport for a 9:00am Caracas flight. The airport is only 30 minutes away but the guide insisted on a pick up at 5. After two heated calls someone eventually shows up at just before 6. Getting out of Cuba is a laugh. It takes 2 hours to check in, pay departure tax, clear emigration, get past security etc. The national airline is broke so it runs old Russian made planes. My chair is broken, the toilets are disgusting and abysmal would praise the in-flight meal. But the plane does make it to Caracas. Met at the airport by our guide Ludwig. He tells us he’ll change our dollars to Bolivars. The official rate is $1= 4.07 Bolivars. ... read more

My first public note in this blog. I have been thinking and about and planning this trip for quit a while; probably as long as I have been thinking about retiring.... Both occasions have arrived and I feel somewhat tense and anxious. I have been prepairing physically very hard for this trip going to the gym in the morning and in the afternoon walking with a backpack most of the days. In the weekends long walks in El Avila (12-15 km). I hope that that I am prepared. My trip officially starts on Monday the 24th when I will be traveling to Madrid and later (Tuesday) connecting to Pamplona and Roncesvalles where I will spend the night. I have chosen to stay in Roncevalles and to take a taxi to St Jean Pied de Port early ... read more

und wenn nicht alles gut ist, dann ist es auch nicht das Ende. Passenderweise ist dies tatsächlich nicht das Ende, sondern der Anfang meiner Reise, und so stört es kaum, dass derzeit wenig mit dem Attribut „gut“ versehen werden kann Bei nicht allzu besonderer Gesundheit am Flughafen ankommend konnte ich zunächst feststellen, dass meine Kreditkarte nicht mehr funktionierte – das eigens für die Reise heruntergesetzte Limit war scheinbar überschritten. Ein kurzer Anruf bei der Bank sollte das ganze eigentlich beheben. In Caracas angekommen konnte ich jedoch feststellen, dass eine Limiterhöhung wohl grade doch nicht mehr drin war. Budget-Reisen par force majeure also! Nur gut, dass der Flug dafür überbucht war und dieser daher mit einer halbstündigen Verspätung erst gen Caracas abhob. Meine Spanischkenntnisse hatte ich scheinbar auch überschätzt – zumindest verstand ich kein Wort der u ... read more

Hellooooooooo So it has been quite some time since I've blogged or whatever. Never really seems like there's much to say, but I suppose I should give it a go! I left off in November I think before the awesomeness that was Britney. Awesome it was! The Zuelans are mental at a pop gig! Hilarious. Epic journey to get there, one where we genuinely thought that the taxi driver was taking us somewhere remote to kill us. Nice. Got there safe and sound, however, and had a great time. Ignore the reviews, she's wonderful. End of. Christmas term brought lots of rain to Caracas, flooding the roads and meant that school was shut for about a week. The mighty Chavez decides that if one school has to close due to flooding, then we all do! Happy ... read more