Caracas

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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.
Food in Caracas 2 - Menu del Dia in Lebanese place. Soup good. Lasagne thing fair.
Biscuits Eleanor left in bag - crushed.

It took 3 hours for the bus ride into town from the airport because a bridge collapsed last year. Favelas stretching for miles. Caracas is a "Slap in the face" according to both my guidebooks. I love it.

Tried to get a bus to Merida. Buses only go to Maracaibo. OK I said, I´ll go there instead. So that´s where I´m going tomorrow. Slowly getting to Cartagena, God knows what I´ll do after I get there.

Espagnol improving. Haven´t met any English speakers yet which is good. Chats:

1.

Visa?
Nationality Irish, Country of residence UK, country of origin Italia
OK, seems fine, go on through

2.

She, seeing Spanish phrasebook (thanks Cris): Spanish is not an easy language.
I: no, it´s not easy for me, I am thick. I´m not American though, I´m Irish and live in UK
She: I have a daughter studying in Birmingham
I: (looking out bus window) this place is nice (I don´t know much else and don´t want to offend)
She: no, it´s crap.

3. (National Museum full of Chavist propaganda, an old emotional man notices I´m puzzled and a gringo)

He: you´re not Venezuelan
I: no, Irish
He: ah! let me show you everything there is to know about my country! (leads me round the museum telling me about his country´s violent history and it´s all about the Benjamins and oil. Gesture with fist, Chavez is the only honest one).

y other minor chats about food.

Was so tired when I arrived. Sat in room for a few hours last night with a beer. TV here is wack. Telenovelas all over the place and Latino versions of MTV shows. Chavez has his own chat show. Most adverts on tube etc are for the government.

My hotel´s within a block of a Burger King, a McDonald´s and a Wendy´s. I love experiencing different cultures.

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo: HUGE Henry Moore sculpture.

People selling stuff EVERYWHERE. People want US dollars EVERYWHERE. I have some photos but this cafe won´t allow me to use the USB thingy. I´ll try to put them up later.

I LOVE IT.

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