Hi everyone,

We are more than a week into our big trip.

We left Dublin on Sunday 29th June on the first leg our round the world trip. We had a great send off with Rachael, Gareth, Des, Olive, Eileen, Nicole & Stephen there to see us on our way, or maybe it was to make sure we went. As we arrived in Madrid it was a lovely balmy evening & Madrid had just won the European Cup final beating Germany 1 - 0. There was great celebrating in Madrid that night. We enjoyed the atmosphere, it was a great start to our trip.

We arrived in Caracas, Venezuela from Madrid on Sunday afternoon 30th June 2008. A 9 hour journey. The journey was very pleasant and smooth. We were well fed & watered during the flight. Iberia looked after us very well.

We spent the night (30/06/08) in a lovely hotel in Caracas about 40 mins from the airport. Arriving at the airport was an unbelievable experience. We had been told about it & we read about it but nothing would have really prepared us for it. First the paperwork is crazy. While on the plane we were given customs forms to fill in . The questions were "how many items of clothing have you got" and "what is the value of them" or "do you have a tv" and "what is the value" now I thought who in God's name would bring a tv from Madrid to Venezeula? To my surprise I saw a lady struggle with a very large box, yes you guessed it - it was a large tv - (can't remember the size)!!!!!!!!!! Other questions were "do you have medication" "What is the value of this medication" Other questions were about jewellery and how many pieces of jewellary we had & of course the value. When we go to the customs they took the form but never looked at it.

We were also give forms to fill out for our visa which was ok. When we got to off the plane we had to go to passport control and then to immigration. There were about 50 booths, all open for business, but it still took about an hour to get through. We got our entry tourist visa and went then to collect our luggage. But there were not enough trolies to go around. We were unable to obtain one.

Bags finally arrived and out we went to be suddenly pounced on by guys offering to carry our bags, get taxis, change money, find us a hotel etc. Now we had been warned that this would happen but WOW, so sudden. Anyway we survived and found ourselves a taxi and hotel. The danger is that these guys would carry your bags (very helpful) and change your money (give you dud money) get you a taxi (leave you stranded in an isolated place without your possessions) and/or drop you off at a dodgy hotel where anything could happen. On the internet, Caracas has been described as the 4th least friendly capital city in the world.

We spent the night in a hotel called Ole Caribe 30/06/08) who sent their own taxi to pick us up. This turned out to be a limo - very nice. The hotel was expensive but safe.

The following morning (01/07/08) we were up bright & early at 6am.Children were going to school in Caracas at this early hour. Off to the bus station by taxi only to find that we were left at the wrong bus station. We were going to Puerto de la Cruz to get a ferry to the island of Margarita. Tony went to find out where the correct bus station was and I minded the bags (I tied them all together in case anyone tried to run off with one of them, it would be difficult to run off with 3 heavy bags tied together) Anyway Tony came back with a taxi driver who said he would take us to the correct bus station for 25 bolivers. He was very helpful and courteous. When we got to the correct bus station Tony gave him a 50 Bolivar note, and got no change !!!! The guy just said,' OK'. We made a mental note to make sure we have smaller notes next time. The taxi driver also wanted us to allow his mate to drive us all the way to Puerto de la Cruz for 70 Bolivars. The bus was 94 Bolivars and a 5 hour journey. We politely declined the unbelievable offer. We could not understand why anyone would drive 5 hours there and back for 70 bolivars (Euro 15.50). It did not seem credible. We passed up on the 0ffer. It sounded too good to be true.......despite the fact that fuel such as petrol and diesel is cheaper in price than drinking water in this country.


When we got into the bus station to buy our tickets we had to produce our passports to get the tickets. All our details were printed on the ticket, even our passport no. Then we had to produce our passports with the tickets again to get into the queue to get on the bus. Then again we had to produce our passports with the tickets to get on the bus. We met some lovely people while waiting for the bus. One young man told us what to do with our luggage as you are not allowed to put it on the bus yourself. You have to produce your ticket and leave your luggage in a luggage area. They attach a luggage docket to your ticket and they look after your bags from then on. You will not get your luggage unless your produce the ticket and luggage ticket. This guy gave us his email address in case we needed help with anything. His english was very good. Then we met a lovely lady (who also had very good English) who stayed with us till we go on the bus. She explained why you need to show your passport so often. Even Venezuelans have to show their ID cards which they have to carry with them from the age of 9. She said that some people buy the tickets for the bus and then sell them at a highter price to foreigners like us who do not know the ropes. So you produce the passport and information is on the ticket. So getting on the bus the ticket checker will look at both and make sure it is legit. The lady we met went to her seat on the bus upstairs and we went to our seat downstairs (all seats are allocated). She speaks to her husband and she says he is going to pick her up from the bus and he will give us a lift to the ferry office in Puerto de la Cruz. They gave us the name of a safe hotel for the night (Hotel Rivera) and warned us not be on the streets after 6pm as it was dangerous for tourists. They also gave us their phone nos in case of difficulty.

We went to the ferry office and they would only let one of us in. Again Tony went in and I waited outside with the bags. We got the ferry tickets and a taxi and off to the recommended hotel for the night (01/07/08). As the ferry was going at 8am and we had to be there at 7am we got up at 6am(02/07/08). We booked a taxi for 6.30 but it arrived at 6.15am. All going well so far. We got to the ferry terminal at 6.25am. Got sandwiches and coke and waited. Finally we got on the ferry. As it turned out we were sitting near an English man and his Venezuelan wife. They were very helpful to us. They own a holiday appartment on the island and were on their way there with some English friends for a week. They also gave us their email address and asked us to keep them informed of our trip.

When we got off the ferry we got a taxi to the hotel Portofino (an all inclusive hotel) where we stayed for 2 nights (02 & 03/07/08). We needed this because we had not stopped travelling for 3 days and needed to chill.

The temperature here is a constant 27 -29 degrees all year round. Having said that it was 32 degrees today. There is little differnece between day time temp and night time. Humidity is very high. It starts to get dark at 6pm and by 6.30pm night has closed in. There is little or no twilight

This country is potentially one of the wealthiest in the world. It is the 4th or 5th lagest producer and exporter of oil and gas in the world. It has hugh coal and mineral reserves.But there seems to be a big social disparity between classes. Not surprising, perhaps, when one considers the way this country was run by a privileged oligarch in the past. This past decade has seen some attempt at social cohesion but much, very much, remains to be done. From first impressions, it seems about half the population lives in very poor housing conditions. There is little or no public transport and inflation is severe compared to Europe but alongway better than most African countries.

The land itself is very green, coconut trees fringe the beaches and the country has a tropical climate. Alot of people seem to work hard. Open trucks can be seen ferrying workers, generally men, to and from employment each morning and evening. The races, those of European extraction, creoles, indians, those of mixed race and blacks seem to live in reasonable harmony, with little overt signs of discrimination.

We booked into Casa Trudel B&B (Posada) for 17 nights, This place is owned and run by Dan O'Brien (you will be forgiven for thinking he is Irish) and his wife Kira, Dan is Canadian (he tells us his grandfather was from Cork) and Kira is Venezuelan. You can find this place on the internet. It is clean, safe and friendly. The beach is only 200 mtrs from here and the shops are a short walk. We will stay here until the 21st July and soak up the atmosphere. We will then travel to Lima in Peru where we will meet up with our Peruvian friends Maria Elena and Gonzalo and spend 3 or 4 days with them, We are going to fly from the island to Caracas and not go back by ferry, taxi, bus, and taxi again. In Caracas, the two airports national and international are near one another but are located about 28 kms (about 18 miles) outside the capital. It makes sense, therefore, to fly back direct (45 mins) rather than take a plethora of transport forms.

There is great poverty here. It appears not to be as bad here as on the mainland. The houses are poorly constructed and the cars are unbelievable. The worst I have ever seen. It appears that no one ever repairs cars here. Rubbish is dumped indiscriminately around the streets and stray dogs scavenge everywhere. The food is ok, it is edible but not french cuisine, The people we met are friendly and polite. There is no rush and everyone seems to be a bit laid back.

Sunday seems to be family day. The beach was full of families. There is great interaction between parents and children and grandparents. The children were happy and playful. The adults spend a lot of time with the children playing and talking with them.

Now that we have set this up we will keep you informed more often and keep it shorter. We will also add some photos too.