Bleary eyed we stumbled off the night bus into the huge metropolis that is Caracas - I am sure Julie really enjoyed spending her birthday evening travelling 800km. We jumped in a taxi and headed to our hotel passing a skyscraper with a huge red mug on top of it advertising Nescafe, it must have been 20 feet high, it left me craving one so it obviously worked. There are no hostels in Caracas so we are staying centrally at the Hotel El Conde, which according to the Lonely Planet is a budget hotel, well I can tell you it isn't. It costs 390BF a night, that is 140 quid, comfortably our most expensive accomodation on the trip but as we have limited time in the city we wanted to be central. Most backpackers we have met stayed in Altomira where hotels are less than half that for a double room, unfortunately the three we tried to get into were full. Nonetheless the El Conde is quite nice and an old chap called Carlos on reception helped us with local information and storing our bags for the few days when we go to Canaima National Park to visit Angel Falls, which we have now thankfully sorted...we hope.

I can certainly recommend people if you are wanting to get to Canaima and Angel Falls and also to sort other tours, we have been through the mill while in Venezuela and the following people and companies really helped . Ben at Osprey Expeditions in Caracas, despite our call at the last minute, bent over backwards to help us quickly and efficiently and sorted us an overnight at the base of the Falls. He knows all the tour companies and speaks excellent English. In Merida the guys at Guamanchi Expeditions were straight talkers, not pushy and very professional, they even helped us with information on finding cash machines that take foreign cards. Also, Kia at Caiman Tours in Jaji near Merida was great.

As for Caracas, it's not the prettiest of places, even the central square Plaza Bolivar with its small cathedral was a bit of a let down though it looked nicer in the evening when it was lit. We had a good day walking around but numerous things were closed to the public. These included the Mirador Torre Oueste, the 52nd floor open air lookout, which has been closed for months and no-one could tell us why or when it will reopen. The Nacional Capitol building was also closed. The Museum of Contemporary Art was a good find though, it is free and has a great collection of Picasso's, and works from Francis Bacon and Matisse . We also loved the wonderful photographic exhibition that was being shown, powerful and positive imagery of the people of South America. The Panteon Nacional was a lovely building and to the West of Plaza Bolvar there are some nice looking colonial style buildings but apart from that the place seems very run down.

Many people have told us of the dangers of Caracas and for the first time on this trip we felt a little bit weary as we walked around, we took no chances and left all valuables in the hotel, taking just enough money to get through the day. There seem to be a lot of people hanging around looking dodge. We also passed a number of boisterous rallies happening around the city in support of the plight of the Palestinian people following the events in the Gaza strip. We stood with a large group listening to the live music and the speakers fire the crowd for a while.

In the evening we decided to head to an old cinema we had seen just off the main plaza, it had a limited choice but cost only 5BF - a bargain, possibly the only one we have foind in Venezuela. We watched "Australia" with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, it was pretty average but passed the time, though if you ask Julie she will tell you it was great. Afterwards we walked quickly back to our hotel avoiding eye contact with the various drunks loitering around the streets.

So we head to Canaima National Park to see Angel Falls tomorrow, we hope the pain of all the organising was worth it.