Going to Caracas

On my early morning ride to the airport I watch the the mist drifting in from the mountains and casting a warm glow over the city. It makes me a little sad to be leaving Quito as I've enjoyed the past few days here. I'm also slightly nervous about going to Caracas and wondering if I'm going to have to stay holed up in my hotel room the entire time, or if the danger aspect is exaggerated.

I've never heard of Santa Barbara Airlines and am wondering if it's the cowboy airline of Venezuela. At check-in I overhear a guard telling the people in front that they can't take water, cream or liquids in their hand luggage. I have all of these things in my bag so I ask him if it applies to sunscreen. He asks me where I'm going. When I answer 'Caracas' he laughs and says 'Oh, they don't care about that there'. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

I'm completely paranoid when I arrive in Caracas airport and break into a slight run (very difficult with my backpack) every time someone approaches me for money exchange or taxis. As I have no local currency (bolivars) I head to the bank and try to take some money out of the cash machine. It says 'thank you very much - please take your money' but hasn't dispensed any. Stupidly I try the transaction again thinking I perhaps didn't read the instructions properly but it does the same thing. Inside the bank they assure me it won't be debited from my account. Lonely Planet says differently! LP also says that a taxi to the city centre should cost around USD 15 so I almost have a heart attack when I'm quoted 70. Not liking Caracas much so far. Have been warned about taking an unofficial taxi, of which there are lots, so I bite the bullet and after much negotiation agree to pay USD 40 to my hotel in Sabana Grande.

On the way into town I pass by a sprawling shanty town and remember that Caracas has the unfortunate honour of having one of the largest slums in the world, or so I've been told. It's also the fastest growing capital in Latin America having grown from 350,000 people to nearly five million in the last 50 years.

Not sure what I expected but Caracas is hillier and greener than I had envisaged. It's also modern, fast-paced and hot. Skyscrapers mixed in with a hotchpotch of randomly-shaped buildings dominate the skyline. It's messy, not pretty and feels like a shabbier version of Rio. Despite oil money being pumped into modernising the city, the disparity between rich and poor is evident, as in many of the countries in South America.

(Photo - Botanical Gardens, Caracas)