fresh n juicy chunks of oyster :: RTW travel blog

To be honest, Caracas ain't all bad - then again it ain't much great either: dirty, poor and depressing in most parts, pretty dodgy in others; scarily rich with huge villas and estates just a few metro stops east from the centre, a few stops the other way and you find conditions similar to parts of urban Nigeria. Not entirely pleasant.
But hey, I did not come here only to complain, so here are the fun activities. Then again I didn't come here with fun in mind, so maybe all is good.
There's the almost beautiful Parque del Este with a small zoo inside and activities for kids - however, it seems to be desolate during the day and entirely populated by lovers and skiving school kids.
The major other things that seem worth 'sightseeing' for are shrines, birthplace and everything else devoted to Simón Bolivár, a South American independence hero and the object of an almost unhealthy adoration by Venezuelans, as widely advertised in graffitis. The most entertaining one I spotted said something to the effect of Bolívar kicking Bush and Blair's asses (presumably after turning over in his grave or something).
Anyway, I feel that I've had my fair share of Caracas and am happy to be moving on tomorrow morning, taking a bus to Ciudad Bolívar, as fate would have it. It's hard to escape him here... Apparently it's a nice town though, lying next to the Orinoco river and with beautiful surrounding areas.
¡Viva Bolívar!

The last night I spent in Berkeley I felt afraid, leaving its creature comforts behind for the unknown. Then in the clear blue California sky the next morning most of those fears evaporated in the bright sunshine. Volunteering for the overbooked flight to Mexico city landed me a free US-domestic flight voucher, an upgrade to first class for part of the way, a free lunch and a short rerouted visit of LA - which is currently covered in a heavy, red and nicotine-coloured smoke.
The whole valley was smothered by the forest fires that have been ravaging the area for the last few days, the Hollywood sign in the hills barely visible. Very creepy. (see picture)
Another stopover followed, this time in Mexico City. This humungous city is the most amazing sight from a plane at night time: seemingly endless, twinkling lights covering the ground like fallen stars in all directions as far as the eye can see. I was moved. And then, when I tried to fall asleep, I became scared again of the unknown and all the horror stories people spread about Caracas.
6 A.M. the next morning, barely having set foot in Caracas and brimming with optimism, I was gently introduced to my fears. My backpack apparently did not make it and may still be in Mexico, I was told. "Come back tomorrow and maybe it's here." Hmph. No cash machine would give me money on any of my cards and one was acting suspiciously, probably stealing my PIN. Everything at the airport was closed as it was too early and I didn't know where I'd stay for the night and how I'd get there. And, for those who don't know, my Spanish sucks.
Way too many bad omens for a city I've been frightened of for the past two days and I hadn't even left the airport. And I was hungry. Hmph.
After two hours of lounging around, waiting for stuff to open up in the airport, the sun finally started to really heat up the air. And with it, all my troubles evaporated, yet again. My bag miraculously appeared (no idea where it was spending its time), the bank opened up and gave me cash, I found a place to sleep, I was nibbling on provisions from the US and stolen from first class, and I wasn't abducted by the infamous 'pirate taxis' everyone keeps chatting about. And my Spanish improved.
I think those are GOOD omens.
Or maybe it means something else, like that I should not be out in the dark. I guess I'm afraid of the dark...

[which may be why I was up in the middle of the night writing overlong travel stories about nothing. Please post a scathing comment below if I should be more succinct in future... ]

Unfortunately I have run out of song titles about California to use in this blog and so I will have to depart.
I will leave behind carved pumpkins to keep Nicole company through Halloween - here I am pictured performing joint meditation exercises with the pumpkins in preparation for dealing with the inevitable culture shock I'll encounter in Caracas in two days. So far all is at peace.
I'll post up first impressions when I find an internet cafe there.

Disclaimer: I do not believe Americans are stupid. However, I'm sure all intelligent Americans will agree with me on the following:
Fact 1: It is an acknowledged fact by mothers everywhere that TV makes you stupid (except for possibly the Discovery Channel).
Fact 2: Many Americans watch way too much rubbish TV.
Fact 3: The incontrovertible, pseudo-scientific proof linking the above two pieces of traditional wisdom. Fox viewers' discretion is advised in following the above link.

I unfortunately have not any earthshattering news to report, but hope the pictures below will do. Still beached in the lovely Bay Area (like a whale enjoying the sunshine), I am possibly becoming a Californian...
The snaps to the left are of San Franciscoan Chinatown with SF's largest pyramid thing building looming in the background; the infamous, twisty Lombard Street - down which only tourists seem to be stupid and willing enough to drive while snapping away -- then again walking up there is no joy either; myself (to prove I'm still alive), chilling in the dark Muir Woods, surrounded by those amazing Redwood tree creature things (whose majestic and thoughtful lives are pretty much impossible to capture on camera or to adequately describe in words); and finally a beautiful vineyard in the Sonoma Valley, in California's 'wine country' -- however, I have to admit that even after a short wine tasting 'education', my taste buds seem still too uneducated to really tell the difference between hints of brambleberry, blueberry, cherry and whatever other flavours connoisseurs invent, excuse me, discover in wines.
Other entertainment in my life is the occasional comedy, political broadcast which keeps me amused (I'm sorry to be droning on about Arnie and Dubya, but these guys just don't get old - especially when they're both in the same room - belly laughs guaranteed!). It's such a shame though that one of them may be out of a job if the economy keeps plummeting and the Iraqis (and recipients of bodybags in the US) keep getting more pissed off until next year. We can all hope for the world not to improve... (God, I guess I am a sick bastard sometimes).

For the last week or so I've been taking it pretty easy here, enjoying the California weather (and politics, ahem) and staying with my girlfriend in Berkeley. However, I do intend to pick myself up and see a little more of San Francisco and possibly even take some typicial tourist snaps to post up on here.
In other news I have added a quick n dirty link on the right to a possible route my trip may take.
So long, and remember, as though we all haven't had enough fun yet, the Terminator is unstoppable... He'll probably be the first non-US-born US President -- unless we chuck him in a pool of molten metal-lava-stuff first, which I seem to remember used to work a couple of years back...

My last two somewhat interesting pictures from New York.
A Picasso-inspired mural in Harlem and one of the unrefurbished (and asbestos ridden) buildings on Ellis Island - the place where millions of immigrants to the US were 'screened' for unsavoury characters until around the 1950s. There's a lot of atmosphere in that place, although it would be much more interesting had they left most of it in the state of the dilapidated building (minus the asbestos). Now there's a pretty good museum on site but it's a bit too shiny and polished for my liking... They should have made a haunted house ride out of it, but that's just my opinion.
In other news I have now left New York and am in Berkeley, around San Francisco, which are also two lovely places.
All my digital (i.e. fairly crappy) pictures from New York can be viewed at snapfish.com over the following link: All NYC pictures. I think you need to sign up (free) to be able to view them, but they're a pretty good service anyway (they let you upload unlimited digital pictures online and then later print or do other stuff with them).
This will be all for now except for my final thought: Everyone pray for California, as the day of Recall is upon us today. We must all resist the Rise of the Machine-Gubornator 3, starring Arnie (which is, btw, a dreadful, dreadful movie).
I'll be back (enough puns now) with more blogs soon, bar the end of the world

I would give one of my lungs for a park like New York's Central Park in London: Hyde Park, Shmyde Park. The snaps below I found quite cute and amusing so I thought I'd share them with the world at large.
What we have here is a pic of a little kid devotedly making his mom from Montana very happy but refusing to smile for the nice man; doing 'chins' with a 78-year-old New Yorker, here practicing for his goal of making a one-handed-'chin' (people in NYC are amazingly active and fit, especially when compared to places where an SUV is routinely taken to the nearest McD's drive-in, excuse the stereotype); a Central Park guest appearance of Alice with her little friends (a lot of kids are generally running around Central Park trying to be photogenic); and finally the John Lennon memorial in Strawberry Fields which was so very sweet and almost made me feel that the 60s were back, with candles, flowers and mourning hippies and all (and tourists like me, snapping away, possibly making it New York's most often photographed pieces of rock, but never mind that).
Another place in the park definitely worth mentioning is the 'Ramble'. This is a wilderness with winding paths, artificially but skillfully implanted into Central Park and now a paradise for birdwatchers and conservationists who are only too happy to tell you about turtles, birds and the history of their favourite park.
That more or less concludes my Short Tour of Central Park: Nature in the Heart of New York City: A Fun Day Out for All the Family (Including Grandpa). Now available at all quality bookselling establishments