http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Gran_Sabana
On the way to Puerto la Cruz we saw Mount Roraima (2810m) and a chain of mountains separating Venezuela from Guyana. There was no rainforest any more - just green hills and the high mountains.
In the picture: drinking rum while waiting for the bus replacement at the Venezuelan border.
I suddenly felt very very lonely when the guys (backpackers) got off the bus and I left all my friends in Brazil behind. I am on my own again, in another country, and I have to learn from the beginning how to survive. There was no phone reception for three days when I was on the bus in the Amazon forest so I felt very isolated for this reason too.
I arrived in Puerto la Cruz where I saw the thickest people in the world, working in the bus station. There was no tourist information whatsoever and everyone was giving me different information about buses, fares and times. Eventually, somebody explained to me that a bridge had been damaged near Caracas and instead of 5 hours on the bus you had to travel 12 hours as all the buses were on diversion... So I found a taxi (cars could cross the damaged bridge) which I shared with a Venezuelan family, it did cost 15 pounds (320 km, 4-hour drive to Caracas). I wanted to talk to them so much (to the family) but I was so tired that my mouth just didn't want to open...
Caracas represents all I expected to see in South America and how I imagined it. It is sooo different from Brazil and it seems to me that there is more positive energy here than in Brazil, although there is a high level of poverty and Caracas is apparently the most dangerous city in the world. But they play salsa music everywhere and I felt so cheerful when I walked through the market with my rucksack and bags (one would say that I am crazy walking with all my stuff in the middle of Caracas...). I am in an internet cafe' now, waiting for my Couch Surfing host to wake up and answer the phone...
