Caracas

14. May: I seem to feel a bit better today at first, but it doesn't last. We need to wash clothes and visit the tourist office today. We ask the receptionist where we could find a laundry service, he indicates 'Plaza Venezuela and then right'. We walk down and indeed to find it after asking a couple of times. It is overfull, there are already a number of people in line, it would take hours for our laundry to be made. Moreover it wouldn't be possible to leave our clothes there and pick them up again later.

I ask one of the ladies waiting if there was another laundry nearby, and she surprisingly says yes, it's near hotel Odeon. We walk down in search of it and actually do find it! It's closed till 14:00. We decide to eat something and we go back onto Sabana Grande, and take seats at one of the open-air restaurants right on the pedestrian mall. The food is not good and expensive. We return to the Laundry and she will do our clothes for about 5000 Bs, which is expensive as well.

Caracas Metro	Caracas high-rises

We now decide to go to the tourist office and take the Metro there. Caracas has a modern, good and fast Metro system, we could by multiple-journey tickets at quite acceptable prices. The tourist office was none too easy to find, it's at a place called 'Parque Central', which is not (or no longer) a park but a set of high rise buildings, amongst them the highest in Caracas. The tourist office is on the 34th floor. The view over Caracas was wonderful. The office was busy, so we had to wait for our turn. The lady there was very helpful and gave us all the official brochures of Venezuela and the Metro map of Caracas, which was a photocopy.

She then ask us what we do for a living, and, hearing that Annewien is a Psychologist, asked what suggestions she could give for her nail-biting problem! I'm feeling none too good again, so we go back to our hotel and I fall asleep. Annewien goes and fetches the clothes from the laundry at 18:00, I cannot get up to accompany her. I decide it is time for my 'Sweat Treatment' to I take a 'Pretuval' tablet and cover myself up with a blanket. Judging by the bustling sound outside it seems we are living on a busy street (our room is on the 5th floor) and it is a pity I cannot get up and walk down the street.

Looking down to 'Parque Central'	Some more modest dwellings

Continue to 15.5 Caracas