Arriving in Caracas
I landed in Caracas, but was a little put off by reception – the Lonely Planet warns it’s got a bit of a reputation for being dangerous, and the fact that the first person I met there had just gotten robbed at knifepoint didn’t make me feel any safer. I liked what I saw, Caracas is a big city with a lively atmosphere, however I didn’t really feel it was the best place to start the trip. So, I resolved to move to a more traveller-friendly place after only a night and headed up to Merida, in the Venezuelan Andes. This turned out to be a great place to start out the trip in earnest – it’s a bit of a travellers’ hangout, with a pleasant student-y feel and plenty of things to do. I stayed over 10 days, and tried canyoning, did a trip through the Andes on horseback, and a 2-day mountain hike to the nearby Los Nevados. Most importantly perhaps, I got a better feel for what I was about to get into.