... in response to Venezuela Recommendations?, posted by John O on Nov 21, 2002I went to Caracas several times a few years ago because I had a novia there. I actually still have a good friend named Margot who used to translate for me before I learned enough Spanish that I no longer needed her. If you want you can send me an e-mail and I will put you in touch with her as she can suggest things to do.
I always thought Caracas was more expensive compared to Colombia. The best hotel is the Caracas-Hilton and they have an annex for suites that is less expensive but it is usually booked. I would check this Hilton-Annex out though. I found reasonable hotels were hard to come by there. I once stayed in a hotel in the barrio that my novia lived in and had to pay $100/night for a dive. I believe it was the Hotel Marquez and it was the only one around. I also stayed at the Presidential and it was o.k. but again something like $120.00.
One thing Caracas has is a good metro or subway system. There are some good malls to go for meeting women especially if you can speak Spanish. There are some gringos in Caracas that go there because of the oil companies. Otherwise, the women seemed eager to meet and get to know norteamericanos. There is one sportsbar that many gringos go to because a gringo owns it. My friend below knows about it.
Write to a good friend of mine here in the states at mangu35@nospam.com. He has also been there and can recommend places to stay and things to do.
Good luck and be careful in the streets.
Edge
