Off

I started a post about toy soldiering this morning but I didn't have time to finish it. Instead, I will just write a goodbye post and finish the soldier story when I return.

First, let me assure you the kittens will be safe and sound. I am sad to leave them behind but my roommates got enough love to go around. Last night I was smoking a cigarette and the kittens both spent the entire time with their paws up on the screen door, looking out at me and making little peep noises. I felt like I was abandoning them. When I came inside, Mister Lady (aka Bandito?) ran right to the litter box. So I guess she'd been holding it until she knew I would come in safe. That's devotion. I hope they remember me when I return.

I neglected to learn Spanish, but that makes me more of an American tourist anyway, right? Instead of learning the language this weekend, I learned that the law is far from black and white. Detective Vic Mackey on The Shield taught me that. He also taught me there is a more sensitive side to the LAPD- a Magnetic Fields song played during the closing montage of one of the episodes, a touching counterpoint to all the Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit.

Anyway, I have a Spanish phrasebook and enough knowledge to get me by. I plan to-
-ride a city bus
-play Venezuelan bingo
-buy a hammock
-snorkel
-swim, frolic
-get tacky gifts for my friends
-play in a rainforest waterfall
-buy some knockoff Kalvin Clein gear
-revel

It looks like it might rain a bunch while we're down there but we'll roll with it, I'm sure. Free food and drink, what else do we need?

I'll leave you with this U.S. State Department advisory about the Caracas airport, which we're flying into (we stay in Caracas for two nights, then Margarita Island for six.)

Maiquetia Airport, the international airport serving Caracas, is dangerous. Concerns include personal property theft, muggings, and “express kidnappings” in which individuals are taken to make purchases or to withdraw as much money as possible from ATMs, often at gunpoint. The Embassy has received multiple, credible reports that individuals with what appear to be official uniforms or other credentials are involved in facilitating or perpetuating these crimes. There are also known drug trafficking groups working from within the airport.

Because of the frequency of robberies at gunpoint, travelers are encouraged, if at all possible, to arrive during daylight hours. Incidents of taxi drivers in Caracas overcharging, robbing and injuring passengers are common. There is no foolproof method of knowing whether a taxi driver at the airport is reliable. It is no longer possible to rely on the fact that a taxi driver presents a credential or drives an automobile with official taxi license plates marked “libre.”

What a bunch of anti-Chavez propaganda hooey, right? Right?

We'll be safe, I promise. There's a website called sleepinginairports.com that has many pleasant accounts of tourists staying overnight in the Caracas airport. We just have to keep our wits about us.

Supposedly our hotel has internet access, so you may be hearing from me sooner than you think. Blogging in paradise! I just hope the keyboard is in English so you can understand what I write. Bye friends.

Our hotel, the LTI Costa Caribe.