CARACAS,” THE CITY OF ETERNAL SPRING”

BY CLAY LARROY

When you choose to travel, whether it is for business or pleasure, it is important to plan your trip well before hand. Here are some tips to help you.

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Caracas, officially "Santiago de León de Caracas", is the Capital of Venezuela, as well as its administrative, financial, commercial and cultural center. Caracas officially has a total population estimated of more than three million people (2005), though unofficial sources indicate that the population is well over 5 million in the Metropolitan area.

The city is located in the center-north of the country about 15km from the Caribbean sea, separated from this by the El Ávila National Park. The Caracas Highway allows the connection of the capital with the Caribbean coast and the principal airports and maritime ports of the country in 20 minutes. The Guaire River runs across most of the city.

Caracas has impressive modern structures that intermingle with world heritage sites. It is a concrete jungle intertwined with beautiful parks and natural reserves with the cultural and commercial activity on a par with any capital city.

While the city itself is not high on most people's list of tourist destinations, it could be for this reason that you would want to visit. The city itself is a strange mixture of poor and rich living alongside one another. On one block you may find a 4-star restaurant but if you turn the corner you could end up in a dangerous neighborhood where a tourist with a lot of money will stick out like a sore thumb.

One of the greatest parts to the city though, it must be said, is the friendliness of the people; a rather helpful attribute considering that you will undoubtedly get lost at some point in your journey and will need to ask for directions. You can't generally expect to go by the numbers on the streets, as buildings are often out of order if they are even numbered at all. The city has grown quickly and haphazardly. There are some neighborhoods that still lack running water and basic sanitary needs. The population, like its buildings is a mixture of people coming from several different ethnic backgrounds. Caracas is a place that all every traveler should visit.

REFERENCE SITES

http://www.southamerica.cl/Venezuela/Caracas.htm

http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/venregcaracas/tp/whattodoandsee.htm

Live life and travel often, the more you travel, the more memories you create!