We are really loving Merida! It's so nice to stop somewhere properly, and the posada we have found is such a nice, relxed, ramshackle little place in the centre of town which also organises loads of activities and tours. We spent our first few days here strolling around the town, nestled in the Andean mountains. We've visited a few art galleries and museums (Alice particularly loving the collection of ancient pottery!) and have been enjoying the cornucopia of cheap restaurants, cafes and ice cream parlours. We've even managed to find possibly the ONLY vegetarian place in the entire country, a welcome change from the 'meat party' as one poor Swedish veggie put it... The weather here is also very different, still bright and sunny in the day but cold at night - we even have to sleep with blankets! Yesterday we went to a zoological park and saw lots of animals native to Venezuela, like hilariously playful monkeys, squeaky little ring tailed coatis, and beautiful jaguars that we got up close to.

Anyway, the real highlight came today when Alice and I went PARAGLIDING! It's something we've both been long curious about, and Merida is one of the best places in the world for the sport so we thought we'd give it a try. As the jeep wound further and further up the mountains, however, we started to wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into! But once we were strapped in and had taken our little run off the cliff (!) it was just amazing. Yiu get to sit back in this little cosy seat whilst the guy behind you does all the steering, so it's really quite comfortable and actually not at all scary! Flying above the birds and seeing your shadow far below on the mountain side is so weird! I was particularly lucky in that we must have cauight some very strong thermal and flew ridiculously high over the valley, with the peaks of surrounding mountains at eye level and the rivers and roads shining threads beneath. It also feels very peaceful, and through the wind you can feel the heat of the sun on you, and maybe imagine what it's like to be a bird! It really was such an incredible experience, especially in such a beautiful area.

So hopefully tomorrow we will be trekking on horseback... Lots of love, Hannah and Alice

Our epic journey is over! We spent a day in Ciudad Bolivar, a pretty town located on the banks of the Orinoco. We had a very quiet day wandering around the city, made even quieter by the fact that Chavez had arrived to give a speech and the majority of the roads had been sectioned off by the Venezuelan police. The silence, coupled with the heat, made the entire place feel like a ghost town. After lunch we lay on a rock in the city park, surrounded by lizards and decided what to do with our lives - the outcome has made us both exceptionally happy.

That evening we began our epic journey that was to last slightly over 20 hours. The journey was relatively uneventful with the only highlight (for me, lowlight for Hannah) being the exceptionally pervy driver who spent a good 5 minutes standing on the stairs, staring at her and licking his lips in a manner reminiscent of a lizard from the park. His noticeable admiration for her made us leave 30 minutes later than we should have...

After we changed buses, the landscape began to change drastically, resembling a Devon moor (although much more dramatic). We are currently in Merida, a town located in the Andes. The city is a student town surrounded by impressive mountainous scenery. We found another nice posada in the centre of the town, close to the Plaza Bolivar, a crucial element for any Venezuelan street plan. Today we visited the Cathedral and the archaelogical museum located inside the University of the Andes. I had a slight spaz over the pottery collection and then proceeded to list all the many common problems found in museums. We also had many scatological conversations. The next few days will be fairly chilled until we decide to partake in some of the many outdoor sports that are on offer here including paragliding and horseriding.

Love Alice and Hannah