Friday, May 22, 1.05pm, Caracas Jardin Botanico ....new food

I have seen an electric blue butterfly, a couple of small lizards, and a brown bird the size of a hummingbird, i.e. bug-sized and narrow. The Caracas botanic garden has a cactus pebble garden, a fernery, paths through a wooded hill, a bromeliad house and an orchid house. But no cafe, which is what I really need. I had two pieces of bread this morning, one smeared with a bit of mayonnaise. Now I am feeling low blood sugary - tired and lethargic. I am due to meet S at the Belles Artes subway station at 2.00pm.

There is something about the way stalls and shops are set up in Caracas that does not make me want to buy anything, even food and drink. Maybe they are too chaotic, maybe it is a bit unclear about what exactly is each stall or shop's main product, what will be cheap, what will be overpriced.

Yesterday I went to the laundromat, dawdling around a few streets of El Paraiso while I waited for my clothes to be washed. There were some large houses, cracked and puckered sidewalks, many gates. A load of clean, fresh-smelling clothes made me very happy.

Before heading off to work, S came to the bank with me and we managed to get money from my Travellex card after a long time of watching the bank clerk type, converse and make phone calls. My photo was taken but not my thumbprint, standard security measures in Venezuelan banks. I ended up with $500 bolivars. Hopefully the rest of the money I require will end up in my hands for black market rates.

I asked S about the ethics of cheating the country of money by participating in black market exchange. She said another way to look at the black market is as a way for poor Venezuelans to make some money. American dollars are valuable and people can sell dollars at a higher rate than they buy them for.

S's father, F, who lived in Canada for a time, talked to me about Chavez. He didn't vote for Chavez in the beginning because Chavez's military uniform and arms made him appear to be a military dictator. S's dad hadn't voted in 25 years but when Chavez ran again, F voted for him and has voted for him ever since because the poor believe in Chavez's sincerity. He doesn't think Chavez's bluntness, however, is helpful: Chavez says the truth but is mean and undiplomatic about it. F sees this as a time of change for Venezuela and hopes that Chavez will succeed in his socialist revolution. He does think that things have gotten better in Venezuela for poor people.

Yesterday evening S and I went to the movies. We saw 'Wolverine'. Not my first choice (I wanted to see Star Trek but S wasn't game), but it was only $10 bolivars ($6 AUS) - cheap for me. The screen was huge and the movie a bit entertaining, though it didn't make a lot of sense. While waiting for the movie to begin, we drank beer in a bar that looked like a simple big room filled with plastic tables and sports paraphernalia. There were horse races on the wall television and only one other table of women.