Tuesday 10th October. Caracas, Venezuela.

Again its an official car from the hotel. It would be much cheaper if I wandered off and found a local taxi, but there is no fear of that; I am on high security alert.

I am trying again today to ride on the Teleférico. It is very hot yet I am wearing a sweater in preparation for the cold at the top of El Ávila.

The traffic is mad. It takes a long time to get anywhere in this city.

There is a very pretty young lady standing in the middle of the road directing this chaos in her immaculate uniform; white gloves and pith helmet. She could be on safari in Africa.

To me it seems alien that people live their lives behind bars. All the houses we pass are protected by security fences and razor wire. Even the outdoor eating areas we pass are fenced in.

I am getting no conversation on my drive today; i´ve got the grumpy driver.

The Teleférico is basically a cable car ride through the Parque Nacional El Ávila. It opened in 2002 and has 76 cars (made in Switzerland) The construction was undertaken by an Austrian company.

As you climb you get quite a view of the city as it unfolds in its vastness. It feels clean up here and I am amazed that this huge green space exists right on the city limits without a developers hungry eye taking control.

We are climbing so high that my ears pop twice.

It takes a full 18 minutes to reach the summit at Pico El Ávila and when I get there I find a very different Venezuela on the other side of the ridge. Lush and green and dotted with exclusive looking homes the valley below me looks very pleasant.

Here at the summit there is a complete tourist industry: bars, restaurants, stalls and even a hotel.

Talk about crazy...I stop a guy and ask him to take my photograph. He agrees and puts down his belongings. He is carrying a huge knife; but it is ok, he is a chef from one of the restaurants.

It is very cloudy up here, but from one of the viewpoints I can make out my hotel in the city below.

The current Teleférico is a replacement for an earlier German built version which closed in 1988. The complete ride up is 3.4km and when you arrive you are at an altitude of 2105m.

The Hotel Humboldi has obviously seen better days. When the clouds part the abandoned rooms and balconies of the hotels round tower are clearly visible. It is somewhat ironic that this ghost of a building is shrouded in almost perpetual cloud.

It is eerie up here today. There are very few people around and most of the stalls are closed.

As I descend I take particular note of the reminents of the former Teleférico and when I get to the bottom I will have my photograph taken with one of the old cable cars.

Looking out across Caracas as I descend I realise just how much of a concrete jungle the city is. For all that it cannot even claim to be a pretty jungle. It lacks the beauty of Hong Kong or the splendour of New York.

Dinero just keeps being an issue on this trip. On my return from the Teleférico I have a new driver. His name is Jose and we have a very agreeable conversation. We take a different route back to Las Mercedes, through the upscale neighbourhoods of La Castellana and Altamira. You can see that there is real wealth in this city and it is on show here, albeit behind the razor wire and fences of the homes.

Jose and I have agreed a price for the trip of 20,000 bolivares, but when we get to the hotel he doubles the fare. I put up quite an argument as I am seated outside the hotel with the cab door open and the doorman waiting to put new passangers into the cab...but just imagine if I had been on my own.

I make a decision to spend the rest of the day in the hotel and so I have afternoon tea here in the executive lounge working on the website and awaiting the canapes tonight!