Caracas and Back

PinF is back. Exhausted, weary, and happy to see his daughter. I left last Wednesday night out of Miami headed towards Hugo Chavez's leftist leaning country Venezuela. I hadn't been since 2001, so it was kind of nice in many ways.

As I kicked back on my flight down it dawned on me--I'm not sure why, but it did. October 1th of last year was when my father was involved in his auto accident that would eventually lead to his demise some 5 months later. What a difference a year made. I arrived to the chaos that is Caracas and began to seek out my driver--there was no sign of him. This left me to fend with all the free lance taxi drivers and money changers looking to buy dollars. I was soon united with my driver and headed off into the thick, humid, night air of Caracas, andthe many politically contrasting signs of Hugo Chavez, and the inequities of his people.

I arrived in a quick 25 minutes to my friends' Arturo and Mary's house, the penthouse in an upscale area of the city at the base of the Avila mountain range that seperates the city from the sea. The view of the moon from the rooftop deck was spectacular, second only to view the next morning of the moutain and sprawling city resting at its base.

The Avila mountain range follows you, leaving you vulnerable to its atmospheric whim...it holds clouds, it draws clouds. We were to take the cable car to the top and enjoy the Oktober fest, then take a Jeep half-way down and spend the afternoon enjoying a seven course Spanish luncheon and a bottle of Buchanan's Reserve (aged 18 years) as we dined on a cliff looking down at the modest farms from above the clouds. You can even see the Caribbean Sea from the mountains. A special day for sure. Coming from flat Florida the beauty of the scenery was especially striking as I observed the small fincas that produce flowers, fruit and other mountain grown goods.

We spent about 5 hours as we leisurely took in our scotch's from above the clouds. Occasionally the clouds would clear leaving us with a clear view of the Caribbean Sea some 20 miles away.

It was nice to escape the noise, heat, and trafic of the city to the cool fresh air of the Avila. In the 10 or so times PinF has been in Caracas he never once took the time to take the cable car to the top so I'm especially grateful to my guests.









Caracas is a vibrant city full of contradictions opulence/poverty, calm/fear, democracy/dictatorship.....still it is a favorite city of mine as the people like any great city are what make it. I was lucky in the sense to visit with great people, great hosts, and great friends.