We got started on the way to Caracas late, as is tradition. We inteded to go as a convoy but our partners had newer faster cars than we did and didn’t wait for us in the slow lane. The highway to Caracas travels through the mountains. They’re not imposing like the Rockies and are generally filled with thicker vegetation, which got thicker the closer we got to Caracas. When riding as a passenger it was easy to forget to look at the beautiful view and look at the crumbling median, rusty light poles and run down roadside food stands. We passed another polar brewing fcaility, up and running of course. The demand for local goods exists, but that seems to be the largest and most successful example. The general exodus of people has not only weakened overall deamnd for goods but the supply of labor as well. Many of the abandoned factories I’ve seen were American companies, Kellogg’s and Ford we’re 2 noteworthy ones. Statues of Toucan Sam sat alone behind chain link fences. I wonder if someone local were to operate factories and not worry about exporting profits back to the US if they’d be successful.

The drive to Caracas takes about an hour and a half to go about 100km. Our destination was a cable car that takes you to a luxury hotel and tourist area up in the mountains north of the city. The surprise bumps and potholes in the 2 lane divided highway definitely provided a test for our wheels and judging by the proliferation of Caucheras, tire shops, many others fail the test. We saw plenty of vehicles broken down on the side of the road and we came equipped with one of the family’s spare tires. What was remarkable was that every car I saw stopped had someone else stopped to help with whatever was the cause of their issue. I saw a vintage Chevrolet Celebrity stopped helping on family. What was even more surprising was how many small, 100cc-ish, motorcycles making their way hugging the shoulders.

We drove through another tunnel which was flanked by newer toll booths. It was also well maintained with a fresh coat of paint and new LED lighting. The tunnel is only about 15 minutes outside of Caracas. There was a brief traffic jam as we skirted around one of the couple road maintenance crews working on the highway. This one was repairing a section of shoulder that looked as if it was washing away and repaving the right lane. Once we passed the jam the quality of the road noticabely imporoved. Caracas, being the most populous city and capital, gets a lot more resources put into the infrastructure.

Venezuela is very mountainous, and when they said Caracas was “in the mountains” they really mean it. The city is entirely on slopes and it makes for really beautiful views when you get up higher. The highway we took was the main trunk heading to the west and on the way in we saw a large park which was built to celebrate the country’s independence. It was full of people in the middle of the day, and there was a large playground full of children. At the far end there was an obelisk monument surrounded by fountains and lights. We cut across the city to get to the gondola. Even with a GPS, negotiating the highways is difficult because nothing can go in a straight line for long due to the geography of the area.

We negotiated a hill up to the station and they sent us down another street to park on. We pushed the stroller back up the hill and while we gathered our party to get in line. Since we had a reserveration at the restaraunt we didn’t need to wait in the giant line for tickets or the second giant line to get in the the car. I was not at all scared as we climbed up to the top of the mountain and the slight vibrations going over the cable towers was not unsettling in the least. The views of Caracas from the gondola were excellent and you could really see how the city sprawled through the valleys and up the climbed the mountainous slopes. The gondola station stopped at about 2000m of elevation and there was another brief climb up to the hotel where the cars used to go to when the hotel was in its prime.

Hotel Humboldt stands at the top of a mountain overlooking Caracas to the south with views of the Gulf of Mexico to the north. The view to our north was obscured by low elevation clouds and throughout the afternoon we would sometimes lose view of the city. If you are staying in the hotel or eating at once if its restarauants you can get a quick ride in an ATV up to the entrance, but we were a large party so the men walked while the women and babies got a ride. The walkway up is filled with gift vendors, hot dog stands, larger restaurants and even an ice skating rink. I was instructed to wear pants since it gets cold and indeed later in th afternoon it got into the upper 60s.

The hotel was opened in 1956 to be the star of tourism in Venezuela but fell into disrepair and was only recently reopened after a 30 year hiatus. I felt very slightly underdressed in jeans and a polo but based on the other patrons the apparel was appropriate. We waited for a bit for a table to clear and then got everyone in and ordered a variety of food. They say everything was shareable and it was to varying degrees but I am glad they recommended we did because all of the food we tried was excellent. It was generally japanese or japanese inspired, some of the dishes were like fried rice, yakisoba noodles, sticky bbq ribs, but they also had a few pasta dishes. My favorite was a pasta dish that resembled mushroom filled ravioli with a very rich white sauce and some bubbly foam made of who knows what but tasted great. I also got to try another of the local brews, a Soler Verde, which may be my favorite so far. Its another lager but slightly stronger than the Zulias or Polars. The entire bill for 12 people was $470 and covered the cost of the ride up to the hotel. I left a generous $20 tip and we headed back out.

On the way back down we stopped at one of the vendors to buy some more regional sweets and one of their traditional desserts, fresh strawberries and canned peaches with whipped cream and your choice of chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup or condensed milk. Naturally I opted for everything and it was a simple but delicious treat after the rich flavors of lunch/dinner. Unfortunately our priority access didnt let us skip the line down so we had to wait but it went faster than expected. It was starting to get dark so when we got down that side of the mountain it was basically night. In the dark you can really see the city and the way down was arguably more beautiful than the way up.

I was a little nervous for the ride back so I hurried us into the car to make sure we had a head start on our convoy in case something happened we had help. Usually they say don’t drive at night in areas that aren’t as safe but the highway between Caracas and Maracay is very busy and generally has a large military/police presence so we never felt unsafe. The only real danger so far in Venezuela has not been people, but potholes. In fact everyone has been generous, kind and very welcoming. Everyone shows pride in their country and wants to show how great Venezuela can be.