A country I visited a long time ago is now frequently in the news and not for good reasons. That country is Venezuela in South America. I visited the capital city, Caracas, many years ago now….when I was just out of school. During my visit, there was no political unrest in the country. My recollections of this place is just that….my perception of my time there and my memories. I am not going to delve into the politics of why this country is now in crisis. I leave that to people who are more versed on the situation.
I worked at a travel agency, just out of high school while still in my teens. As much as I enjoyed working there, I did not stay in that field. While there, I met customers who were always going on travel tours to various countries. I decided at some point that I wanted to visit Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. I planned to visit with one of my sisters, who was around the same age as myself. My mother was none too thrilled, but I kept assuring her that we would be OK and we would be careful. And we were travelling with a large group of people and would stick with the tour. This was to be our first trip out of the country without a parent. My Mom eventually gave in. I suppose I was a bit adventurous, but many of the clients at the travel agency always came back and gave us employees an account of their trip. There were never any horror stories, especially about going to this destination. I suppose the world was a safer place then, or maybe my perception of the world was that it was. Or maybe, it was youth….before we become jaded as the years roll by.
Whatever it was, the trip was planned and me and my sis took off with great glee. We were happy to be on our own and exploring. Everything went as planned. We arrived in Caracas at Simon Bolivar International Airport and our group was met outside the airport and driven to the hotel. We quickly made friends with an older woman on the tour who was travelling alone. Upon arrival at the hotel, we checked in and made our way to our rooms with plans to meet downstairs for dinner. What I remember clearly from the trip is that initially, my sister did not take to the food at the hotel. It upset her stomach…the different cuisine, spices, etc. as for me, I was fine. I needed to change some currency, and in those days, one of the easiest places to do so, was at the airport because we had traveller’s cheques. (yes folks, ancient) I got a cab driver at the hotel to take us back to the airport which was not very far away. He was very friendly and helpful. I told him on the drive back to our hotel, that my sister needed to eat some food, because she did not like the menu she had tried thus far. I asked if he could recommend any nearby restaurants.
The cabbie took us to a restaurant where he was a regular and tried to help us to order because our Spanish was not that great. When we were having problems ordering from the menu, he took us to the chef in the kitchen and told us to point out which dishes we wanted. That was so fabulous…I never forgot that experience. We ordered and the meal was brought to our table and it was fantastic. I remember it being a chicken dish of some sort. Afterwards, we were driven back to our hotel. The kindness of this stranger stayed with me always. I have to say though, with the hindsight of age, I may not be so trusting and carefree in a foreign country today. But everyone has to go with their intuition, we still have to live, even in a world that seems less safe than decades past. I felt completely safe during my holiday travel back then, but these are different times and obviously much has changed in Caracas (and elsewhere) since then.
Other than that day, we mainly stuck with the rest of the tour and various sightseeing expeditions. I remember venturing out to the nearby town square though, early in the day. We would sit on the park benches and these Venezuelans would come over and chat with us. We conversed in broken Spanish from our end. They did not mind that we were not fluent in each other’s language. Everyone was so lovely, kind, and friendly! When you went shopping at the clothing stores or market, it was the same. I recall being impressed at how fashionable almost every woman on the street dressed. It was a vibrant, thriving place. The city had a great train system at the time, to get around as well.
Today, I read these articles in various print media and sometimes see reports on the news about Venezuela, and it is heartbreaking. I did not experience one bad moment on that trip, so long ago. I did not meet one unkind or unfriendly person. My sister and I loved visiting Caracas as young girls. I know it is a very long time ago, but my thoughts are with the Venezuelan people. I sincerely hope their beautiful country can be restored to a more peaceful and prosperous time.
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