Caracas, Venezuela

I lived in Caracas for four months a while back, and it was a pretty exciting time. I was a graduate student exchange student - if I remember correctly, there were seven exchange students. All got held up and robbed at one point except for me. Which brings me to my first point. Caracas was, and presumably is, very, very dangerous. There is a huge wealth disparity. To give you an idea, one of my Venezuelan classmates owned a lion, and kept it in a cage in their enormous house. She was rich. But most people in Caracas were very, very poor. Parts of Caracas was drop dead gorgeous. Rolling hills, lots of green, and beautiful houses. There was also a rocking nightlife. Las Mercedes was a lot of fun, and arepas are an incredible, underrated food. Given how things have developed in Venezuela, it is unlikely that I will go back, and that bums me out.

Caracas is an interesting city (with regard to the political situation: there is almost always something going on, like marches (at this point in time, there are posters with the word 'Fraude' plastered all over the city, replacing the 'Sí' and 'No' signs that referred to the referendum that just took place)). One of its best qualities is its natural beauty: it is one of the greenest cities I have ever seen! On its good days (those when a heavy smog doesn't hang over the city), the landscape of the Avila, a mountain range/national park, that runs alongside the city never fails to please the eyes. One of the most spectacular sights of the city can be seen from the top of the Avila, which overlooks the city on one side (it's a large city, so even from there you can't see the entirety of it), and the ocean and beach on the other (which is especially beautiful during sunset). There are many places to go in Caracas, for tourists and locals alike, though the traffic is misery (not to mention... Read more

The only reason I give this rating is because of the situation down there. The people are great and its a fairly decent city, but there is way too much crime, poverty, and social unrest. The president, Hugo Chavez, is a leftist with ties to Castro and is a good friend to Saddam Hussein. Someone please kill this guy.

I liked this place a lot. I lived there, for a couple of months and liked the nightlife, the mountains around it, the people, etc. Like most other cities in LA, it is pretty dangerous. I have heard that the new president is kind of insane.