Valencia

 Valencia  

We left CHoroni and drive up and over the pas. This morning was a totally different day from our first crossing of the pass when it was low cloud and low visibility. We had a great view down the landard side of the pass back to Maracay.

We left the Henri Pittier National Park and drov into Maracay. It is the centre of aviation in Venezuela and has the largest two military airports in the world. It also has an aviation museum. This is a two in one picture of the enttrance to the museum and the tallest building in the city behind it. 

Another two in one picture of the Douglas SKytrain and underneath the wing, the single soldier on duty at the 'ticket desk' where we showed our passports and paid the USD1 entrance fee. Most public museums in Venezuela are free but like the Catholic Museum in Caracas run by the church, this is a non-government run museum hosted by the air force so an entrance fee is required.

There were dozens of planes to view, some I could name...

...and I had been in this type before...

...the inside of the transporter...

...in the pilots seat...

A Mitchell bomber, the same type used for Doolittle's raid on Tokyo at the start of the Second World War after Pearl Harbour.

I was so interested in the helicopters and the military and transport planes that I forgot to look out for the replica aircraft that Jimmie Angel used to land on top of the tepui to discover the tallest waterfall in the world named after him, Angel Falls.

After being pulled away from the museum, we passed the local bullring, built in the mudejar Spanish style with Moorish inspired horseshoe arches although the delicate and intricate rickwork of that style has been covered in whitewash.

More pylons supporting the rail network that was to link to the capital but the project was never completed.

We passed Lago Valencia, an endoheic lake. It looks nice from the road but it has no natural outlet so whatever flows in doesn't go anywhere. The lake level rises and falls due to heavy rains, evaporation and natural seepage, but sewage and pollutants tend to build up so it is not a safe lake to swim in. 

We passed through Valencia. It too has some unfinished railway infrastructure but it also has a metro system so visitors may be lucky to see a train. However, there are only two lines with nine stations so it is only modest. More were planned but given the state of the economy and government revenues, any expansion in the near future is unlikely.

This was due to be one of my highlights, a visit to the battlefield of the Battle of Carabobo, fought by SImon Bolivar against the colonial Spanish on 24th June 1821. It was a total defeat for the Spanish and secured Venezuelan independence. The picture is not of the main victory arcg and accompanying structures but a piece of modern art in the same park, viewed from the road as we passed.

There are government elections to be held at the weekend and as is common in South America, some places are shut for elections. The park was closed. The border with Colombia was also closed for the weekend. There was also a (uncollaborated) report that some individuals had been arrested at an airport flying in from Colombia with explosives to disrupt the elections, a convenient report to justify government actions in closing attractions and borders.

We continued heading west with hills to the north and a flat plain to the south. This wasn't quite Los Llanos where we heading but it was the start of the change of scenery. At Araure, there was a major junction with a road going north to Barquisimeto. The area we were passing through is a large agricultural region. There seemed to be silos everywhere, indicating that it was a grain producing area but it was the wrong time of year to see plants in the fields to determine what grains were being produced. 

We stopped overnight in Guanare and tried as I might to find a fun fact or anything of interest about the place, I was defeated.