* Las Avilas (Avilas Cable Cars view of Caracas) *

Las Avilas is the name of the national park in Caracas which houses cable cars. How unprepared I was for the fantastic view! More than that, the cable car trip seemed to grow longer and longer, to my amazed and delighted senses. What a beautiful mountain view of the city! I rate this site as one of the top 5 "must sees" in Venezuela.

You will see many views from the cable cars below, but my first views in the park were of course on the ground level. I love these Sahara-looking spreading trees of Venezuela, so I took a few pictures of this one that greeted us at the entrance to the park. When I say "us," I am referring to a group of friends who were with me. I'm so grateful they invited me!

 Almost as soon as we got in the cable cars, I began snapping pictures of the city as it melted away from our view, giving way to lush mountains.

This was my first clue that these cable cars went on much farther than I thought! From the ground level, you can only see the ascent to the first low mountain, but there are in fact something like 4 different small mountains that the cable cars go over, this being the second.

The city of Caracas is expansive, holding about 3 million people. There are barrios (ghettos) in much of the city, but the view from the cable cars showed the tall apartment buildings and business centers, which also cover a large part of the city.

 After gazing over the lovely green mountains for quite a while, we arrived at the highest point of the cable cars. We got out and began to explore. It was cold! I had to borrow a sweater from one of the guys in our group (God bless him for offering it!). We were able to see little villages and country roads crosscutting the mountains. I imagined living in this remote area, wondering what it would be like to have to traverse mountains to go to school or to the store.

My favorite Venezuelan flower, the bougainvillea. Someone had planted a hedge of them along the walkway.

There were some wildflowers as well, including the blue flowers below. I saw these flowers in several areas along the mountainside.

I think my favorite meal in Venezuela is "parilla," featured below. Parilla actually just means barbecue, but it usually includes a type of steak, yuka (a tasty vegetable very similar to potatoes), and some garlic sauce. I got a heaping helping to feast on for lunch! I had to have both of the guys in our group help me finish it!

 I felt we had stepped into a Sherlock Holmes mystery when we got a bit higher on the path and were promptly covered in mist. As a matter of fact, this part of the mountain was covered in mist the entire time we were there!

 There was a ramped walkway right next to this stairway. I imagine this stairway was the original way to climb the mountain and someone who was conscious of wheelchair accessibility put in the ramped walkway later.

I loved this view of two boys playing games on their parents' iPhones. Evidently they'd seen enough of the mountains for a while ;-)

Imagine my surprise when I saw the ocean through the trees! I had no idea we were so close to the coast. What a treat to see my 2 favorite things at the same time! I love seeing both the ocean and the mountains in the same view.

These dogs looked much cuter in person, snoozing in the sun. It struck me as rather a miracle that they were here at all. They must have sneaked onto the cable cars or wandered up from the villages which are not very close. Either way, the dogs seem to be living the life now! They get the best view in the city, plus plenty of scraps from the constant visitors.

In the tunnel building that housed the cable car landing, one of my friends and I were amazed to see a huge amount of moths! I don't know if it was breeding season or if there are always that many. They were mostly outside, but there were several that had infiltrated the building as well. The biggest of the moths had about a 4-inch wingspan which is common to see in Venezuela. The caterpillar-looking insects are in fact other species of moths, their odd shape making them look like buds or twigs on trees.

I highly recommend visiting Las Avilas if you ever get the chance to be in Caracas, Venezuela! It is well worth seeing, and a very cheap entrance ticket as well.