Being a Tourist

Saturday I went with my friend and her mom to El Hatillo, which is a little town outside of Caracas that caters to tourists. It is a cute little town with the requisite Plaza Bolivar and brightly painted colonial houses. Surrounding the plaza are lots of shops with crafts and articles made throughout Venezuela (and Latin America) and lots of restaurants. On one end of the village are barrios climbing up the side of the mountain, though not as poor as the ones that you can see driving to the airport. It's pretty amazing how these houses are stacked almost on top of each other, looking like they could slide down the mountain at any time. There is also a new commercial center (shopping mall) which they have decorated in the same theme as the colonial village. So it is rather pretty for a mall, but all the stores are very upscale. It has just opened and there will eventually be a skating rink. Malls are a popular form of entertainment, especially on the weekends. It seems that families like to go to the mall and spend the day. They can park reasonably, they can look around, there are various forms of entertainment - movies, skating rinks, bowling alleys, aquariums, etc. - and they can eat. I think they see malls as being safer than other options.