Over the weekend, we headed over to a small, historic town located in the southeastern part of Caracas proper called El Hatillo. I’d heard a lot about it from other expats who weren’t that impressed, but still wanted to give it a try. I’m so glad I did…

View of the mountains from Plaza Bolivar

El Hatillo has managed to keep its historic architecture, while still blending in new structures. As you walk downtown, you can peer into the homes (most doors are open) and see that not a lot has changed since 1784. At the same time, there’s a pretty big mall and you can find just about everything that you would in more urban parts of Caracas. I loved it! It reminded my of Jacmel, Haiti. The narrow, mountainous streets…

Calle Sucre

The colorful homes of the Caribbean…

Calle La Paz

Street off of Plaza Sucre

Predominance of religious structures…

Iglesia Santa Rosalia de Palermo

Templo de San Constantino y Santa Elena

I loved this place so much I started thinking of how we could move here. Unfortunately, weekday traffic is so horrendous that the 30 minute drive can take 1 1/2 to 2 hours (reminds me of South Florida ). With the idea of moving kiboshed, I suggested coming back for an entire weekend to really get a feel for the place. But, I was informed by our tour guide that there are NO hotels in El Hatillo. Can you believe that?! This beautiful, extremely touristic attraction cannot house visitors overnight. Apparently, the local government is looking into this right now and as far as I’m concerned it can’t be soon enough. In the meantime, I’ll settle for the occasional day trip. This place is definitely worth the sacrifice!

Next post: Why I can see myself putting on lots of weight here…

Tags: El Hatillo, Expat, Photography, Places to see in Caracas, Venezuela

This entry was posted on Monday, October 3rd, 2011 at 6:03 AM and is filed under Caracas, Caracas Lifestyle, El Hatillo, Expat, Photography, Places to Visit in Caracas, Venezuela. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.