Village sights in Venezuela
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Colonia Tovar
A little piece of old Germany lost in the Venezuelan cloud forest, this scenic town of red-tile-roof cabins lies scattered on a mountainside in the Cordillera de la Costa. It was founded in 1843 by a group of 376 German settlers from the Schwarzwald (Black Forest), recruited by swashbuckling Italian soldier/explorer/pirate Agustín Codazzi.
Isolated from the outer world by the lack of roads and rules prohibiting marriage outside the colony, the village followed the mother culture, language and architecture for a century. It wasn't until the 1940s that Spanish was introduced as the official language and the ban on marrying outside the community was abandoned. Today Colonia…
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El Hatillo
Set in the rolling hills of Caracas’ heterogeneous southern suburbs, the 16th-century town of El Hatillo lived its own life for centuries until it was eventually absorbed by the burgeoning city. Its narrow streets and pretty plaza still retain many of their colonial buildings, now painted in sugary, bright colors and filled with art galleries, craft shops and restaurants. It remains a lovely and convenient nearby getaway for caraqueños, worlds away from the chaotic city. The only bummer is there are no accommodation options in the small pueblo (town).
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