During stressful moments my thoughts often return to idyllic events in the past. Obviously nostalgia can paint things with a rosy patina that obscures reality a bit. However, it's nice to indulge in escapism occasionally.
But when the weather turns warm I often think of Barinas, Venezuela, circa 1993. Barinas is the capital of the State of Barinas in western Venezuela. Back in 1993 I had a pleasant two week stay in pre-Chavez Venezuela traveling the country with a college music group. The entire trip was extraordinary and life changing.
For a few days we stayed in the remote city of Barinas at a simple hotel that featured frogs on the walls and sidewinder snakes in the parking lot. I enjoyed every moment at that hotel. It was one of the most relaxing times of my life. I remember eating lunch in the hotel's cafe watching the morning rain showers while soccer played on a television mounted on the wall. I remember lounging by the pool laughing at sophomoric jokes with friends.
When I'm stressed I think often of that hotel and the pleasant times spent there. I also wonder how the great people I met there fared under the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, who ironically was from the state of Barinas. After twenty odd years I decided to look up the hotel. Google came through and I was pleasantly surprised to find the hotel still in operation and looking almost exactly as I left it in 1993. The current internet pictures look remarkably the same as my cheap Kodak photos taken twenty years ago.
The recent TripAdvisor reviews of the place are consistently positive. I enjoyed browsing through their website. I was greatly encouraged to see the old place still in good shape. Too many things change in this world. Too many sacred places close down and are forgotten. I was glad to see one such sacred place still in operation.
So if things go south and I need a place to get away from it all, I will definitely keep the Hosteria Los Guasimitos in Barinas in mind.
