Leg 013

"The plane is the train, amigo"

Wanda is ready to roll on her final leg inside of Venezuela.

Wanda and I spent three lovely evenings in Charallave.  She was treated to a first class view from her nice parking space provided by FSEconomy's 'Sociedad de Tareros de Venezuela - El Caracas' FBO.  I was treated to fantastic food, local art galleries & plenty of dancing with the interesting Mirandan women.  I received several marriage proposals, but politely declined, trying to be as gentle as possible.

I was in a similar situation when living in Dubai, but with respect to Iranian women.  Venezuelan and Iranian women have very little opportunities to improve their lives, with one of the best being to marry a foreigner with a good passport.  I'll never forget a man offering me $100,000 to marry his wife while we were sitting in a rooftop jacuzzi near DXB airport.  The world can be a sad place.

Anxious to begin my Caribbean leg, I debated whether I should fly the 400 miles direct to Aruba or take one more paying job in Venezuela.  My practical prefrontal cortex chose to chauffeur three more FBO passengers to the final stop in Venezuela, San Felipe.

Overhead Charallave Norte train station.

Today's flight could be boring and challenging at the same time.  The departure weather looks good, but most of the route appears to be covered by a dense broken cloud layer that ranges from 3,000 to 7,000 feet.  The minimum safe altitude in this part of Venezuela goes up to 11,300 feet in some places, so I have planned to cruise at 10,500 feet on a route that will avoid the peaks and will overfly several large airports along the way.

This morning Wanda and I are flying three more passengers to their destination in the small valley town of San Felipe.  From there Wanda and I will make the jump over to Aruba, bidding the bright greens and browns of Venezuela adieu one final time.

We depart off of SVCS runway 10 and make a tight right traffic pattern, to depart from the downwind via climb to 10,500.  Wanda has more than enough power to make this an easy task.  Adjacent the hilltop VOR station I turn crosswind and keep it rolling around to fly a nice tight downwind leg.  Within a few moments we passing the huge Charallave Norte train station.  Looking at its immense size, I ask my front seat passenger why he and his kids didn't simply take the train to San Felipe.  "No hay un tren" he says in Spanish.  Then in English, "the plane is the train, amigo."  As I confirm using the internet, there is no train service to San Felipe from this gigantic Charallave train station.  Interesting.  OK, let's press onward.

Climbing to 10,500 feet to stay safe above the rugged terrain.

As we make the 7 minute climb to 10,500 feet, I, as usual, press shuffle on my playlist and listen to "Baby Love" by All-4-One.  I can see the cloud front in the distance, but for now I am treated to rugged peaks, accented by winding roads, narrow valleys, and little villages built along the highway.

My passenger tells me that unemployment is quite high in this part of Venezuela.  These towns, he says, function as little economic microcosms, relying on old-fashioned barter and services to be rendered in order for folks to earn a living.  The homes are small, often shared with extended family members, and the residents rarely travel outside of the village.

I ask the passenger about the occasion that brings his children and him to San Felipe.  He tells me that they are making their once-per-year visit to his parents.  They do not own a car, but he is able to save enough money to pay the 'Sociedad de Tareros de Venezuela' to arrange this very flight.  Little charter operations, with third party pilots, play a crucial role in so many lives in this part of the world.

Wanda is blazing on this leg, wanting to give the kids as much time with their grandparents as possible.

We settle into cruise at a level that soon becomes sandwiched between two layers of cloud.  Below us is a thick broken layer that reaches up to 8,000 feet or so.  Above us is a patchy layer of scattered stratocumulus clouds.  And occasionally, the two layers are connected by an immature, but soon-to-be-menacing nimbostratus.  I give these towers plenty of berth and keep us pointed in the direction of San Felipe.

On a more positive note, we are enjoying at 15 knot tailwind, which allows Wanda to pass over the ground at more than 200 MPH for the first time.  I'm happy to get Raul and his two kids to their abuelo and abuela a few minutes faster than planned.

For the next 15 minutes I can't see anything on the ground, but I know we are safe and sound here above the steep terrain.  The clouds should reduce by the time we reach the San Felipe valley.  If they don't, I will need to return for our IFR-friendly alternate at Valencia, which is passing beneath us unseen.

Under the broken cloud layer lies Arturo Michelena International Airport.

For a brief moment I catch a glimpse of SVVA, our alternate airport, Arturo Michelena International.  The warm waters of Lago Tacarigua are causing the cloud layer to become less broken and more scattered, so I can begin to see the ground more regularly now.

My playlist has moved on to "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling.  As I jam along, I read about Valencia on my iPad.  I knew it is the third largest city in Venezuela, but I didn't realize that 4,500,000 people live there.  That's quite a huge city!  (even more populated than some countries)

There are two interesting facts about Valencia that fascinate me: (1) it was the former capital of Venezuela in the early 1800's and (2) due to the large lake and mountainous terrain, it enjoys Fohn winds that actually make the afternoon the coolest part of the day (which is the opposite of pretty much 99.99% of the earth).  This Brass Globe we live upon certainly is diverse and full of surprises.

Guataparo Country Club is just above the left wing tip.

The clouds continue to break as we fly over the Gautaparo range and El Solar.  I can easily see features below including the country club, the Olympic training center (three blue swimming pools on a bright dirt square) and the mansions of Hato Royal (sitting in a green neighborhood north (right) of the training center).

My headphones are filled with "Boom Boom Boom" by Rare Blend, and I begin to plan our descent into the San Felipe valley.  The Guataparo ridge stays pretty tall until about 5 miles east of the San Felipe airport.  The last forecast before departure 35 mins ago showed me there is scattered cloud cover at 4,500 in the San Felipe valley.  That means that there is 3,000 - 4,000 feet of ridge line to be concerned about if I choose to descend into the scattered layer.  To mitigate this risk, I will fly a steep descent only after passing the ridge line.  At that point I know the minimum safe altitude is 3,500 feet, which should put me 1,000 feet below the clouds and within visual range of SVSP's runway 5.  If I cannot get visual contact with the runway, I will make a steep climb back to 10,500 feet and return to Valencia.

Carefully descending into the misty layer that that hugs the mountain ridges of Guarataro.

After passing the ridge line, I cut off the music in order to concentrate, and enter a -2,000 FPM descent into the San Felipe valley.  For 2 minutes we fly through pretty solid clouds and rain.  Keeping my hard deck of 3,500 feet in mind, I am relieved to finally make ground contact at 4,300 feet.  Having the earth in sight, I continue down to 3,500 and head toward the airfield, using the power lines off my right wing for visual guidance.

I spot Sub Teniente Nestor Arias airport and enter a standard right downwind leg to land on runway 5.  My passengers are in great spirits, happy to meet their grandparents at the airport in a few minutes.  I reconfigure Wanda from her descent profile into a landing setup and treat the kids to one of the smoothest possible touchdowns.

A flew a steep descent after the Guarataro ridge line in order to maximize safety.  Wanda's big engines, coarse prop blades and exhaust doors help me keep the speed manageable at such an angle.

Wanda and I arrived to Venezuela on August 12 and will be leaving here on August 30, 2024.  These 18 days inside the country have taught me many lessons about a place that I never knew much about.  Foremost, the people have a truly unbreakable spirit.  I never came across a mean or bitter person, even when they told me of their lifelong economic struggles.

Furthermore, I was surprised to see so many modern and 'normal' things in Venezuela - scientific farms, country clubs, large train stations, well-appointed hotels.  If the country can be seen as a prison for its population, at least it has some positive aspects for those trapped there.  I am fortunate that I did not have any issues with legal paperwork for my entry, and I hope that in the coming days my application to leave Venezuelan airspace goes just as smoothly.  If so, I am eager to finally begin island hopping in one of the most fantastic places on earth - the Caribbean.