Casualmente, logramos llegar a la costa. Pasamos por toda Cinta Costera, Paseo La Marina, un eje vial hermoso y con un gran prospecto de desarrollo económico, turístico y urbano a mi modo de ver. Decidimos que comeríamos en éste sitio. El color impresionante del mar nos impresionó.

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to the city of Caracas. I passed by several emblematic sites and observed the sight of an urban metastasis that eats away at you. It makes you look so tiny in the most grotesque, horrifying and popular city in Venezuela.

There were several places I wanted to visit, but my trip was for work. Therefore, I could not go beyond an orderly and planned route to fulfill the signed purpose. While all this was going on, I talked with my companions about a place where we could eat and enjoy ourselves for a while. This happened when we were not in Caracas, but in La Guaira, formerly Vargas State.

We all agreed to go to the Caribbean coast. A restaurant that would allow us to feel the wind that spreads through the movement of the waves of the Caribbean Sea. The truth is that we did the search through Google Maps. We were a bit lost, and we drove around La Guaira several times in the car. We didn't know exactly where to go.

Coincidentally, we made it to the coast. We went through the entire Coastal Belt, Walk The Marina, a beautiful road axis with a great prospect of economic, touristic and urban development, in my opinion. We decided that we would eat at this place. The impressive color of the sea impressed us.

Ahora la idea sería elegir el restaurante. Seguimos recorriendo todo el perfil vial de la Avenida La Marina hasta que llegamos a la entrada del Círculo Militar Mamo. Un nombre un poco peculiar para mi gusto.

Decidimos entrar a éste lugar para parquear el carro, almorzar, tomar algo y ver la costa. En la entrada hay un control donde debes explicar a qué área te diriges; ya que para utilizar las piscinas y la playa debes pagar por persona ocho dólares americanos por ser un recinto privado (paradójicamente es así).

Now the idea would be to choose the restaurant. We continued along the entire road profile of Avenida La Marina until we reached the entrance to the Mamo Military Circle. It's a bit of a peculiar name for my taste.

We decided to enter this place to park the car, have lunch, have a drink and see the coast. At the entrance, there is a control where you must explain what area you are going to; since to use the pools and the beach, you must pay eight US dollars per person for being a private area (paradoxically so).

¿Por qué decidimos este lugar? La razón fue por la seguridad, resguardar el carro, nuestras cosas y protegernos a nosotros mismos que no conocíamos muy bien la zona urbana. En la entrada nos recomendaron dos restaurantes, el primero no me llamó la atención y no era lo que buscábamos.

El segundo, cerca de la entrada y con una vista espectacular, era el indicado. Decidimos comer ahí, ya que era lo que estábamos buscando. El restaurante se llama: “La Mar”, y estaba construido en una churuata playera venezolana con bordes de madera muy tradicionales, pero que le hacían ver elegante. Una muestra de que lo tradicional, lo cultural, lo elegante y minimalista se pueden combinar muy bien.

Why did we choose this place? The reason was for security—to protect the car, our things and ourselves, as we did not know the urban area very well. At the entrance, we were recommended two restaurants; the first one did not catch my attention and was not what we were looking for.

The second one, near the entrance and with a spectacular view, was the right one. We decided to eat there, since that was what we were looking for. The restaurant is called: "La Mar", and it was built in a Venezuelan beach hut with very traditional wooden edges, but that made it look elegant. A sample shows that the traditional, the cultural, the elegant and minimalist can be combined very well.

Iniciaré por la atención en el sitio. Algo que valoro y evalúo con mucha precaución es la atención del lugar, después de todo los servicios también se pagan y puedes dejar propinas adicionales. En el local nos atendieron de maravilla, claro, al no ser fecha de temporada había muy pocos clientes, pero la playa estaba llena de personas disfrutando el mar.

Nosotros no fuimos por temas de vacaciones, sino de trabajo. Algo poco usual, pero que a la vez era un prospecto que también ocurre. El mesero fue muy cordial y atento, notó que no éramos de la capital. Irónicamente, estábamos divirtiéndonos. Diciendo cosas inesperadamente sobre la vida y lo que nos merecíamos. Pedimos para tomar cervezas soleras light, decidimos no pedir ningún tipo de coctel porqué era lo que habíamos ingerido con anterioridad.

I will start with the attention at the site. Something that I value and evaluate with great caution is the attention of the place; after all, the services are also paid, and you can leave additional tips. Of course, since it was not in season, there were very few customers, but the beach was full of people enjoying the sea.

We did not go there for vacation, but for work. Something unusual occurred, but at the same time, it was a prospect that also occurred. The waiter was very cordial and attentive; he noticed that we were not from the capital. Ironically, we were having fun. Saying things unexpectedly about life and what we deserve. We asked for light lagers, but we decided not to order any kind of cocktail because that was what we had been drinking before.

El mesero nos trajo la carta y nos recomendó comer pescado, o mariscos. Nosotros pedimos de entrada Camarones Crispi con panes al ajillo.

Éste plato estaba servido con una decoración natural de lechuga y una flor de tomates que adornaba el plato estéticamente (ahora no como tomates por temas de salud). La entrada venía con una crema tártara para untar que estaba deliciosa. Los camarones estaban frescos, crujientes y ricos. Fue una buena opción pedirlos junto a los panes al ajillo y la cerveza solera light.

The waiter brought us the menu and recommended fish or seafood. We ordered Crispi shrimp with garlic breads as a starter.

This dish was served with a natural garnish of lettuce and a tomato flower that decorated the plate aesthetically (I don't eat tomatoes now for health reasons). The entree came with a cream of tartar spread that was delicious. The shrimp were fresh, crispy and rich. It was a good choice to order them along with the garlic bread and the light solera beer.

Comer mientras disfrutaba la vista del mar es algo encantador, único. Desearía que todas las costas del país sean así, conectadas con los gustos de las personas y adaptadas al turismo global.

De plato fuerte pedimos una Mar y Tierra, acompañada también con pan al ajillo (el pan al ajillo me gusta mucho, creo que se puede notar). Algo que debo indicar es que este plato estaba un poco salado, pero estaba muy bueno. La combinación de los camarones, el pulpo y la carne junto a una salsa para untar picante fue espectacular, cortaba el sabor salado de manera sutil. Para ser más específico, fue acertado.

Eating while enjoying the view of the sea is something charming and unique. I wish all the coasts of the country were like this: connected with people's tastes and adapted to global tourism.

For the main course, we ordered a Mar y Tierra, also accompanied by garlic bread (I like garlic bread very much, I think you can tell). Something I should point out is that this dish was a bit salty, but it was very good. The combination of the shrimp, octopus and meat together with a spicy spread was spectacular; it cut the salty flavor in a subtle way. To be more specific, it was spot-on.

Nosotros comimos en la parte delantera del restaurante, pero en la parte superior también hay una zona increíble y que permite observar el mar de una manera más impresionante. El sitio es un lugar costoso, pero vale la pena disfrutar en este sitio una comida mientras miras la costa de la Guaira.

Otro aspecto que debo resaltar es que es un sitio donde se reserva el derecho de admisión, no se permite fumar y usar vaper, pero afortunadamente no discrimina a ninguna persona por su condición racial, económica o sexual. Es lo que dicen los carteles en el restaurante. Cada una de las personas con las que hablé, me atendieron y cobraron, lo hicieron con mucho respeto. Claro, cada experiencia es única.

We ate in the front part of the restaurant, but at the top there is also an incredible area that allows you to observe the sea in a more impressive way. The place is an expensive place, but it is worth it to enjoy a meal here while looking at the coast of La Guaira.

Another aspect that I must emphasize is that it is a place where the right of admission is reserved, smoking and vaper is not allowed, but fortunately does not discriminate against anyone because of their racial, economic or sexual condition. That is what the signs in the restaurant say. Every single person I talked to, waited on and charged, did so with a lot of respect. Of course, every experience is unique.

¿Cuánto gastamos en ésta experiencia? Cada plato vale lo que disfrutamos. Su valor está en la experiencia y la vista que se persive. Lo vale.