This could be my mother atop the Pico Bolívar, the only place in Venezuela where it actually snows. My mother loves traveling. When I was thirteen, she would take me skating at the Humboldt station's ice rink every week. This place and a coffee shop where we later sipped hot chocolate were the only active venues in this lonely resort. Cooler temperatures and isolation make the Humboldt's grounds ideal for romantic getaways or family retreats. In a neo-colonial turnaround, the tropics relish alpine fantasies.