Speaking of Simon Bolivar, I went up to his tomb in the National Pantheon. Several famous Venezuelans are buried there. Some tombs sit empty because their intended occupants were literally lost in a battle but are still honored. The Pantheon is a huge building with all sorts of statues. Interestingly, just across the parking lot sits the national jail that Venezuela's current president sat in after he led a failed coup in the early 1990's. During his time in that prison, he studied up on government leadership and eventually worked his way into the most powerful office in the country. One funny story about my visit to the hall is that I arrived with shorts on and they would not let me in. I had a pair of pants in my backpack so I slipped the pants on over my shorts on the front steps to the amazement of the guards.