Рет қаралды 287,034
00:47 Travel to Merida by car.
01:58 The Mucubají lagoon.
03:19 The first trip to Merida.
04:19 How is the highway to Merida?
04:53 Stone chapel in Merida.
05:24 Lodging in Merida.
07:06 Road to Los Aleros in Merida.
09:43 Grandchildren of Valentina Quintero.
10:24 How is wheat made in Mérida?
11:08 How do you carve wood?
12:12 Why do you have to travel to Merida?
12:36 Highest cableway in the world.
14:53 Paragliding in Mérida, how much does it cost?
17:15 Pico Espejo Station in Mérida.
19:21 How are trouts farmed?
21:07 How do you create a sense of rootedness?
21:28 What is done with sheep's wool?
23:43 Merida Botanical Garden.
26:16 The cloud forest of Mérida.
26:59 The toy house in Merida.
31:09 La Cañada Ranch in Merida.
32:39 Nature is the playground.
The classic trip of the Venezuelan family. To Merida by road, to see the snow, put on gloves and a wool hat. Well, I went there to take my grandchildren Río and Teo to see the mountains, the paramos, so that they could see and touch the frailejones and eat wheat arepitas. The sense of rootedness is cultivated from childhood. Nobody loves what they don't know.
So together with her mother - my only daughter Arianna - and her father - my only son-in-law Gabo - we started from Caracas to Mérida, because that trip can only be done through the trans-Andean highway to stop in the towns, see the progressive change between the plains. And how the mountains get closer when you start to ascend, the variation of the climate, the curves of the road on this trip. The road was built by prisoners during the dictatorship of General Juan Vicente Gómez and it is still the only way to get to Mérida, by land, if you come from the center of the country. I made this trip with my family at the age of 8, at 12, at 15 and then hundreds of times married to Arianna's father, after divorce, with my brothers and our children, already doing Blog and also with Dos de viaje . Always by car. I never get tired. I always find out. But I’ve never done it with small children. And much less with grandchildren that I didn’t have. Rio, 4 years old, and Teo, 4 months. The best thing about traveling with grandchildren is that his father and his mother also are going. So it was a trip designed for little kids.
We stayed first at Estancia Xinia and Peter in La Mucuy, my home in Merida. On the way, we ate pastries in Santo Domingo and then entered the Mucubají lagoon, which gave us a glorious afternoon. We visited Los Aleros, the mythical park designed by Alexis Montilla, and Río was delirious with happiness when he learned about older times, discovered the gurrufío and the metras, and then jumped down the cement slide with his father. Teo just watches and is happily attached to his mother's breast. At the Paraíso trout farm, Río enjoyed returning the trout to the pools so they could continue to live. In the cableway he couldn't understand why he shouldn't run if that's his life. Because they were so small, they could only go up to the third station, but La Conquista and I arrived at Pico Espejo with fierce cold and wind. In the city of Mérida we also toured the extraordinary Botanical Garden, owned by the Universidad de Los Andes and maintained by the love and dedication of the people of Merida. The highest euphoria was the Mario Calderón toy museum. There Río, Teo and Gabo were delirious. Rio could not find where to see. Imagine a house full of toys that tell the story of how toys were created and designed, before the advent of plastic and technology. All mechanical. Rope or immobile. In addition, Mario tells us the tales of the origin of each one. The amusement. The peeled eyes. The most playful visit in Mérida. The most shocking thing was appreciating the benefits of consciously raising my grandchildren.
Verify the sensitivity of Rio in its connection with nature. The confidence with which he jumps between the stones and the caution with which he determines what he is not capable of doing. His delicious conversations are full of logic and creativity. The fantasy that inhabits it. The OAS negotiations, because it is reasoned. He does not force himself, nor does he run over. He requires infinite patience and love and Arianna and Gabo deploy it, even if they sometimes collapse. Teo is placidity made into a baby. He only cries if he is hungry or sleepy. Otherwise, his life is laughing and watching. The rest of the days we spent at Estancia La Cañada, my home in the mountains, where I enjoyed searching for the colors of the garden with Río. He knows that the best and most generous playground is nature. The trip to Mérida by road continues to be a classic of the Venezuelan family. That is why it is so outrageous that the regime does not send gasoline.
Subscribe to my channel for more travel stories!