Mérida, Venezuela

Merida to Los Nevados: in the Andean Ends of Venezuela


La Aguada
La Aguada cabin of the old Mérida cable car system transports passengers from 1600 meters of altitude in the city to the top of the Sierra Nevada, almost at 4800 meters.
On the way to Pico Espejo
A cabin of the old Mérida cable car (the longest and highest in the world) goes up towards Pico Espejo.
The window
Passengers from the old Mérida cable car observe the scenery on the way down to the city.
agricultural retail
Agricultural fields that precede Los Nevados, on a slope of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida.
Mucubaji Lagoon
Horse grazes herbs on the surface of the Mucubaji lagoon in the highlands of Páramo, on the outskirts of the city of Mérida.
Flower of Frailejon
Frailejon flower, a furry perennial plant endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Mérida and parts of the Colombian Andes
Los Nevadas
Resident walks down the main street of Los Nevados, a village lost in a valley in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida.
The Espejo Peak
The snow-dusted peak of Pico Espejo, at 4800 m altitude but not very cold due to the latitude close to the equator of this part of Venezuela.
Plaza Bolívar
Two young Venezuelans cross the center of Plaza Bolivar, the heart of Mérida.
Mr. Manuel
A roadside vendor rests a little near the stone chapel of San Pedro de Mucuchies, in San Rafael, on the outskirts of Mérida.
Vaquero de Los Nevadas
Inhabitant of Los Nevados at the door of a tavern in the village
View of Los Nevadas
Los Nevados resident enjoys his village from the veranda of a local bar.
Elder
An elderly resident of Los Nevados in the picturesque costume of a jacketed cowboy.
Los Nevadas
View of Los Nevados from an elevation on the way to the village
In the 40s and 50s, Venezuela attracted 400 Portuguese but only half stayed in Caracas. In Mérida, we find places more similar to the origins and the eccentric ice cream parlor of an immigrant portista.

Province of Mérida: this is where the Andes have their last death throes on the northern tip of South America.

Shortly thereafter, they merge with the Coastal Range, the cross chain of mountains that hides the Caribbean Sea.

The interior region, located along the border with the Colombia, is the national Mecca for hikers and high-altitude hikers in general.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

The snow-dusted peak of Pico Espejo, at 4800 m altitude but not very cold due to the latitude close to the equator of this part of Venezuela.

We had already covered many kilometers in the streets from its homonymous capital when we realize that, thanks to one of the many enterprising Portuguese who settled in Venezuela, it also inspired foodies of this world.

Manuel da Silva. An Emigrant Who Gives Venezuela More Flavor

Manuel da Silva Oliveira arrived from Porto still young. He arrived with experience as a bartender and cook and opened a restaurant in Merida.

Business was in full swing when, one day, a salesman asked him if he didn't want to keep an ice cream maker. “Don Manolo” – as he has been known for a long time – understood food and drink. Not really ice cream. Still, when the traveling salesman explained to him how simple the preparation was, he ended up buying the machine.

In a first phase, he simply followed the instructions. Mixed the milk with the chemical essences of chocolate, strawberry and the ice cream.

Ice cream was ready in a flash. They began to satisfy the population of the city.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Two young Venezuelans cross the center of Plaza Bolivar, the heart of Mérida.

But essences were not always available and the machine did not mix natural raw materials properly.

After some discussion with the seller, Manuel da Silva Oliveira managed to have his machine replaced by another one and even offered a special mixer, much better suited to mixing the necessary ingredients with the milk. That change and his perseverance dictated a future he would never dare to predict.

The Coromoto Gelataria Recordist Flavors Showcase

Years passed. Don Manolo got fed up with working for the companies that owned the machines that kept him with a good part of the profit. He opened his own ice cream parlor. To the three or four compounds that Venezuela was used to, he added several other fruits, fresh and dried.

Vegetables and liquors followed, all with the ease that Merida is the orchard and vegetable garden of Venezuela. Then came shellfish, fish and who knows what else.

Opened in 1981, the Coromoto ice cream parlor quickly assembled an impressive portfolio. Over time, it surpassed 800 ice cream creations. It was recognized by the Guinness Book as the ice cream shop with the most flavors in the world. This status was clearly marked in bright neon lights over the entrance to the establishment. And it attracted travelers from all over the world.

But the business' fame didn't stop his mentor's aging. Manuel Oliveira da Silva lost the youth of other times and, with it, the patience for routine.

He passed the management of the business to José Ramirez. The Portuguese accent of Venezuelan Castilian disappeared behind the counter and the refrigerated windows. His mustache remained and the flavors never stopped increasing. At the time of this text, the Coromoto ice cream parlor sold over a thousand.

José Ramirez does not need to give us a taste of conventional flavours: “See which ones you feel like trying and let me know. I see if they are ready for everyone!"

Ice Cream Flavors Literally for Every Taste

We scan the endless list that decorates the walls. We let ourselves be amazed. Onions, spaghetti and cheese, garlic and corn would be suspect desserts anywhere in the world. At Coromoto, the stranger goes further. "Sardines in Brandy"and "Hope by Viagra” make us laugh unceremoniously and taste much better than expected.

In a mildly sweet way, the “Creole Pavilion” manages to be faithful to one of the emblematic dishes of Venezuela. Next door, someone chokes and asks for an urgent glass of water. I had just tested “chilli".

Spoon by spoon, we try to decipher the semantic mysteries behind "British Airways","Andean Bees","pardon, dear","Frontera Diary"and "samba pa mi”, we also challenge the extravagance of “La Vino Red","Spooker"and "Rice with Pulpo".

Coromoto ice cream parlor sells more than 80 flavored loaves a day. Despite a lot of curiosity, we didn't even get to taste half of it. An equally refreshing village awaited us.

Ascent to the Andean Heights of Merida

The next morning we caught the the city's emblematic cable car towards Pico Bolivar (4980m), a route to the roof of Venezuela that we are also told is the world record holder both in terms of length (12,5 km) and the altitude at which it reaches (4765m).

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

A cabin of the old Mérida cable car (the longest and highest in the world) goes up towards Pico Espejo.

At Merida's level, there was a pleasant warmth. With a mere ten minutes of ascent on the city cable car, we surpassed 3.000 meters. In the shade, the cold becomes uncomfortable.

Only the Pico Espejo terminal station (4765m), a few hundred meters from Pico Bolivar (4978m) brings back the warmth of the sun's rays.

Below, in the wide and green valley of the Sierra Nevada, the Merida houses.

Upwards are the sharp peaks of the Andes and, on the opposite foothills, Los Nevados, a picturesque small town, isolated from civilization by the lack of real means of communication.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Passengers from the old Mérida cable car observe the scenery on the way down to the city.

And the Steep Descent to the pueblito White from Los Nevadas

It is there that we go down on foot, after refusing to take the route by mule or jeep, in order to save money and our back and to be able to appreciate and photograph the scenery.

We are accompanied by a French family of “sailors” on land. A couple with two children who, tired of the monotonous and rainy life of Nantes, exchanged security and property, by a sailboat at anchor in Papeete, Tahiti. And that, from there, it started to set sail for the world whenever the money earned as dentists allowed it.

The journey of a few hours, largely downhill, proves undemanding and visually pleasing. It is adorned by the high-altitude vegetation that the locals call Páramos.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Agricultural fields that precede Los Nevados, on a slope of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida.

At some point, a new valley appears, covered by a multicolored carpet of cultivated fields. And right after, the village we were looking for.

We glimpsed it as we had discovered it in one or two photographic books that pay homage to that elusive interior of Venezuela, with the pointed tower of its church jutting out from the whitewashed houses.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

View of Los Nevados from an elevation on the way to the village

The name left little room for imagination. Los Nevados was named after the snowfalls that once covered it with a second layer of white.

Los Nevados where it no longer snows

in conversation with a cowboy site, we confirm that this has not happened for a long time. “Friends, I can't even remember the last time… my parents, yes, they talk about it many times, among themselves and with the older people here”.

Nothing to astonish. Warming is supposedly global. Given the village's altitude, 1000 or so meters, and its almost equatorial position in the world, it would be difficult for it to continue to snow there.

Today, lost in time, Los Nevados reveals itself as a typical rural refuge in the province of Mérida, sloping like few others, with dreary grocery stores and an intimidating tavern where natural light doesn't enter.

Jeans in worn clothes, brave children and old men walk up and down its two steep sidewalks busy with intriguing chores.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Inhabitant of Los Nevados at the door of a tavern in the village

Throughout the afternoon, we discover the village and the mountainous surroundings. At dinner, this French family amazes us with story after story of their sailings around the world, including escapes from Malaysian and Indonesian pirates and nationless storms.

That night we slept her in a local country inn. As soon as the sun appears over the ridges, we return to defying the rural privacy of Los Nevados.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Resident walks down the main street of Los Nevados, a village lost in a valley in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida.

In the early afternoon, we all decided to return to Mérida in the only shared transport that could save us from the painful hike up the mountain: an old jeep overloaded with huge millstones.

Vertiginous Journey through the Serrania and the Return to the Urban Base of Mérida

Never, on a trip, had the discomfort of lack of space and jolts seemed so secondary to us. The route takes place along a dirt road that is almost always carved into the hillside and looks out over the precipices of the Sierra Nevada.

By itself, the setting had little tranquility. As if that wasn't enough, the weight of the eight passengers and the millstones made the jeep adorn more than usual for the dramatic side.

This adornment left us between apprehension and panic. Nor the jokes thrown by the driver and a friend, both in need of fun. “Hold on tight or it'll give you flour!” they eased the tension.

Little by little, we left the conquered stretch of the mountain behind. We completed the rest of the route much faster and more smoothly.

Merida to Los Nevados borders of the Andes, Venezuela

Horse grazes herbs on the surface of the Mucubaji lagoon in the highlands of Páramo, on the outskirts of the city of Mérida.

We arrived in Merida two hours before sunset. Coromoto was still open.

We entered. We ordered some of the flavors that seemed to be able to help us decompress from the newly overcome torment.

Among the choices were "Cerelac"and "Frontera Diary".

Los Llanos, the swampy, anaconda-filled region of the interior of Venezuela was our next.

There we also find lost Portuguese.

Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.

Gran Sabana, Venezuela

A Real Jurassic Park

Only the lonely EN-10 road ventures into Venezuela's wild southern tip. From there, we unveil otherworldly scenarios, such as the savanna full of dinosaurs in the Spielberg saga.

Altitude Sickness: the Grievances of Getting Mountain Sick

When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

At the top of Mount Roraima, there are extraterrestrial scenarios that have resisted millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never got to step on it.
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Mérida, Venezuela

The Vertiginous Renovation of the World's Highest Cable Car

Underway from 2010, the rebuilding of the Mérida cable car was carried out in the Sierra Nevada by intrepid workers who suffered firsthand the magnitude of the work.
Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa

In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted
Mendoza, Argentina

From One Side to the Other of the Andes

Departing from Mendoza city, the N7 route gets lost in vineyards, rises to the foot of Mount Aconcagua and crosses the Andes to Chile. Few cross-border stretches reveal the magnificence of this forced ascent
Mérida, Mexico

The Most Exuberant of Meridas

In 25 BC, the Romans founded Emerita Augusta, capital of Lusitania. The Spanish expansion generated three other Méridas in the world. Of the four, the Yucatan capital is the most colorful and lively, resplendent with Hispanic colonial heritage and multi-ethnic life.
Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe

The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.
Caracas, Venezuela

The Difficult Metropolis that Commands the Venezuelan Utopia

Almost half a millennium after its founding, Caracas has been on the wrong path. The Bolivarian Revolution led by Hugo Chávez and the solidification of a pseudo-communist ideology isolated Venezuela from the “Western world”. A victim of obvious socioeconomic degradation, even with the paradisiacal scenery of the Caribbean Sea in sight, it has become one of the most dangerous and rejected capitals on the face of the Earth.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beach
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
safari
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Thorong La, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, photo for posterity
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 13th - High camp a Thorong La to Muktinath, Nepal

At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
hacienda mucuyche, Yucatan, Mexico, canal
Architecture & Design
Yucatan, Mexico

Among Haciendas and Cenotes, through the History of Yucatan

Around the capital Merida, for every old hacienda henequenera there's at least one cenote. As happened with the semi-recovered Hacienda Mucuyché, together, they form some of the most sublime places in southeastern Mexico.

Aventura
Volcanoes

Mountains of Fire

More or less prominent ruptures in the earth's crust, volcanoes can prove to be as exuberant as they are capricious. Some of its eruptions are gentle, others prove annihilating.
Ceremonies and Festivities
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
Gangtok House, Sikkim, India
Cities
Gangtok, India

An Hillside Life

Gangtok it is the capital of Sikkim, an ancient kingdom in the Himalayas section of the Silk Road, which became an Indian province in 1975. The city is balanced on a slope, facing Kanchenjunga, the third highest elevation in the world that many natives believe shelters a paradise valley of Immortality. Their steep and strenuous Buddhist existence aims, there, or elsewhere, to achieve it.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Lunch time
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Parade and Pomp
Culture
Saint Petersburg, Russia

When the Russian Navy Stations in Saint Petersburg

Russia dedicates the last Sunday of July to its naval forces. On that day, a crowd visits large boats moored on the Neva River as alcohol-drenched sailors seize the city.
Sport
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Traveling
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
Bride gets in car, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan
Ethnic
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

Twyfelfontein, Ui Aes, Twyfelfontein, Adventure Camp
History
Twyfelfontein - Ui Aes, Namíbia

The Rupestrian Namibia Uncovered

During the Stone Age, the now hay-covered valley of the Aba-Huab River was home to a diverse fauna that attracted hunters. In more recent times, colonial era fortunes and misfortunes coloured this part of Namibia. Not as many as the more than 5000 petroglyphs that remain at Ui Aes / Twyfelfontein.
Navala, Viti Levu, Fiji
Islands
Navala, Fiji

Fiji's Tribal Urbanism

Fiji has adapted to the invasion of travelers with westernized hotels and resorts. But in the highlands of Viti Levu, Navala keeps its huts carefully aligned.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
End of the day at the Teesta river dam lake in Gajoldoba, India
Nature
Dooars India

At the Gates of the Himalayas

We arrived at the northern threshold of West Bengal. The subcontinent gives way to a vast alluvial plain filled with tea plantations, jungle, rivers that the monsoon overflows over endless rice fields and villages bursting at the seams. On the verge of the greatest of the mountain ranges and the mountainous kingdom of Bhutan, for obvious British colonial influence, India treats this stunning region by Dooars.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Vila Velha Paraná, Paraná Tropeirismo Route
Natural Parks
Vila Velha Park a Castro, Paraná

On the Paraná Tropeirismo Route

Between Ponta Grossa and Castro, we travel in Campos Gerais do Paraná and throughout its history. For the past of the settlers and drovers who put the region on the map. Even that of Dutch immigrants who, in more recent times and, among many others, enriched the ethnic assortment of this Brazilian state.
Palm trees of San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands
UNESCO World Heritage
Tenerife, Canary Islands

East of White Mountain Island

The almost triangular Tenerife has its center dominated by the majestic volcano Teide. At its eastern end, there is another rugged domain, even so, the place of the island's capital and other unavoidable villages, with mysterious forests and incredible abrupt coastlines.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Characters
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
Balo Beach Crete, Greece, Balos Island
Beaches
Balos a Seitan Limani, Crete, Greece

The Bathing Olympus of Chania

It's not just Chania, the centuries-old polis, steeped in Mediterranean history, in the far northeast of Crete that dazzles. Refreshing it and its residents and visitors, Balos, Stavros and Seitan have three of the most exuberant coastlines in Greece.

Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Christian churches, priest with insensate
Religion
Holy Sepulcher Basilica, Jerusalem, Israel

The Supreme Temple of the Old Christian Churches

It was built by Emperor Constantine, on the site of Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection and an ancient temple of Venus. In its genesis, a Byzantine work, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher is, today, shared and disputed by various Christian denominations as the great unifying building of Christianity.
white pass yukon train, Skagway, Gold Route, Alaska, USA
On Rails
Skagway, Alaska

A Klondike's Gold Fever Variant

The last great American gold rush is long over. These days, hundreds of cruise ships each summer pour thousands of well-heeled visitors into the shop-lined streets of Skagway.
Society
Dali, China

Chinese Style Flash Mob

The time is set and the place is known. When the music starts playing, a crowd follows the choreography harmoniously until time runs out and everyone returns to their lives.
Young twin women, weavers
Daily life

Margilan, Uzbequistan

A Tour of Uzbekistan's Handicraft Fabrics

Located in the far east of Uzbekistan, in the Fergana Valley, Margilan was one of the essential stops on the Silk Road. Since the 10th century, the silk products produced there have made it stand out on maps; today, haute couture brands compete for its fabrics. More than just a prodigious center of artisanal creation, Margilan values ​​and cherishes an ancient Uzbek way of life.
Bather rescue in Boucan Canot, Reunion Island
Wildlife
Reunion Island

The Bathing Melodrama of Reunion

Not all tropical coastlines are pleasurable and refreshing retreats. Beaten by violent surf, undermined by treacherous currents and, worse, the scene of the most frequent shark attacks on the face of the Earth, that of the Reunion Island he fails to grant his bathers the peace and delight they crave from him.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.