Long walks through nature are something that I love to do, and if they also take me to know a new area, the better. This was the Ciudad Caribia - El Junquito walk, a route that begins in an urbanization through the mountains on the road to La Guaira and ends in a town near Caracas.
Me encontré con mis compañeros del Centro Excursionista Caracas (CEC) en la estación de metro Gato Negro, de allí salimos y nos dirigimos hacia la entrada del Parque Alí Primera donde al frente tomamos el autobús que nos llevó al punto de inicio.
I met the people from the Caracas Excursionist Center (CEC) at the Gato Negro metro station, from there we left and headed towards the entrance of the Ali Primera Park where we took the bus that took us to the starting point.
Más o menos en media hora llegamos a Ciudad Caribia, una gran urbanización ubicada en el sector Camino de los Indios a 2,4 kilómetros al oeste del viaducto N° 2 de la Autopista Caracas-La Guaira, subiendo por una carretera en la montaña.
More or less in half an hour we arrive at Ciudad Caribia, a large urbanization located in the Camino de los Indios (Path of the Indians) sector 2.4 kilometers west of viaduct No. 2 of the Caracas-La Guaira highway, going up a mountain road.
Yo ya había visitado este lugar para hacer un trabajo periodístico, pero no sabía que por ahí se hacían excursiones.
I had already visited this place to do journalistic work, but I didn't know that excursions were made there.
Este complejo es enorme y fue concebido por el gobierno venezolano para beneficiar con viviendas a bajo costo tanto a personas que perdieron sus hogares por las lluvias como a las que vivían en condiciones vulnerables o no tenían casa propia.
This complex is huge and was conceived by the Venezuelan government to benefit with low-cost housing both people who lost their homes due to the rains and those who lived in vulnerable conditions or did not have their own home.
La primera etapa fue inaugurada en 2011, en total son 6.000 hectáreas de desarrollo habitacional donde se proyectaron unos 20 mil apartamentos. Además de las viviendas aquí hay escuelas, centros de salud, sitios de recreación, venta de víveres, banco, policía, una emisora de radio, entre otros servicios.
The first stage was inaugurated in 2011, in total there are 6,000 hectares of housing development where about 20 thousand apartments were projected. In addition to the houses here there are schools, health centers, recreation sites, food sales, banks, police, a radio station, among other services.
Como mencioné antes, en estas montañas hay un Camino de los Indios, por ahí transitaban los indios Caribes, primogénitos habitantes de Caracas, para esquivar a los colonizadores españoles que llegaban por el puerto de La Guaira, ellos evitaron que las tierras de esta zona fuesen conquistadas.
As I mentioned before, in these mountains there is a Path of the Indians, through there the Carib Indians, first-born inhabitants of Caracas, transited to avoid the Spanish colonizers who arrived through the port of La Guaira, they prevented the lands of this area from being conquered.
En Ciudad Caribia nos esperaba una persona conocedora del lugar y comenzamos la excursión por un camino de tierra, por ahí vimos las ruinas de una casa y curioseamos un rato.
In Ciudad Caribia a guide was waiting for us and we began the excursion along a dirt road, around there we saw the ruins of a house and we looked around for a while.
Seguimos por un sendero plano pero luego comenzó una subida bastante empinada y con el sol tan fuerte que había, todos íbamos sudando a cántaros.
We continued along a flat path but then a fairly steep climb began and with the sun so strong we were all sweating profusely.
Ya nos habían advertido que esta ruta era fuerte y que incluía muchos cambios de terreno: subidas, bajadas, tramos de tierra, concreto, selva, partes despejadas con mucho sol.
We had already been warned that this route was strong and that it included many changes of terrain: ascents, descents, stretches of dirt, concrete, jungle, clear parts with a lot of sun.
Una media hora después llegamos a una colina donde había una cruz que estaba recubierta de espejos, me pareció interesante y me puse a hacer unas fotos, allí nos quedamos descansando unos minutos.
About half an hour later we reached a hill where there was a cross that was covered with mirrors, I found it interesting and I started to take some photos, there we stayed for a few minutes resting.
El camino que siguió fue de bajada, cruzamos un riachuelo para luego volver a subir, allí el clima cambió y nos cubrió un poco la neblina. En ese momento tenía mucha sed, yo había llevado bastante agua en mi mochila de agua o camelbak pero estaba tan congelada que tuve que pedir a una amiga que me echara de su agua para que se derritiera el hielo y así poder tomar.
The path that followed was downhill, we crossed a stream and then went back up, there the weather changed and the mist covered us a bit. At that time I was very thirsty, I had brought enough water in my water backpack or camelbak but it was so frozen that I had to ask a friend to pour some of her water there so the ice would melt and I could drink it.
Por esta zona ya se veían algunas casitas a lo lejos en las montañas y cuando llegamos a un camino plano nos encontramos con un antiguo horno, estaba en buenas condiciones, quizás aún alguien lo usa.
In this area we could already see some little houses in the distance in the mountains and when we reached a flat path we found an old oven, it was in good condition, perhaps someone is still using it.
Más adelante la vista de las montañas se hizo más amplia y en varias partes observamos sembradíos, las cosechas de esta zona abastecen tanto a los pobladores cercanos como también a la ciudad de Caracas, aquí se producen hortalizas, tubérculos y legumbres.
Later, the view of the mountains became wider and in several parts we observed crops, the crops of this area supply both the nearby inhabitants and the city of Caracas, here vegetables, tubers and legumes are produced.
A partir de aquí ya casi todo el recorrido era en subida, en este punto el grupo se dispersó porque no todos íbamos al mismo ritmo, pero como el camino estaba marcado no había posibilidad de que alguien se perdiera.
From here on, almost the entire route was uphill, at this point the group dispersed because not all of us were going at the same pace, but as the path was marked there was no possibility of someone getting lost.
Casi llegando a la población de El Junquito, apareció la carretera asfaltada y plana pero igual estábamos todos muy cansados, llevábamos unas 8 horas caminando. Un compañero del grupo vio un camión y le hizo señas para que se parara, le pidió al conductor que nos llevara hasta la entrada del pueblo y así ahorrarnos ese tramo. Nos subimos atrás parados y en menos de 5 minutos llegamos.
Almost reaching the town of El Junquito, the paved and flat road appeared but we were all very tired, we had been walking for about 8 hours. A companion of the group saw a truck and motioned for it to stop, asked the driver to take us to the entrance of the town and thus save us that stretch. We got in the back standing and in less than 5 minutes we arrived.
Fuimos hasta una bodega que estaba allí y poco a poco fueron llegando los demás compañeros de excursión, muchos se tomaron unas cervezas, yo compré un helado. Ya un poco más relajados caminamos hasta la parada de autobuses para regresar a Caracas, que queda a unos 20 km de El Junquito.
We went to a store that was there and little by little the other fellow excursions arrived, many had a few beers, I bought an ice cream. A little more relaxed, we walked to the bus stop to return to Caracas, which is about 20 km from El Junquito.
Fotos hechas por mí con mi celular Orinoquia Bucare / Photos taken by me with my Orinoquia Bucare cell phone
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