In my previous post, I showed you the excursion that I did with some friends to a beautiful natural place with river and waterfall located in La Victoria, Aragua State (Venezuela), but one part was missing, and it is the one I share with you below.
En mi publicación anterior, les mostré la excursión que hice con unos amigos a un bello lugar natural con río y cascada ubicado en La Victoria, estado Aragua (Venezuela), pero faltó una parte, y es la que les comparto a continuación.
About 15 minutes from the spa with the small waterfall, up the mountain, my friends Betty and Johan have a plot where they plant different agricultural products for their own consumption, they invited me to visit that place too and I was delighted 😃.
A unos 15 minutos del balneario con la pequeña cascada, montaña arriba, mis amigos Betty y Johan tienen una parcela donde siembran diferentes productos agrícolas para su consumo, me invitaron a conocer también ese lugar y yo encantada 😃.
We continued walking along the river, amidst the freshness and pleasant aromas of the forest that surrounded us.
Seguimos caminando a un lado del río, entre la frescura y los agradables aromas del bosque que nos rodeaba.
While we were walking, I was asking some questions, for example what animals were around here, which ones they had seen, and Johan told me that there are several, although it is not so easy to see them. For example monkeys, peccary, felines like the onza, anteaters, snakes like the mapanare (super poisonous), many birds (we saw some beautiful macaws), butterflies (we saw some big blue ones) and lots of insects.
Mientras íbamos caminando, yo iba preguntando algunas cosas, por ejemplo qué animales había por aquí, cuáles habían visto, y Johan me dijo que hay varios, aunque no es tan fácil verlos. Por ejemplo monos, báquiros, felinos como la onza, osos hormigueros, serpientes como la mapanare (súper venenosa), muchas aves (vimos unas guacamayas bellísimas), mariposas (vimos unas azules grandes) e infinidad de insectos.
Then we arrived at an area where we began to see a lot of fenced land, some with sticks, others with wire fences or zinc sheets, and we also saw a man watering his plantation of bananas, who greeted us as we passed by.
Luego llegamos a una zona donde se comienzan a ver muchos terrenos cercados, algunos con palos, otros con alambradas o láminas de zinc, y también vimos a un hombre regando su plantación de cambures (bananas), que nos saludó al pasar.
Working the land around here looks very relaxing, plus if you are attacked by the heat you can cool off in the river while listening to the birds singing or the cry of a monkey 😄.
Trabajar la tierra por aquí se ve muy relajante, además si te ataca el calor puedes refrescarte en el río mientras escuchas el canto de las aves o el grito de un mono 😄.
We continued our hike, crossing the river from time to time and observing nature's gifts at every step.
Continuamos nuestra caminata, cruzando el río de vez en cuando y observando los regalos de la naturaleza a cada paso.
Of course the flora is also very varied here, look what we found on the ground, now I don't remember the name of the tree, but from it fell this kind of little brooms that smelled very good.
Por supuesto que la flora es también muy variada aquí, miren lo que encontramos en el suelo, ahora no recuerdo el nombre del árbol, pero de él caían esta especie de pequeñas escobas que olían muy rico.
We are in the dry season in Venezuela, which is usually from December to April, although with the changes in the climate this is not very precise at the moment, but the truth is that it is noticeable in the vegetation, little water comes down from the mountains.
Estamos en la temporada de sequía en Venezuela, que suele ser de diciembre a abril, aunque con los cambios del clima tampoco esto es muy preciso actualmente, pero lo cierto es que se nota en la vegetación, baja poca agua de la montaña.
The good thing about walking in nature in these months is that there is still almost no plague, you are saved from mosquitoes taking some of your blood and leaving you with a big itch 😆.
Lo bueno de andar por la naturaleza en estos meses es que aún no hay casi plaga, te salvas de que los mosquitos se lleven algo de tu sangre y te dejen una gran picazón 😆.
Further on we come across several planted plots, the most common crops are bananas and topochos, a similar but smaller fruit.
Nos topamos más adelante con varias parcelas sembradas, los cultivos más comunes son de cambures (bananas) y topochos, una fruta parecida pero más pequeña.
In this place you also get so many useful plants, for those who know, this is a supermarket, look at this arnica, it is one of the few I could identify, I don't have much knowledge in this matter.
En este lugar también se consiguen tantas plantas útiles, para los que saben, esto es un supermercado, miren esta árnica, es de las pocas que pude identificar, no tengo mucho conocimiento en esta materia.
Then the path went uphill, my friends' plot is on the mountain.
Luego el camino fue en ascenso, la parcela de mis amigos está en la montaña.
We arrived, the entrance gate has a fence made of sticks and secured with a padlock, the place is gorgeous.
Llegamos, la puerta de entrada tiene una cerca hecha con palos y asegurada con un candado, el lugar es precioso.
There was still more climbing to do, the crops are not at the beginning of the plot, I loved the very tall trees around here. Johan told me that a little further on, where it looked like a forest, is where a colony of monkeys lives.
Aún había que subir más, los sembradíos no están al principio de la parcela, me encantaron los árboles altísimos que hay por aquí. Johan me dijo que un poco más allá, donde se veía como un bosque, es donde vive una colonia de monos.
We reached the area they have cultivated and I started to see everything that was there, the first thing was the most popular: bananas.
Alcanzamos el área que tienen cultivada y empecé a ver todo lo que había allí, lo primero fue lo más popular: bananas.
Further up, they have a small tank to store water, and the hoses to bring it in are connected to a spring that is even higher up. As the terrain is not flat, the conditions for working the land here are somewhat hard.
Más arriba, tienen un pequeño tanque para almacenar agua, y las mangueras para traerla están conectadas a una naciente que está más arriba aún. Como el terreno no es plano, las condiciones para trabajar la tierra acá son algo duras.
Besides bananas, there is topocho, passion fruit, coffee, black beans, papaya, sweet bell pepper, tangerine, and when the rains start, they will plant corn and some other products that I can't remember now.
Aparte de bananas, hay topocho, parchita (maracuyá), café, caraotas negras, lechoza (papaya), ají dulce, mandarina, y al empezar las lluvias sembrarán maíz y algunos productos más que ahora no recuerdo.
They also have some rare beans, that is to say that they are not commercial, you don't find them in the markets, like this one that I was given as a gift. It is called toddy or cocoa bean because it tastes like that, there is a very famous and commercial drink here in Venezuela with that name, but it contains cocoa, not this bean from which they got the name. I am going to try to plant it and see how it goes.
También tienen algunos granos raros, es decir que no son comerciales, no los encuentras en los mercados, como este que me regalaron. Se llama toddy o frijol de cacao porque sabe a eso, hay una bebida muy famosa y comercial acá en Venezuela con ese nombre, pero contiene cacao, no este grano del cual sacaron el nombre. Voy a intentar sembrarlo a ver cómo me va.
It is undoubtedly very satisfying to be able to consume something that you grow yourself, besides not using pesticides, so what you eat is healthy.
Sin duda es muy satisfactorio poder consumir algo que tú sembraste, además de no usar agrotóxicos (pesticidas), así lo que comes es sano.
Betty picked up some sweet peppers and gave them to me, in Venezuela this is an ingredient that is used in many foods, there are different types and colors, but they all add a particular flavor to the preparations.
Betty recogió algunos ajíes dulces y me los regaló, en Venezuela este es un ingrediente que se usa en muchas comidas, hay de distintos tipos y colores, pero todos le agregan un sabor particular a las preparaciones.
We spent about half an hour in the plot, it was a great walk, I really enjoyed it!
Estuvimos una media hora en la parcela, fue un paseo genial, ¡lo disfruté mucho!
And to finish, an anecdote, do you remember I said there was no plague around here? Well, that day in the afternoon Betty texted me to told me that she had about five ticks attached to her body, and to check me just in case. Fortunately I hadn't taken those critters home with me, but it made me laugh because it's not the first time that's happened to her, and she says it herself, "my friend, I have blood for those bugs" 😂.
Y para finalizar, una anécdota, ¿recuerdan que dije que no había plaga por aquí? Bueno, ese día en la tarde Betty me escribió y me dijo que se le habían pegado unas cinco garrapatas al cuerpo, y que me revisara por si acaso. Afortunadamente yo no me había llevado a esas criaturas a mi casa, pero me dio risa porque no es la primera vez que le pasa eso, y ella misma lo dice, “amiga, tengo sangre para esos bichos” 😂.
All photos are my property and were taken with my Redmi 9 phone / Todas las fotos son de mi propiedad y fueron hechas con mi teléfono Redmi 9
Thank you so much! 😊
Gracias por mostrar la abundancia de la naturaleza y la belleza de Venezuela, un abrazo!
Un país que tiene todo ❤️, ¡gracias por apreciar mi publicación @aventurerasbike! 🤗
Hermoso el lugar y toda la vegetación, la naturaleza nunca deja de sorprender 😊🏵️
Siií, ¡me alegra que te haya gustado! Gracias por pasar 😊
como siempre demasiado hermoso 😍
¡Graaacias! 😊🍃
la verdad se dice..
Amazing place but so hard to cultivate in such a remote location! Do they really have to walk all that path to get there?
As we would say in Greece:
Χαρά στο κουράγιο τους :)
At least I know which months I should come to Venezuela. Mosquitoes seems to be very fond of me :)
Yes, although it is not that far, from the community where we started the walk it is about half an hour at a good pace. The hard part, apart from planting on a steep terrain, is also when it is time to harvest, they must carry all of this to the flat part and from there in a cart to the community. Some of those who have their plot in the flat parts use motorcycles.
Hahaha, then you're just another one that the bugs love...
Yes, I know. We tried to cultivate a piece of land in Crete that it was in the forrest and the only access was a path. A beautiful place but discouraging difficult. We gave up after a few years and the path was just 10 minutes. So I understand the efforts of your friends and totally admire and respect what they are doing!
Bugs. That's a love - hate relationship. They love me and I hate them :)
Yes, they are definitely tricky places, I understand why you have given up.
Ah, so you're one of those who carry a few repellents when you walk around outdoors, so you don't feel their love so much 😂
Haha yes, my repellent is my best friend :)
Yet I keep preferring being outdoors in nature rather in a "safer", bug free environment! I guess I am a little masochist :)
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