00:00 Bitácora in Mérida.
02:00 Apartaderos in Mérida.
04:00 National Astronomical Observatory in Mérida.
06:21 Walk through the Llano del Hato Observatory.
08:00 Condor flying through Mérida.
09:00 Pico el Águila road in Mérida.
10:29 What are the Merideños frailejones like?
11:35 Dome of the Piñango church in Mérida.
12:44 Artichokes from Cerro Cañada Cerrada in Mérida.
13:38 Visiting Chachopo in Mérida.
14:56 Timotes plaza in Mérida.
15:46 Hotel Las Truchas in Timotes, Mérida.
17:10 Flowers and fruits in Mérida.
Mérida always surprises, no matter how many times you visit this state that has always been the precursor of tourism in Venezuela, because only here can we see the snow. In this episode of Bitácora that we recorded in 1999, we decided to follow in the footsteps of Loca Luz Caraballo, the mythical Andean character whom Andrés Eloy Blanco immortalized in a poem, whose lyrics can be found next to his statue in the town of Apartaderos. We never visited the City of Mérida, but instead we took the Pico El Águila road to see if we would get a snowfall - no luck - and we went through that wasteland of Piedras Blancas that leads to the town of Piñango. Along this road there are some huge frailejones. Bigger than people like me. They can reach up to two meters. They look like trees. It is lonely and silent. Permanent wind. I confess that when I saw this episode I realized that that was the only time I visited Piñango and because I insisted. A very beautiful church. The authentic Andean town with few streets. Very cold. Unfrequented. But at that time there were two inns. I don't know what it will be like now. One of the most exciting moments of this trip was seeing a condor flying, in addition to visiting Combatiente, the condor that lived in Mifafí. At that time it was common to see these gigantic birds from the road. There was a genuine effort to introduce the condor back to the Andean moors, but there was no way for the residents to accept them. They were terrified of them. They believed it would take children and animals.
We returned to the main road to head towards Timotes like someone who wants to go to Valera in the state of Trujillo. Here we crossed the Las Ventas sector, where artichokes are grown and restaurants offer them in all their versions and also in jars to take home. Since it was about following the route of the Loca Luz Caraballo, we entered Chachopo and I was frozen by the eagle-shaped altar that you only notice if you lift the tablecloths. In the time of Bitácora the emphasis was on reviewing all the inns and restaurants with their precise information. A purely informative program. The other thing that impresses me is that I use voiceover a lot. As if we didn't have microphones. The pace is slow. Without eagerness. Totally far from current times and not to mention KZfaq.
The program ends in Timotes, the last busy town with many of these inns that had such good times. I love seeing the way I have reinvented myself. I don't want to make a tourist guide anymore. I want to tell stories.
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📌Director/Dp:
Branimir Caleta - @caletadp
📌Journalist/General Production:
Valentina Quintero - @valendeviaje
📌Sound
Edward Nogales - @nogalesrob
📌Post production
Gustavo Mendoza - @el.tasto
Alexander Ramirez @damianjr23
📌Graphic design
Stephanye Cuellar - @stephanye._
📌Motion Graphics
Andrés Ungaro - @gazoo69
📌KZfaq Optimization Team:
Barbara Mongou - @barbaramongou
Ricardo Miranda - @popinteractivo