Maricabo

My first weekend in town, I was spontaneously invited on a guided trip to Lake Maricabo. I didn’t know much about the lake or what I was getting into.

The trip was unexpectedly epic. I hiked through cloud forests and coffee fields, soaked in secluded hot springs, all en route to an awaiting boat that took us into the center of Latin America’s biggest lake by night. It’s less a lake and more an ocean, with waves, dolphins and limitless views. Our lodging was a rustic structure on stilts in the middle of the water.

We swam by the light of the moon at night, and hunted for birds and reptiles by day. On the way home, we visited Andean towns and waterfalls. For a city girl, this was the best nature could get.

 

Leaving Merida and driving north through the countryside.

 

Very quickly, the sights and vegetation changed as we climbed up into the steep mountains.

 

Producing chimo (a chewing tobacco) by boiling up syrup.

 

It smelled exactly like molasses.

 

Hiking through cloud forests and coffee plantations.

 

These little farms dot the side of the mountain.

This rustic kitchen was inside a very small house.

 

Vegetation and a horse in the countryside.

 

In these secluded, lush hot springs, the pools were scalding, but the river running
next to it was ice cold. It made for some invigorating swimming.

 

When we finally arrived at Lake Maricabo, we were greeted by the welcome
wagon (their pastime was riding their bikes into the lake). This is what I
woke up to—we stayed next door, in the middle of nothing.

 

Exploring the lake by boat, we found fisherman who still subsist through a net and a pole.

 

Though the technique was rudimentary, they brought in a good catch.

 

A very serious young man assesses today’s taking.

 

Slow-moving life along the lake.

 

Wandering around Jaji—a picturesque town in the Andes featuring whitewashed buildings.

 

The slow pace of a small town.

 

Sweet ice cream and the Simpsons—rural Venezuela offers the unexpected.