El Avila, Sierra Grande
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Along the seashore an earth mass suddenly rises, extending from east to west. Forty million years ago the mountain emerged from the deep; then two sides -the Caribbean to the north; Caracas, the capital to the south- have been silent witnesses to the founding of Venezuela. Called Guaraira-Repano by the ancestral Indians, and Avila by the Spaniards and their descendants, the Sierra Grande, with all its names, saw the expansion of the city over the entire valley: Soldiers of fortune made the conquest of the territory; pirates deciphered the |
mysteries of its intricate trails to reach Caracas and destroy the early settlement of primitive lodges; and later, eminent naturalists came from other continents lured by visions of its treasures. It never failed to surprise the curious and astonish the traveler, or later to inspire the poet and painter.
The sunlight illuminates the hillsides of El Avila -today a national park- offering a spectacle of constantly changing colors. Under the moonlight, El Avila turns into a beautiful silhouette. From December to May, the dry season puts a temporary end to this multicolor interplay until one afternoon the first heavy rain suddenly revives the warm lights dancing on the steep slopes of the mountain.
From its haunting magnificence, El Avila watches over everyone and continues to inspire all of them. Those who have become a legend, |
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and those who have been forgotten: Bello, Bellerman, Cabre, Humboldt, Bolívar himself, and millions of other human beings have all found shelter at its feet. To learn the secrets of nature in Venezuela, one need no escape Caracas. For Caracas is also El, Avila, green shelter, legendary accomplice and bodyguard, with the enigma of its paths and an ideal retreat for nature lovers. |
