In the middle of a week full of stress, where I have even cried for being immersed in so many responsibilities in these last days of the year, a friend had the best idea so far in November: "How about going for a walk to the Botanical Garden? Whether you want to believe it or not, everyone I know had told me, and recommended, that I had to go; that it is a magical place to disconnect and at the same time it is ideal for exercise. Today, well, yesterday (as I write this post hours have already passed...) I had one of the most beautiful surprises I could have had in my own city: a forest, clean air and total peace.
Not long ago I decided to move from my hometown, Guacara to San Diego, which is the neighboring city of my home state. Although I know the qualities and places of interest of where I am living, it is no less true that I had not realized that in the middle of a city full of concrete, there was a park that stretched from the main avenue (which crosses from north to south the entire city) to the river. Well, in the heart of San Diego, there is not only a giant park, but inside, I have discovered the wonders of the forest of the Botanical Garden of my city...
A beautiful place, which for various reasons had prevented me from visiting. Believe me, the pictures I took do not honor the vastness of territory that covers that place. On Google Maps, before going, I realized how extensive it is. It literally starts in the middle of the city and ends in the foothills of the mountain ranges that serve as a natural barrier between my current place of residence in the neighboring city, my lifelong home..... Crazy.
Every day I wake up, and have my inexorably planned, and therefore repetitive, routines. I swear, sometimes I go to a coffee shop and eat two million sweets with two million cups of latte, just to feel that life and problems are not passing me by. Evidently, this habit is not entirely healthy, but it is pleasant.... Exercising, taking pictures and walking for miles are much more positive for me, and for the people who come to this park/forest in the middle of the city. I have to tell you that I am completely in love with this place.
I felt like I was in Jurassic Park. Where the trees are tall and thin and the width of the leaves is so thick that the sunlight, in the middle of the golden hour of the day, is dim. It is a typical place full of nature, which is capable of creating incredible wildlife. I saw mushrooms blooming in the middle of autumn, in a rainforest environment. Trees with trunks as wide as a house and that I could not photograph in proportion to a human, because I decided to go alone and impulsively. As I told you, I needed to disconnect; more and more the latter is a necessity in my life.
I encountered beautiful flora. From the forest dirt road, to the smell of the place. Pure freshness, and no, it's not a slogan, it's the truth. The rays of a dying sun of a hot afternoon had not the slightest effect on a vegetation, which is clearly adapted to grow upwards (as I told you, thin and tall trees dominated everywhere you looked...). Also, the ways that Man has made to reconcile human activity with the power of nature itself are neither invasive nor too dangerous. Relatively, it is tidy and clean.
A place to exercise outdoors. Disciplines such as: outdoor running, hiking and especially camping and even hiking. I swear the Botanical Garden is gigantic. I spent almost two hours there and didn't even get to see 15 percent of it. Without a doubt, every day that goes by, I fall in love with this city even more. San Diego, although it could be better in many aspects, in terms of places to fall in love and make you appreciate what you have in your city, it is unique. Those who made this city, perfectly combined the typical concrete of any city with the greenery of being in the middle of a mountainous valley...
So, is it worth visiting the San Diego Botanic Garden? Don't have the slightest doubt. If you are in Carabobo, which is the state where it is located, you should come. Most likely, someone will want to take you there and you should listen to them when it happens. Don't make the mistake I made, of underestimating the very idea. I had one of the most enjoyable and peaceful afternoons I have had in a long time. A balm for the soul and worries, a kiss to appease the monotony of every day; and a place to connect with the essential. I titled it the way I did, because it is what I could find the most justice to reality: the beauty of nature within a city.
