đž Hello! Hello! đž
As you probably know, last week the Venezuelan baseball team won the World Series. A heroic and unprecedented feat for our country, thanks to the talent of the great players on the team who worked together as a true team. The standout was Maikel GarcĂa; his performance and talent earned him that award. But if I wanted to talk about baseball, Iâd have to visit a different community. Today I want to talk about:
The town of La Sabana, land of champions
![Spanish version]
Ustedes ya sabrĂĄn que la semana pasada, el equipo venezolano de bĂ©isbol quedĂł campeĂłn en la serie mundial. Una gesta heroica e inĂ©dita para nuestro paĂs, gracias al talento de grandes peloteros que conforman la elecciĂłn y que trabajaron como un verdadero equipo. El mĂĄs destacado fue Maikel GarcĂa; su desempeño y talento lo llevaron a obtener dicho galardĂłn. Pero, si quisiera hablar de bĂ©isbol, serĂa otra comunidad la que deberĂa visitar. Hoy quiero hablar de:
El pueblo de la Sabana, tierra de campeones.
In January, taking advantage of the holidays and our free time, we set out on our own motorcycle tour along the coast. This place is located in La Guaira, Venezuela, and is known for starting with steep climbs, as it winds around a mountain and several villages that make up the area. Iâll be posting this in three parts because our trip was so much fun and I have a lot to share, but today Iâll just tell you about the town where Maikel GarcĂa, Ronald Acuña, and many other nationally and internationally renowned baseball players were born.
The main idea was to spend the night in the town, eat at the food truck near his house, and explore some of the townâs distinctive areas, since itâs not only famous for its baseball players but also for other interesting facts that Iâll share with you below.
![Spanish version]
En enero, aprovechando las vacaciones y el tiempo libre, nos dispusimos a hacer nuestra propia ruta en moto por la costa. Este sitio queda en La Guaira, Venezuela, y se caracteriza por iniciar con subidas empinadas, ya que rodea una montaña y varios pueblos que conforman este lugar. Esta publicaciĂłn la harĂ© en 3 partes porque nuestro paseo estuvo muy divertido y tengo mucho que contar, pero hoy solo les hablarĂ© del pueblo donde nacieron Maikel GarcĂa, Ronald Acuña y muchos peloteros de renombre y famosos a nivel nacional e internacional.
La idea principal era dormir en el pueblo, comer en el food truck que estĂĄ cerca de su casa y conocer algunas zonas caracterĂsticas de ese pueblo, ya que no solo es famoso por los peloteros, sino por otras curiosidades que les comentarĂ© a continuaciĂłn.
People might think these baseball players are great and famous because they grow up in places that are well-equipped and have everything they need to develop their talent; nothing could be further from the truth. In my country, they train in small towns where sometimes thereâs no water, other times no electricity; they have only one square, and the entrance has no signage. Iâll start with this photo, where we stopped just after noon to have a drink, and when we asked how long it would take to get to LA SABANA, the girl pointed us to an entrance that had neither signage nor a sign. It seemed as if it didnât want to be found:
![Spanish version]
La gente pensarĂĄ que estos peloteros son grandes y conocidos porque se crĂan en sitios preparados y con todas las condiciones necesarias para desarrollar su talento; nada mĂĄs alejado de la realidad. En mi paĂs, se forman en pueblos donde a veces falta el agua, otras veces la luz; tienen una sola plaza y la entrada no tiene ni señalizaciĂłn. EmpezarĂ© por esta foto, donde nos detuvimos ya pasado el mediodĂa a tomarnos algo y, al preguntar cuĂĄnto tiempo nos faltaba para llegar a LA SABANA, la chica nos indicĂł una entrada que ni señalizaciĂłn ni letrero tenĂa. Pareciera que no querĂa ser encontrado:
We also realized that there are indeed many beautiful, modern houses that looked like they were straight out of a magazine; however, most of them were dilapidated and run-down due to their proximity to the sea or because they were occupied by low-income residents. This situation is typical and common in this area:
![Spanish version]
TambiĂ©n nos dimos cuenta de que sĂ existen muchas casas lindas, modernas, que parecĂan sacadas de revistas; sin embargo, la mayorĂa eran roĂdas y consumidas por la cercanĂa del mar o de personas de pocos recursos. Esta situaciĂłn es tĂpica y recurrente por esta zona:
As we walked through the town, we went to the beach, but I didn't like it very much. The strong wavesâsince it's right on the Caribbean coastâmade me a little nervous. Plus, at that time of day, the water tends to be cold, so we decided to skip it.
![Spanish version]
Avanzando en el pueblo, fuimos a la playa y no me gustĂł mucho. El fuerte oleaje por ser costa directa con el mar Caribe me ocasionĂł algo de temor. AdemĂĄs, por la hora, ya el agua tiende a ser frĂa, asĂ que decidimos pasar.
I mentioned to them that this town wasnât just known as a âland of baseball playersâ; it turns out that, year after year, biologists and wildlife enthusiasts gather here to witness the sea turtle nesting that takes place every year in late April.
It saddened me to see that, at first glance, there are no signs, booths, or facilities dedicated to this activityâwhich is so important and wonderful for the planetâbecause it doesnât happen on every beach, and it almost seems as though it isnât relevant. I only knew about it because I looked up things to do in town and came across that information. All I could find was this faded sign, made by the residents of La Sabana themselves:
![Spanish version]
Les comenté que ese pueblo no solo era conocido por ser "tierra de peloteros"; resulta que en esta población, año tras año, se concentran biólogos y amantes de la fauna para presenciar el desove de las tortugas marinas que ocurre cada año a finales de abril.
Me entristeciĂł ver que a simple vista no hay ningĂșn aviso, stand, casa dedicada a esta actividad tan importante y maravillosa para el planeta, porque no se da en todas las playas y pareciera incluso que no es relevante. Yo lo supe porque investiguĂ© quĂ© hacer en el pueblo como actividad y me apareciĂł esa informaciĂłn. Solo pude constatar este letrero borroso, realizado por los mismos habitantes de La Sabana:
We walked through the streets, but I imagine that, since it was a weekday and the heat was unbearable, people were staying home; for that reason, the streets looked deserted.
![Spanish version]
Recorrimos las calles, pero imagino que, por ser dĂa de semana y el calor inclemente, las personas estaban en su casa; por este motivo, las calles lucĂan desoladas.
We managed to find Acuñaâs food truck, stopped by his house, and spent some time in the square, but when we saw that no one was giving us any information and there was nothing else to see there, we took these photos from a distance just to say âI was there.â I admit I felt a little sad standing in front of the house, but I hope to go back and be able to do so.
On the other hand, the food truck, which is called 40-70 in honor of his Major League record, was closed, so we couldnât eat there.
![Spanish version]
Logramos llegar al food truck de Acuña, pasamos por su casa, estuvimos un rato en la plaza, pero al ver que nadie nos daba alguna informaciĂłn o no habĂa nada mĂĄs que ver allĂ, nos tomamos estas fotografĂas a lo lejos para decir "yo estuve allĂ". Confieso que me dio pena pararme al frente de la casa, pero espero ir nuevamente y poder hacerlo.
Por otra parte, el food truck, que se llama 40-70 en honor a su rĂ©cord en grandes ligas, estaba cerrado, asĂ que no pudimos comer allĂ.
We had planned to stay overnight in the town, but a room cost $150, which seemed incredibly expensive to us, considering that for a week in MedellĂn, Colombia, we paid a similar amount for six days. We decided to take our motorcycle and head into the city.
Thank goodness Acuña said he bought a plot of land to build a hotel so that many people can visit the town. IâM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!
![Spanish version]
TenĂamos la intenciĂłn de dormir en el pueblo, pero una habitaciĂłn costaba $150, lo que nos pareciĂł costosĂsimo, tomando en cuenta que por una semana en MedellĂn, Colombia, cancelamos un monto similar por 6 dĂas. Decidimos tomar nuestra moto y emprender camino a la ciudad.
Menos mal que Acuña dijo que compró un espacio para hacer un hotel y que muchas personas puedan visitar el pueblo. ¥ESPERO POR ELLO!
Finally, hereâs a photo from a very famous viewpoint where we didnât miss the chance to take a picture. Acuña appears in an Instagram ad at that very spot; so, we can say we were there with the baseball playerâmaybe not at the same time, but we stood in the same place đ:
![Spanish version]
Por Ășltimo, este es un recuerdo de un mirador muy famoso en el cual no desaprovechamos la oportunidad de fotografiarnos. En un comercial de Instagram, sale Acuña en ese mismo lugar; entonces, podemos decir que estuvimos con el pelotero, quizĂĄs no en el mismo tiempo, pero pisamos el mismo sitio đ:
Instagram post in which Ronald Acuña shows off his hometown, La Sabana
Publicación de Instagram donde Ronald Acuña muestra su pueblo La Sabana
I hope you enjoyed exploring with me the town where those baseball players were bornâthe ones who carry our name with prideâand I hope to return to take better photos and, if Iâm lucky, bring back some amazing shots with the famous players đ.
The photos are my own.
I created the cover, separator and banner using Canva.
I used DeepL as my translator.
See you next time
![Spanish version]
Espero que les haya gustado conocer conmigo el pueblo donde nacieron esos peloteros que llevan nuestro nombre en alto y espero volver para tener mejores fotos y si tengo suerte, traer unas fotografĂas de lujo con los famosos jugadores đ.
Las fotografĂas son de mi propiedad.
La portada y el banner los hice en Canva.
El traductor que usé fue DeepL.
Hasta la prĂłxima.
[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 10.61067 lat -66.37974 long d3scr))