Everything went backwards: I went to a very cold place and ended up in a very hot one; but that the trip has not been as I planned it doesn't mean that I have not had a great time.
If you want to know how I lost my flight you can read it in Caught at the airport: I kept the frisbee in my hand, because in this post I will only share the best part of having left the plane.
When you are in that situation you have two options: stay at the airport watching your life go, or turn the occasion into a new adventure. I chose the second one, and that's why I went to Catia La Mar.
📌 Catia La Mar belongs to the state Vargas, one of the coastal areas of the country that borders the Caribbean Sea.
I prepared my luggage thinking about the cold that I would do in Merida, but in the end I didn't use almost anything that I packed because the temperature in that area normally reaches 30 °, or more.
Luckily I brought my swimsuit; I learned years ago never to travel without it, because without planning it I always find where to use it. And although this time I only took it "just in case", it was what I used the most.
📷 The Maiquetia International Airport is very close to the beach, so it is common to see planes flying over the area.
☀️ Goodbye mountains... Hello beach!
I decided to go to the beach of the Circulo Militar de Mamo; I asked for recommendations at the airport and was told that it was the safest area. It is 15 minutes from Maiquetia and can be reached by taxi or public transport.
I took two buses to get there, but it was complicated because the service is scarce despite being an urban area, which implies that you have to wait a long time to get one. Although there are transports that charge much more than the legal, but at least you get faster to your destination.
A military circle is a kind of club that belongs to the Armed Forces used for recreational purposes. And in this case, due to its location on the coast, they offer access to the beach, swimming pool, lodging and restaurants.
I usually flee from places where there are many tourists, but as good travelers we must learn to adapt to any situation and start looking for the good side of the site.
There were enough people, but I forgot them and the first thing I focused on was the colors that were in the sea. They were many shades of blue that were degrading, and that on the horizon they mixed suddenly with the tone of the sky.
📷 The sea is made up of particles that, by absorbing sunlight, transform the appearance of water into a blue color.
But the water was not the only color of the place, the sand shone radiating silver flashes, and when I saw my feet they were the same. I found stones that were totally silver, and with the reflection of the sun intensified the color more, making them much more striking.
📷 The color of sand and stones is due to the erosion of the type of mineral from which it comes.
There I also made a new friend: a tiny crustacean that seemed to be being dragged by the waves. It was very quiet while I had it in the palm of my hand, but when I returned it to the ground, it immediately escaped until it disappeared.
📷 The scientific name of this crustacean is Emerita analoga; live under the sand and take advantage when the wave falls on the shore to go out to get their food.
By the way, have you ever seen pigeons and squirrels on the beach? because I had not seen him until now. It was very strange to observe them walking on the sand as if it were their natural habitat. Apparently both species were in search of food.
📷 The pigeons wait for the tourists to leave to go along the beach.
The beach is divided by breakwaters, on one side the shore is completely sandy and the other side is full of rocks. In both the waves are moderate which removes the sand and causes the water to look dark on the shore.
In general, the Circulo Militar de Mamo beach seemed to me a quiet and very safe place; the music played at a pleasant volume, the space was very clean and there were lifeguards, besides a rope and buoys that delimited the depth of the beach.
This was a trip of "first times": for the first time I visited Catia La Mar, for the first time I had a crustacean "very very" in my hands, for the first time I walked on silvery sand, for the first time I saw squirrels and Doves on the beach... They were many first times! What it means that having missed the flight had its positive side.
