We stopped in la culata, but if you were to keep driving for another hour or so, you'd reach el páramo, which is a place high up in the mountain peaks where it's freezing cold and snowy. I've been there once at the beginning of the trip and it was absolutely beautiful. Anyways, the drive up to la culata is on a winding mountain road that passes through little pueblitos (towns) on the way. They are so quaint - the road is lined with colorful little cottage-like shops that sell home-made raspberry wine and candies. It is a popular weekend day-trip for Venezuelans to drive up to la culata to drink wine and admire the beautiful scenery. There are also hundreds of little family owned cabins in la culata that people rent out for the night. My group of friends and I have done that too - it's a nice get away spot for the weekend, and it's especially pretty if you can get up early enough to see the sun rise.
On our drive up, we were almost to our destination spot (a quiet spot at the end of a dirt road that is popular because of its beautiful view of the mountains), when we saw a little sign off the side of the road that said "Pueblito Sueño del Abuelo", which means little town called Grandfather's Dream. We were curious, especially after following the arrow on the sign down a tiny twisting dirt road that disappeared behind a line of colorful houses. We decided to take a detour and check it out.
We clunked along the dirt road and eventually drove over a little wooden bridge that spanned a babbling creek. We could barely see in front of us due to the fog (clouds, really, we were pretty high up in the mountains at this point) and thick greenery surrounding the skinny dirt road. We wound around another bend and climbed up a steep hill (thanks to 4 wheel drive) until we saw this sign:
"PUEBLITO SUENO DEL ABUELO, Un Rincón para Soñar..." Translation: Town of Grandfather's Dream: a corner for dreaming..."
So, we parked the car and set out to explore this tiny dream town, tucked away in a corner and hidden by the clouds and mountains.
A woman met us at the gate and opened it for us without saying a word. We all walked through the heavy red door, as a little girl stared silently from her perch on a stone wall amongst a blue hydrangea bush. We walked along a skinny maze-like pathway, under a trellis covered in roses, and over a tiny bridge and trickling stream. And then we were inside the pueblito. It was full of miniature-sized houses and buildings in every color - there were cafes and castles and stores, but no people in sight. So we set off silently with our cameras to explore.
I felt like I was in a dream.
After visiting the pueblito, we continued on our journey further into the mountains to catch the view we'd been waiting for - my goal was to be high enough into the mountains to see the clouds rest on the ground around me. And we did it. We got there before sunset and even met a man on the way who let us take turns riding his horse. I'd say it was a successful trip! Now take a look at what I mean when I say "I felt like I was in a dream" and "we had our heads in the clouds".
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