Higuerote: Venezuelan Beaches, Honoring my Adoptive Home

Pictures by Carlos Rodríguez

Majagua, Higuerote, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

I owe a lot to Venezuela; practically half of my life, half of my friends, half of my party-time, half of my personality and the best memories of what it means to go to the beach.

However, since I haven’t been able to go back in many years, to my adptive home, I have dedicated little time and space to it in my blog. For this reason I have decided to share a little piece of Venezuelan beauty through the pictures of my friend Carlos Rodriguez.

Right now, I settle with the memory of these hidden beaches, although I hope some day I will be able to go back to feel the warm sand under my feet and the temperate marine breeze of beach days that taste like empanada, friend’s laughter, reggae, beer and salt.

Panoramic view, Chirimena, Higuerote, Estado Miranda, Venezuela

“The boat is in a river that flows out of the middle of the beach, fishermen keep their boats there, in the middle of the river, where pelicans are in charge of cleaning up everything that may be left behind after fishermen clean the fishing lines they’ve been collecting since 5 a.m. This beach is located in Estado Aragua, in the North, next to the tall coastal mountain range where you can see Puerto Cabello and Choroni (Estado Carabobo and Aragua, respectively).” – Carlos Rodriguez, Caracas, Venezuela.

An Afternoon Snack with Arepas in Pamplona

We rarely decline an invitation to go out to eat. While in Spain, an invitation to eat arepas is irresistible.

I arrived to my friend's house ready to eat a couple of delicious arepas made out of corn flour filled with queese, chorizo, or "carne mechada."

However, when I entered the kitchen I found a pile of round circles that resembled Mexican tortillas rather than the arepas that I had in mind.

After overcoming the inicial shock (I was only aware of the existense of one type of arepas), the lady of the house taught me how to eat this Colombian arepa: I had to place the toppings on top of the arepa and eat it like a toast.

Surprisingly, it didn’t only look different, but it tasted different as well, even though it was prepared with the same ingredients. Different, peculiar, but equality delicious.

The hot chocolate that the lady served us was different to the one that I was used to drink: This one had pieces of cheese inside of it that melted with the heat of the beverage!

On one hand, I loved the new type of arepas. But on the other, I think I will stick to the traditional hot chocolate recipe that excludes the cheese.

Nevertheless, I raise my glass, make a toss and thank the hostess for the afternoon snack!