Hike through Henri Pittier Park

I visited a place that took me two hours to reach. Throughout my childhood, I passed through this area on my way to the beach—an area teeming with trees everywhere, known as Henri Pittier National Park. Usually, the plan was to go straight to the beach, and this was just a view along the way, but this time it became the destination I was heading to.

We stayed in a place called Aponte, which is about 20 or 25 minutes from the town of Ocumare on the coast. I was really surprised by the climate in this area because it’s terribly hot, but as soon as you step into the shade of a tree, the climate changes completely and it feels as cool as a typical mountainous area. Obviously, I spent my time hopping from tree to tree because the heat was really intense.

​I have to say again that one of my favorite things in life is trees, and the ones in this area—fed by the constant water flowing down from the mountains—are truly beautiful. They’re always lush and green despite the heat you feel. But on top of that, they’re quite large, so on my walk through the area, I was captivated by many of these trees—which, although they’re part of everyday life for the people who live there, were a sight to behold for me.

Due to the El Niño phenomenon, temperatures have actually risen significantly across the country. This meant our plans to visit the river and take a dip fell through because the water level was too low—so low, in fact, that we would only have been able to get our feet wet. Although I love rivers and it was a bit sad not to be able to swim in them, we still really enjoyed being surrounded by nature.

​Although I wasn’t able to capture it in photos, something that really surprised me—and kept me and the people I was with thoroughly entertained for quite a while—was that there were so many birds in the area. We saw two huge, colorful macaws flying freely among the treetops, singing from above as they watched us pass by. I loved seeing that there are places where animals can still be free and feel at home in their natural habitat.

​For me, it was a fantastic visit, and I really enjoyed getting to explore this place that I’d only ever seen from afar when passing by. Beyond that, I absolutely loved getting out of the city and being in a place where I was surrounded only by birds, trees, streams, and a spectacular blue sky. That made it so much easier for me to take photos—it wasn’t just a matter of focusing on what was beautiful or green; wherever I pointed my phone, I was sure to find something lovely to photograph.