Venezuela travel blog by Mark Berman -
August 2014
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View Photoset (19 Photos)
Timotes 116kms north of Merida is situated in a beautiful green fertile valley with the Motatan River running beside. I arrived here from the junction in
Apartaderos 55kms south which took 1hr 20mins in a shared taxi. Timotes is located below the town of Chachopo which sits near the top of the valley. My
photos start from Chachopo descending down the valley to Timotes at 2025 meters above sea level. Exploring Timotes
After finding a really nice hotel near the main plaza I
headed out to explore the town of Timotes. Firstly by accident I came across an importers shop so I thought I would ask if they would be interested in buying
some of my $USD. We agreed on a price (black market rates of course) and did the deal. Then I went straight back to my hotel with my huge wad of cash and
stashed it in my room. OK, now I was ready to have a look around Timotes. Plaza Bolivar and the church Basilica of St. Lucia (1911) are the towns center and
both are very attractive. Around the plaza are shops and an upstairs restaurant, hills circle around behind. On one side of the plaza is a bronze bust of
Monsenor Buenaventura Vivas. From here I headed up the road and found the cultural house 'Casa de la Cultura - Don Jesus Maria Espinoza Becerra' where on
display are guitars, masks, paintings and other items. Also here is the museum 'Museo Arqueologico Timotes' with lots of archaeological pieces in glass
cabinets. Up the road further I came to Plaza Miranda and St. Benedict Chapel. Inside the church are many stained glass windows and a long row of Saints.
The Countryside Around the River
I walked all the way to the top of the town, across the bridge and around and down the road on the other side of the river enjoying the beautiful
countryside and scenery. After walking amongst a few farms and crop fields on the country road I found the steel walk bridge back across the river to town.
This bridge comes out very close to Plaza Miranda in fact. The views up and down the river from the bridge are beautiful and spectacular. It really is a
picturesque valley and not nearly as cold as it was up in
Mucuchies and
San Isidro de Apartaderos in the days before. Timotes is a very attractive commercial
and agricultural center without it being city-like.
Bus and Car to Maracaibo
From Timotes by bus I headed north 1hr 10mins to Valera and continued from there in a shared taxi 2hrs
40mins at 120-140kmsph north to
Maracaibo. Even at that speed crazy people were overtaking us. The drivers of these old American cars on free gasoline don't
mess around, there's money to be made you know. Scary at times I must say, you could catch a bus for less money but it will take at least twice as long.