A review loaded with tons of feelings: Mukumbarí cable car system.

That phrase defines the melancholy of looking behind. I'm a sentimental, forgive me. I tend to look over old photos a lot, isn't a thing about being unable to move foward, it's more about remembering all those places and moments where I've been happy. I don't know how many times I've catched myself looking photos of the Mukumbarí cable car system, that place is simply magical. This cable car system is the highest (its maximum height is 4,765 meters) and the longest in the world (with an approximate distance of 12.5 km), it is located in the state of Merida, in my country Venezuela, my favorite place in the world.

The first time I went up to Pico Espejo was with the old cable car system, I was around 5 years old and I went up with my dad. It was the first time I saw snow and experienced something like that. My dad says that I ran out as "crazy goat" in the middle of the snow and he was surprised that I did not lack oxygen. Many years later, after they finished the remodeling and reconstruction of the station and the whole structure, I went back. It became my favorite place to get away from the city, getting to higher point of a country, just breathing (hardly) fresh air, was always my plan to clear the head.

Mukumbarí means in indigenous voice "place where the sun sleeps". This denomination was given by the first inhabitants to what is now known as the imposing Sierra Nevada. This infrastructure work has five stations: Barinitas (1,577 masl), La Montaña (2,436 masl), La Aguada (3,452 masl), Loma Redonda (4,045 masl) and last, but not least, Pico Espejo (4,765 masl), all four connected by four stretches, making it the highest and first longest in the world by only 500 meters, but it's in the first place for being the only one that combines so much height with so many kilometers in length. This work was traditionally one of a kind and and has more than 50 years of history. Located in the city of Mérida, it goes to the Pico Espejo peak within the beautiful Sierra Nevada National Park in the Venezuelan Andes. It was closed after an inspection in 2008 for its modernization and reconstruction and was reopened on April 29, 2016, in pre-commercial stage where a few selected people was able to visit it, it was finally open to the public on October 7, 2016.

Every station has different enviroments, that goes from a fancy restaurant with the best view to the city, to rocky and arid mountains. My favorite has always been the 4th one: Loma Redonda, with those landscapes and lakes full of life! (I'm lying I can't decide if I love the morethe highest point at Pico Espejo, so let's call it a tie). Can't lie, you almost get to believe that you are in a different country, after all.. Everyone almost know Venezuela for its beaches (also for having the biggest oil reserves in the world and for having the worst humanitarian/economical crisis in the last 20 years.. Well, Venezuelans hope the world knows what's actually going). I won't get into politics, because the resentment would take me over, so let's just appreciate these landscapes.

In December 2008, the Mérida Cable Car was inspected by the Austrian company Doppelmayr, an inspection that revealed an advanced wear on the cables of the system and recommended to the Government of Venezuela the closure of the Cable Car definitively. The cable car was closed at the beginning of that month for reasons of public safety and the authorities asked the inspection company for a budget to completely renew the system and estimated time of execution of the work. In this inspection research it was determined that the carrier cables of the wagons were about to turn 50 years old, which is to say their useful life. In the same way it was discovered that one of the towers of the system had a fissure.

As of 2010, the Venezuelan government hired the services of the Doppelmayr company to fully modernize the Mérida cableway system, in order to solve the problems presented in the guayas and in some of the towers of the system. This modernization process is carried out with an investment of more than 106 million euros and includes the installation of new guayas, wagons and security devices. It was decided then to build a totally new system, the date of the reopening was postponed successively, until finally .. They finished it.

You're probably wondering about the other stations and why I don't show photos of them.. Well they're not that meaningful to me. The first one has a food fair where you can find some of the local foods and a very delicious smoothies stand. The second station is just for transition from one wagon to another one, you even can't get out to explore. The third one has a real fancy restaurant, with an incredible view to the whole city. I love food, but food there is quite expensive, so I never tried it before leaving Venezuela.

Every time I climbed into a car and the ascent began, the importance of enjoying the present and living in the now was always in my mind. It is not necessary to think about tomorrow, but never forgetting today. "To the bad weather, good face?", More than a question could say that it is an affirmation. Trying to enjoy the most every moment, situation, letting go of negativity will definitely influence our way of seeing the world, even if we believe in the law of attraction, we will attract good things. A little contradictory to speak of the present when I feel nostalgic for the past.

The current nostalgia takes me back to this place, through my old photos. I can't lie, I miss it. I miss the nature, living in such a big city full of buildings sometimes makes me feel breathless. This whole migrating experience started 6 months ago and yes, I still miss my old life. Every decission I made was in order to get a better life, I embrace it. Sometimes I just go back to those places where I've loved life the most, to remember where I come from in order to find my way to where I'm going.