Showing the city of Mérida from El Cerro las Letras

Greetings community. Happy day to all.

This weekend I undertook a hike up to a quite usual hiking spot for people in the city. Of course, it is a hike that is not very usual, but it serves to escape from the routine and of course to do sport.

This place is known as Cerro Las Letras or simply Las Letras. Although it is typical to find people when making the journey, the path can be a bit long and being a bit steep, many visit it once and do not return. But, when you go up with good company, the journey becomes more enjoyable, joyful, and even short.

Well, I'm already getting ahead of the experience without even introducing them to you, jajaj, so let's start climbing the hill!

In the distance, you can see the place we are going to visit.

In the northern part of the city, at the entrance of Mérida, as if you were taking the road to the Valley, long before arriving in San Benito, you will find a fork that separates the road to the Valley and the surrounding houses of the place. You will find this entrance to the site.

Markings indicate the way!

Well, unfortunately, it is closed. Well, the place is closed to foreign vehicles, apparently, these spaces are private properties. However, you may notice that the markings on the trees show the entrance for hikers.

The entire route has a wide and well-demarcated path. And, all along the way you can find markings indicating where to go and where not to go. Speaking of not knowing which way to go, I almost took the wrong route hahaha. As the colored markings indicate the way, it is good to look at them carefully because you may find that the marking indicates that this is not the way.

This is not the way. Watch out for the shape of the signs! I almost got lost :S

Well, I said to myself. Myself, it's the 4th time you go up, so you still have to be very attentive to the path. After that little moment of confusion, I resumed the path as if nothing had happened.

One of the first things you will notice as you enter the forest is the smell. A delicious smell of pine all over the place, a very fresh and pleasant smell. What a good feeling that this smell accompanies you almost all the way.

Speaking of the pine tree, it was the first time I've seen so many pine cones on the ground. I guess because of the high temperatures the city has recently, it looks like the trees are getting ready to reproduce. Since the pine cones are starting to open at elevated temperatures and release their seeds.

In my city, when there are these periods of drought, fires usually occur. Several mountains can be incinerated, of course with a lot of effort from the people around and the firefighting forces manage to control the flames. In this process, many trees are scorched and die. But it seems that nature was already preparing for something like this to happen, the seeds of the pine trees had already been deposited in the soil. The soil, with the fire, became somewhat arid, just as the pines like it. Then, the constant bathing with water, both by nature itself and by the firemen, allows the seed to become a tree. It is not surprising then, that after such a strong fire, a few years later, the mountains are back to their typical green colors.

I have not had a vehicle to know if the typical pine tree that usually hangs in the rearview mirror can transmit that smell of pine so tico jajaj.

Well, I have climbed the mountain of letters, which I remember about 4 times, twice in the company of friends, family, and another pet we had, 1 with my dog Tata and this last time alone. I usually go up on Sundays, which are my free days of the week, and well, my family and friends have been busy with the weather, Sunday is taken differently and I did not go up with Tata this last time because, as we say here, she is maluca (she is in heat) I stocked up with fruit, water and my cell phone. I shared my plan with my family and went up.

In the solitude of the forest, it was inevitable to remember those horror movies where someone was stalking me or that suddenly a giant animal would come for me and turn me into food for its offspring hahaha. But, fortunately, nothing like that happened. You walk around the place and of course, you hear, branches falling, birds in their nests, bees, mosquitoes, mosquitoes, flying, you hear how the wind moves the branches and some squeak, as if you were riding on an old bed, in the distance you hear some vehicles passing by and even people talking, it's amazing what the echo does.

We have reached the area that delimits the forest with the actual ascent to the mountain. The place is dry, the mountain is made of rocks and clay. A mountain like this has worked for many to create their homes, by treating the clay, people can create blocks and even sculptures. Someday soon, I'll show you what that mountain looks like. I'm sure there will be mixed feelings, good on one hand and bad at the same time.

From the cool, dense forest to the sunny ascent.

The trails are maintained, but now some stretches go up and down, maybe some will do some particular activity here, such as cycling. This is where the view begins to take off, to see the whole city.

Although in the forest there is a lot of vegetation. During my journey to the top, which is the aridest section, I did not hesitate to capture some of the flora of the place, along with some insects that undoubtedly are the masters of the place. I could not help remembering a little line from a movie whose title I do not remember exactly, but it had to do with King Arthur. The wizard Merlin was riding along with his protégé Arthur, both on horseback and talking until Merlin ordered them both to stop, showed Arthur a small slug that was about to cross in front of them, and said "He has the right of way". They both stopped until the slug finished passing.

I think some of my respect for nature comes from this little scene. Anybody else passes over these little animals and doesn't even detail them. When I remember this scene in a similar situation, inside myself, I tell them with their permission and I pass without even affecting the work they are doing.

I continued, looking up and some places forced me to use my hands to climb as I went up, the panorama was also changing, and more places of the small town could be seen on the horizon. You can even guess where the city is established by looking at the small edge of the mountain. Mérida is on a plateau (a mountain that is not dotted but flattened at the top) and the best thing is that it is surrounded by mountains, each one of them with incredible possibilities to be explored. To get from one mountain to another, you can notice the roads skirting the mountains. But, to get there faster, a couple of cable cars have been established, one of them, the most internationally recognized, is the cable car that can take you up to Pico Espejo.

Looking up, I found an animal waiting for my strength to wane. I will never give up!

The path once you are following it, you will know it is the right one. But, just in case there is any doubt, many people count the number of pine trees directly on the path. This is usually used more as a measure to establish how close they are to the top and of course, these pines serve as a rest, since you are in the middle of the mountain and the sun can be embracing, a cozy shade that does not feel bad at all. On this occasion, I managed to count up to 5 pines along the way, I think you can use it as a reference.

A couple more pine trees and the tower I want to reach so badly.

https://youtube.com/shorts/oZ7Rn1Kva9c?feature=share

Making the last effort to climb, they reached the antenna, this is the place you can see in the first pictures, a large power line tower. Here, you can already shout "I made it!

To get to the place you have to reach, you have to go a few more meters, but there is not so much difference in level. Before this climb, I had noticed that there was a great absence of flora, it seems that the people who climbed it did not always do it for recreational purposes and began to cut down or cut the trees and plants of the place. I am glad to see it so recovered compared to the last time.

A little surprise awaited at the end, some seats and an exercise bar! Of course, I couldn't miss it, if you were already exercising your legs, all that was missing were the arms, back, and shoulders to strengthen. There was someone in the place, so I held my excitement, hydrated myself, ate all the fruit like a good kid, and started taking pictures of the whole place, I recognized several places in the city.

I was able to observe the faculties of Science, Engineering, FACES (Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences), Faculty of Forestry, the Plaza de Toros, the center of the city, and other buildings that are representative of the city.

Although the sun is still strong, it is forgotten by the feeling that the place shares with you. The effort you made to get there is completely worth it, however, if the sun is suffocating a little, the relief of a few pine trees offering a cool shade, will be the perfect place to rest and admire the view. The times I go up, I try to observe new things and my memory has not allowed me to recognize the changes in the short term. But in the long term if there has been a big change, not in the city but in the mountain and I'm not talking about the bars jajaj.

Friend @flquin Why is it called the (Cerro Las Letras) mountain of letters?

Excellent question, thanks for asking. Well, some time ago, this same crossing that I just showed you, was done by people but not only for recreational purposes or sport, they did it with a very well-defined purpose. To leave a message that the whole city could read. These messages could vary from advertising for a business, a symbol of love, love messages, proposals...

From espasamerida on Youtube

RIKO PLLO (Rico Pollo a restaurant in the city)

At the top of the mountain, right on the lookout, you move as if you were going down toward the city a few meters there were some white tarps. People were moving these tarps and then adjusting them with stones to form the messages. Little by little, the tarps disappeared until there were none left. I don't know if the real owners took them away, if they got lost in the growing bush, or if they were stolen.

What is certain is that, although the mountain of letters remains. Their banners are gone. It would be great to see them again, along with those messages, if they ever appear, do not doubt that I will bring them back to you and this time if I am allowed, of course, I will try to create a message for the community.

The boy, who was resting at the top of the lookout is gone. It's time to master the bars jajaj. With this video I say goodbye. Not before thanking you for visiting my post and hoping you had a great time with this tour.

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https://youtube.com/shorts/9vDZjE_M7gk?feature=share