Intricate in the geography of Merida, with difficult access, very little bibliography to consult and lack of knowledge of its existence even for the majority of nationals themselves, the region becomes a legend full of fantasies and practically implausible stories.
It is said that the community of only 18 homes -a figure that cannot be verified through any official source- is located in the Andrés Bello municipality, with its capital, La Azulita, which is the closest population group and almost an hour away, after crossrugged landscapes and dirt roads.
That area became, in 1983, an Area Under a Special Administration Regime, when the Organic Law for the Orientation of the Territory was approved, and was declared an Ecological Town of America for conserving 80 percent of its primary forests.
Two versions exist about the origin of the City, the first places it in the late 70s and early 80s of the last century, when “a number of hippies” populated the town, and the other is attributed to the abundant number of strawberry plants in that region of the Venezuelan Andes.
There are inhabitants from various areas of the world who came to the place for different reasons, but it could be said that all with the purpose of achieving spiritual happiness through a philosophy of life in which art, meditation, beliefs and religions are combined. They intermingle, without contradictions or ambitions.
People from Hanover, Germany, came to the community; from Umea, northern Sweden; from India; and Venezuelans from various parts of the country.
The town, given the housing and population characteristics, does not as a whole reach the category of metropolis, but residents now enjoy electricity, cell phone service, they say with an “ephemeral signal,” and water, which they obtain uninterruptedly from a ravine.
To access other benefits, men and women from Ciudad Fresita must travel to La Azulita, although some preferred to resort to food self-sustainability by growing fruits, vegetables and tubers; others keep the body and mind healthy through introspection, all away from any civilization contamination.
(Taken from Orbe)
