Vuelta Grande

From the beginning I was not convinced going there at all but just hopped on the taxi with people I met. Already on the way up, on the back of small trucks, along a steep bumpy road, I thought this place is totally insane 😄 I said, who is that crazy guy to set up a Hobbit land on top here?!

Just having said that I was just impressed. Once you reach the park, you also enter another world, a huge playground for adults with such a stunning view, you can see the Fuego volcanoe erupting in the distance 😳

We couldn’t stop taking pictures when a guy sitting on the grass gave us tips how to improve the perspective and told us about the park. Guess what, he turned out to be the owner of the park! Looking at him you knew he was a special and very charismatic and kind person (just not as insane as I pictured him before 😅).

He told us how he worked in Europe as a sailor and with the money he earned he bought this land close to his hometown up the mountains. There was nothing before and most villages were very poor. After initial resistance from the local villages, he started employing the local people to set up a Hobbit hotel business. When people were asking to visit it, he transformed it to a park, which turned out to be highly profitable and created a lot of side businesses and jobs around the towns at the mountain. Since then he is called the ‘Sauron’ of the shire (due to the erupting volcanoe) in radio shows, he said.

After that encounter, we were invited to a local beer in the Hobbit Beer Garden 🍻 and a cocktail in the tiny bar with perfect view on the Fuego. What an exciting story he and his manager had to tell, starting from scratch with this crazy idea becoming a flourishing business that also benefits the locals. Czytaj więcej