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Venezuela

Stories and Photos from my travels to Venezuela.

Destination 》South America 》Venezuela

Year Visited: 1999 – December

During December 1999, I got an opportunity to visit Maracaibo, Venezuela for a business trip.

Venezuela is a country in South America consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. Having a shoreline along the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, Venezuela borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east and Brazil to the south. Venezuela has the world’s largest known oil reserves and has been one of the world’s leading exporters of oil. Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in the South America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north and in the capital.

I arrived in Caracas in the evening, stayed overnight as I had an early morning flight to Maracaibo. Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, is a commercial, Political, Educational and Cultural hub, with many restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers. I didn’t get much time to explore the city though.

Pictures below are from a very basic film Camera and are not of a great quality but I want to be honest to myself and use those picture.

In Caracas, the lower social class, composed of laborers, servants, and the unemployed, occupies the hillside shantytowns overlooking the city from the west and south.
Hillside shantytown of Caracas. The first sight you will have if you fly in to the city,
The Libertador Avenue, one of the important road in Caracas, connecting the financial, commercial, cultural and tourist district of Sabana Grande.
Caracas Skyline
Caracas Skyline

Maracaibo is a city in northwestern Venezuela, known as the center of Venezuela’s oil industry. As this was a business trip, I didn’t have much time to explore the city, though we did visited Calle Carabobo in the old town, marked by colorful colonial buildings.

Calle Carabobo, a street in the old town housing colorful colonial buildings.
Calle Carabobo, a street in the old town housing colorful colonial buildings.
Streets of Maracaibo. The city was very hot in December, most Taxis were very old, beat-up cars from North America, surprisingly A/C worked in every taxi we took.
A Busy streets of Maracaibo. Chicken bus (camioneta), old U.S. school buses, are very crowded but popular way to travel within the country.
Street Vendors in Maracaibo, felt like I was in India.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, originally built in 1686, one of the oldest and the most visited church in Maracaibo.
El Teatro Baralt (The Baralt Theatre), originally built in the mid 19th century, a major Venezuelan cultural institution, location of the first film screenings in the country and a longstanding part of the historic center of Maracaibo.

Venezuela, with a diversity of landscapes and cultures, has lot to offer. I would definitely like to go back and explore more of Venezuela.

After a weeklong business trip to Maracaibo, I flew back to Dallas, Texas, my home at that tine.

Window on The World's avatar

By Window on The World

In May 2017, 23 days before I was going to complete 50 years, grabbed an opportunity and took an early retirement.. Picked up a backpack and traveling ever since.. Love to travel around the world, experience different culture, local cuisine & drinks .. and take pictures.. so far been to 108 countries and still counting...

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