Venezuela, a Country to Love

The Island of La Tortuga, about 53 miles off of Venezuela's mainland, receives its name from the sea turtles that live in its waters. The island is uninhabited with the exception of some fishermen who live there during the fishing season.

The "Virgen del Valle" is the patron virgin of Venezuelan fishermen since Colonial times.

This type of boat, the "peñero", is the main tool of the trade for Venezuelan fishermen. Even the most expensive boat can capsize and sink at one point or another, but these boats will not!

The island of La Tortuga is practically uninhabited, although it is occasionally visited by artisan fishermen from nearby Margarita Island and the Venezuelan mainland during fishing season.

The island of La Tortuga is practically uninhabited, although it is occasionally visited by artisan fishermen from nearby Margarita Island and the Venezuelan mainland during fishing season.

The island of La Tortuga is practically uninhabited, although it is occasionally visited by artisan fishermen from nearby Margarita Island and the Venezuelan mainland during fishing season.

Fried fish is a typical dish of the Venezuelan coastline and has also become popular in larger cities. Both in family homes and in beachside restaurants, it is usually accompanied with rice, fried plantains, and fresh salad.

The island of La Tortuga offers interesting and unusual fishing possibilities.

Fishermen's huts in the islands are built using recycled and found materials. Seashells and items found on the local beaches are used for decoration.

Primarily fish eaters, brown pelicans have keen eyesight that they use to find and then dive on their prey, sometimes from heights of 60 to 70 feet.

A hammock offers true relaxation and enjoyment, and when you add a stunning ocean view there's no finer way to relax and take in the beauties of nature.

Even though the population in the islands is quite small, there are somewhat provisional small establishments that offer food and drinks to tourists and locals alike.

This type of boat, the "peñero", is the main tool of the trade for Venezuelan fishermen. Even the most expensive boat can capsize and sink at one point or another, but these boats will not!

This type of boat, the "peñero", is the main tool of the trade for Venezuelan fishermen. Even the most expensive boat can capsize and sink at one point or another, but these boats will not!

This type of boat, the "peñero", is the main tool of the trade for Venezuelan fishermen. Even the most expensive boat can capsize and sink at one point or another, but these boats will not!

This type of boat, the "peñero", is the main tool of the trade for Venezuelan fishermen. Even the most expensive boat can capsize and sink at one point or another, but these boats will not!

The coral islands off the coast of Venezuela, with their calm turquoise blue waters and sand almost as white as snow, provide excellent opportunities for relaxing and practicing a variety of sports such as fishing and skiing.

The coral islands off the coast of Venezuela, with their calm turquoise blue waters and sand almost as white as snow, provide excellent opportunities for relaxing and practicing a variety of sports such as fishing and skiing.

The coral islands off the coast of Venezuela, with their calm turquoise blue waters and sand almost as white as snow, provide excellent opportunities for relaxing and practicing a variety of sports such as fishing and skiing.

The coral islands off the coast of Venezuela, with their calm turquoise blue waters and sand almost as white as snow, provide excellent opportunities for relaxing and practicing a variety of sports such as windsurf, fishing and water skiing.

Conch has been a popular food source throughout the Caribbean since the time of the Arawak Indians, before Christopher Columbus. The Arawaks also carved the spiral shells into various tools, musical horns (there are still conch-horn blowing contests throughout the Caribbean) and ceremonial objects. It is illegal to take live conch in Venezuelan waters; however, they are becoming scarce even there.

The island of La Tortuga offers interesting and unusual fishing possibilities.

The island of La Tortuga offers interesting and unusual fishing possibilities.

The island of La Tortuga offers interesting and unusual fishing possibilities.

The vibrant red color of red snappers comes from high levels of pigments coming from shrimp in their natural diet.

There is an abundance of locally grown fruit and vegetables in Venezuela including mangoes, papayas , avocados, bananas, coconuts, melons, and pineapples. It is not uncommon to find street vendors like this one, offering the freshest selection.

Venezuelans are cheerful, highly sociable people. They are easy to get to know, and are generally keen for you to enjoy your stay in their country

The country has a diverse population that reflects its colorful history from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups forms the basics of Venezuela's current demographics: European immigrants, Amerindian peoples, Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners and other recent immigrants.

Venezuelans are cheerful, highly sociable people. They are easy to get to know, and are generally keen for you to enjoy your stay in their country.

A "samán" (Albizia saman) is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical crown. It usually reaches a height of 25 metres (82 ft) and a diameter of 40 metres (130 ft), providing much welcomed shelter from the strong sunburst of the Venezuelan plains.

The Arauca river (Spanish: Río Arauca) is a typical Venezuelan river that flows east across the "Llanos Orientales", starting as a swift mountain stream and becoming wider and slower as it crosses the plains to end at the Orinoco river. Along its banks are many tiny villages such as this one called "Los Laureles", which serve as fluvial transportation hubs for inhabitants of the area

A simple rag doll can be made in an afternoon and is a great project for girls, using scrap fabric, inexpensive fabric remnants or other materials available at hand. Due to the lack of resources to purchase toys from large merchants, it is not uncommon to see girls in Venezuela's rural areas playing with them.

A simple rag doll can be made in an afternoon and is a great project for girls, using scrap fabric, inexpensive fabric remnants or other materials available at hand.

Venezuelan "empanadas" use corn flour based dough and are deep fried in oil. The stuffing varies according to region; most common are the cheese and ground beef empanadas. Other types use fish (school shark or "cazón", very popular), caraotas or black beans, and "Llanero" white cheese. Vendors like this woman can be found along the streets of small rural towns.

This small monument along the Arauca River, unknown to most Venezuelans, marks the spot where Simón Bolívar and José Antonio Páez met for the first time to join forces against the Spanish colonizers.

In small villages and towns, many families use the front room or the patio of their houses to sell a few limited grocery items. These "abastos" or "bodegas" sometimes can double as a cafe and bakery, and are often the center to catch up on the town's latest gossip.

In small villages and towns, many families use the front room or the patio of their houses to sell a few limited grocery items. These "abastos" or "bodegas" sometimes can double as a cafe and bakery, and are often the center to catch up on the town's latest gossip

Tall, slender windows are characteristic of Venezuelan colonial architecture. They were designed and built this way to cope with the tropical heat, and to provide a safe place from where to watch the street life.

In small villages and towns, many families use the front room of their houses to sell a few limited grocery items. These "abastos" or "bodegas" sometimes can double as a cafe and bakery, and are often the center to catch up on the town's latest gossip

Tall, slender windows are characteristic of Venezuelan colonial architecture. They were designed and built this way to cope with the tropical heat, and to provide a safe place from where to watch the street life

Tall, slender windows are characteristic of Venezuelan colonial architecture. They were designed and built this way to cope with the tropical heat, and to provide a safe place from where to watch the street life.

A boat in the coastal city of Puerto Cabello transports tourists to the nearby island, "Isla Larga"

Lake Maracaibo in the northwestern Zulia state is the largest lake of South America, about 5,100 square miles (13,210 square km). Discovered in 1499 by the Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda, the lake lies in the extremely hot, humid lowlands of the Maracaibo basin, making it a welcomed place for "zulianos" to cool off. The basin is also one of the major oil-producing areas of the world.

Gen. Rafael Urdaneta Bridge (about 5 miles /8 km long, completed 1962), spanning Lake Maracaibo's outlet to the Gulf of Venezuela, is one of the longest bridges in the world.