When Vespucci and Olonso de Ojeda first saw the pile dwellings of Maracaibo and named the land Little Venice , they could never have dreamt that the discovery oil would liken the place to a little Brunei . I had the terrible thought that future generations might only read about the Spaniards in history books, and subsequently forget them as the Indians themselves are becoming a distant memory. There were obvious advantages to living over the water for the early fishermen, but the principal reason was probably to escape the mosquitoes that infested the marshy shores of the lake. The Paraujano Indians who lived entirely by fishing, would trade part of their catch for maize and cassava grown by the Boures, who lived on the land to the south of them. Other coastal tribes would trade with more advanced groups to the west, and display the ornaments of gold that they gained from the exchange.
Darkness hides the towering poor excuse for architecture, and neon takes over.
From a moving vehicle on one of the motorways, there's a mystery behind the yellow and green. The shining lights from the hills that accommodate the poorer residents, sparkle like a mass of skiers on a torchlight descent. The Plaza Bol var contains a bronze statue of the South American statesman and revolutionary leader, on horseback. The Museum of Colonial Art is a hacienda-style property, set in the cool shade of the lower foothills behind modern Caracas. The house was the residence of a general in the Venezuelan War of Independence.