An afternoon to explore a city

Today I'm not going to talk about a specific place, since I had planned to go to a tourist spot about 20 minutes from my city, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. However, there was no transportation available that afternoon, and the hours were passing by. So, I decided to explore a bit of Puerto Ordaz, wandering its streets to appreciate the sights and landmarks. Even though I know most of the city, there are always corners I haven't explored, and these offer a different perspective. It's about appreciating less common spots, though they're just places within the city. Perhaps they aren't tourist hotspots, but the important thing is getting to know a place, or at least that's what I think about it: knowing its streets, its landmarks, and other things.

In this post, you can see some of the city's plazas, views of striking architectural buildings, and even well-known streets like Bariloche, which has been growing commercially. But what caught my attention the most was a new place selling chicha, a very typical Venezuelan drink made with rice or pasta, but served ice cold, or at least that's how most people like it. You can also already see some Christmas decorations; just a week into December, you can already see some of them, although they're best appreciated at night because of all the lights.

As I've always said, Puerto Ordaz is a very organized city, small of course, but with everything you need. It has wide streets, and it's easy to walk to several places, some of which are very close together. You can easily spend an afternoon exploring various plazas, parks, and shopping centers. However, there are days when it's very sunny, making it almost impossible to walk. This day, though, was a bit cloudy, but it didn't rain, so it was a very cool day, perfect for walking, so to speak.

Furthermore, through these photographs, beyond simply showcasing the interest of a particular place, I want to highlight the city's contrasting beauty, its colors, and the harmony it shares with nature. It's a city with abundant vegetation. And sometimes I imagine what it was like more than 100 years ago when practically all these places were vast forests and jungles due to the geographical conditions. Of course, there's a lot of jungle in this province; about 80% of the entire territory remains unpopulated because of the state's size. It's a veritable green lung for the country.

I hope you've enjoyed each of these images and gained a glimpse of what this city is like. Of course, there are many more places of interest, but I'm sure you might be interested in visiting it someday. I think you'll enjoy these images, and you'll also have the experience of visiting a city like Puerto Ordaz, known throughout Venezuela as the best-planned city. It was known as such for many decades after its founding, but then that progress stalled due to the country's problems. Currently, it has begun to grow again, and there are now more places to visit.

All photographs are my own.