Cuidad Bolivar, Bolívar, Venezuela Good Friday, April 2, 1999 Good Friday in Ciudad Bolivar, eastern Venezuela. My first time here. After travelling by por puesto (shared taxi) from Maturin, I check into the Hotel Colonial, a rambling edifice beside the Orinoco. The hotel has a first-floor restaurant with a view of the street below, so I order river fish and a Solera beer and consult the relevant pages of Lonely Planet. My tour begins with a stroll down Paseo Colon (Columbus Street), the broad street outside my hotel. It's buzzing with traders and walkers. The chief attraction of the Paseo is the river, which runs alongside. According to Lonely Planet, the Orinoco is "relatively narrow" at Ciudad Bolivar, but to me it looks mighty wide. In the rays of the setting sun, the brownish water shines
... read more
