Everything Bolivar

Something that grabbed our attention here in Venezuela is the prevalence of the national figure and founder, Simon Bolivar, everywhere in the country.

So here is a list of everything Bolivar:

• The currency is the Bolivar fuerte (the strong Bolivar, as it changed from just the Bolivar in 2007)
• There is a province called Bolivar
• There is a city called Ciudad Bolivar (Ciudad means city)
• There is a Plaza Bolizar in EVERY city and EVERY town, no matter how small, with some shady trees and a statue of Bolivar (whether on a horse or just a bust).
• Drawings of Bolivar are one of the most popular things to graffitti onto city walls.
• The image on the 100 bill is of Bolivar.
• The tallest mountain in the country is Pico Bolivar
• The name of the main Avenue in most cities is some form of Simon Bolivar or El Libertador (The Liberator, another way of referring to him).
• And many more...

So these are some pictures from Ciudad Bolivar, where we spent a few days.

The old center in Ciudad Bolivar is filled with houses painted beautiful bright colors. This also shows the edge of the city's Plaza Bolivar which also contains 5 statues that symbolize the countrys that Bolivar made independent (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Granada).

The Cathedral.

The Orinoco River with a bridge, which until recently was the only bridge that crossed this river which is so long, it cuts the country in half.

A costume used in one of the city's festivals (as shown on the wall in our posada), it is called the Diablo Blanco (aka The White Devil or as Gabe calls it The Thing to Scare Little Children).

Where we stayed the second night, outside of the city.