In Venezuela I have discovered places that are not recognized as tourist, but have a natural potential that makes them very attractive. The rural areas of Anzoategui have that characteristic, and by exploring their details, we can find the best of them.

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Pica del Neveri is a hamlet of the Naricual parish, in the Simon Bolívar municipality of Anzoategui state. There is hardly any light, the water supply is poor, there is no telephone signal and transport is scarce, but despite these deficiencies, they have a fertile land and a river.

The hamlet is a rural area with a small population, distributed in houses of different sizes and small farms. Where the main source of income is the harvest of vegetables and fruits, and the raising of livestock and birds.

The route that I used to go to "La Pica" started at Argimiro Gabaldón Avenue (better known as "Alternate Way"), then I took the main avenue of the "industrial zone", and continued in the direction of Naricual.

All the way is practically straight, you just have to look for a slightly worn notice that says "Pica del Neveri", so you can cross over there.

^{📷 Perhaps the entrance to the hamlet does not look like a place as graceful as the one I am going to describe, but do not let yourself be carried away by appearances; You can really find many attractions.}

As soon as I crossed, I was attentive to the whole environment. On the way I noticed that there were no places to stay, and I thought that if it were not for my brother has a country house there, my options would be to go the same day or take my tent and ask some of the inhabitants if they can give me a space in their patio to camp.

The streets alternate between houses and bushes, something that caught my attention, because the same preservation of nature has allowed most houses to have at least one fruit tree. And besides that, the patio of many of these homes is the river.

The climate in La Pica is quite cool; the sunrises are cold and sometimes there is fog, from morning to midday the temperature usually increases, in the afternoons the breeze is a little cold, and at night the thermal sensation continues to decrease.

🍃 Reasons to go to "La Pica"

I have always thought that tourism depends on the concept that tourists have about life, and in my case I am always willing to find the virtues of each place I visit, that's why tourism outside tourist areas It's a challenge that I love.

From now on I want you to observe the details that make to La Pica del Neveri special, through the following photographic record:

First I want you to see this picture and imagine yourself lying in that hammock, feeling the cool breeze, listening to the song of the birds as background music, and that you having at hand the fruit that you like.

Yes, it really is wonderful; you just have to be careful because it is very easy to fall asleep in that situation, at least it happened to me and I woke up two hours later just because the wind was already very cold.

The Hammocks are a type of "aerial bed", woven like a net or made with canvas, and are hung from two fixed points; They are used to sleep or rest. They are typical of South America, and their creation is attributed to the Indians.
In Venezuela they are very popular; It is common to find them in the fronts or courtyards of the houses.

When I got that the Hammock to let me go, I began to explore. I began to observe each fruit tree or plant that I had around me, and I felt impacted; while the people who live in the city have to go to the supermarket to buy, the inhabitants of this village only extend the arm and take that they need it.

🌿 Trees and flowers

Venezuela is one of the 17 countries classified worldwide as "Megadiverse", that is, it has one of the greatest biodiversities on the planet; and an important part of that natural variety is related to its flora.

The Pica del Neveri as a country area has a wide vegetation; In my expedition I found different wild flowers and different fruit trees.

The first tree that caught my attention was Cerecitas, originally called "Semeruco" or "Acerola". These look a lot like the common cherry, but it is a different kind of plant.

Its fruits barely reach to measure between 1 and 2 centimeters, they are very red and their flavor is between acid and sweet (obviously I took the opportunity to eat some). It is originally from South America; and is famous for having more vitamin C than an orange.

By the way, in the Orange tree I also found something very interesting: the "grafts". It is about the artificial vegetative reproduction, through the mixture of orange trees with trees of other fruits of its kind, such as mandarin, lemon or grapefruit, to make it grow a fruit of different flavor.

I had the opportunity to try orange grafts with tangerine and orange with grapefruit, and they are delicious. It is strange to see that it is an orange but that when tasted it has the flavor of other fruits.

Regarding the trees of Lemon, those of La Pica seem to have a particularity: to be much juicier and more acidic than those we usually find in the city.

Another fruit of typical harvest in the locality is the Plum, but this one only occurs during a time to the year, between March and April, and I had the privilege of seeing them in its beginning of maturation, for that reason the plums that are observed in the photo are green, but in reality they reach an intense red tone.

This tree also seems very striking for its appearance. While it is loaded with fruits, it leaves all its leaves and only its stems are perceived with the fruits hanging. When the harvest is over, it springs up again.

In addition to the fruit trees, the wild flowers also stand out among the flora of the hamlet. They grow naturally, they are not sown by man, that is why the freedom with which they flourished everywhere.

The Cariaquito is one of those. In Venezuela they are very common, and I remember that since I was a child I always found the perfect flowers for my dolls, because of their tiny size and the shape of the bouquet in which they grow.

In my country, flowers of this type but purple have more than an ornamental meaning, an esoteric, are related to luck. Here it is believed that when you have many problems, "bathing with Purple Cariaquito will help".

While photographing some lemons, the white of a Azahar, or rather a flower of lemon tree, stood out among so much green. The flowers of the grapefruit tree, and those of the orange tree, receive the same name.

There are also very particular tree flowers, which sprout from the tip of the branches. I was captivated to find a certain amount of green twigs expanding in very small red flowers.

These situations are only part of the magic of nature, or rather, of the Pica del Neveri.

Also, I saw scattered throughout the field a plant that in the city is also very common, because it is born in any hole between the sidewalks and the road.

They resemble the Dandelions a little, and usually grow next to white and yellow petal flowers that look like miniature Margaritas.

When these plants dry, their stems, which lack leaves, turn green to brown, and their white petals become a little yellowish.

Regarding the colors, I'm wondering how a plant can have such a vivid tone, which also seems to be accentuated in natural environments; as well as this flower, that although it seems to have been trampled, it still irradiates a great energy through the yellow of its petals.

Now, that a flower has a vivid color makes it beautiful, but having several colors makes it even more striking. At least I was attracted to a plant that looked lilac from a distance, but when I saw it close up I discovered in it that its filaments were yellow and only its pistil was white and its fuchsia stigma.

🐾 Wildlife

My first encounter with the fauna of the Pica del Neveri was with a Woodpecker. I was taking the picture of the little cherry tree, when a sound that resembled repeated hammering broke the silence. The bird was pecking a dry branch, that's how they get their food.

Then I found a Morrocoy peeking out from under a sheet of wood, when I picked it up I found two more of these reptiles that started showing their heads more when they saw me.

In the rural areas of Anzoátegui, and even in the houses of the city that have courtyards with land, it is common to see this species of tortoise, which is distinguished by only inhabiting the land, and by the yellow and orange spots of its carapace and its scales.

When I mentioned that one of the main economic income of the town was the breeding of birds, I talked about the chickens.

Aviculturists take advantage of their products, such as eggs. And in addition, the males are used for the popular "cock fights", fights between birds of the same species where the strongest one is the winner.

Finally I found a Parrot, they are also quite common in the area; The color of its feathers and eyes is hypnotizing. They seem incredible animals for the ability to "talk", I have met several who learn and repeat many words.

My maternal grandmother, whose name is Rosa, had a parrot that wakened her every morning saying "Rosita, give me coffee!".

The only thing I do not like is that in order to have them at home, people tend to cage them.

💧 Without water? No problem!

Writing this part of the post I remembered to @matkodurko, because he always uses the phrase "No problem!" to resolve with a positive attitude the unfavorable situations that have arisen in their travels. For example, in this case, the hamlet does not have water service, and they will see why there is no problem.

The Neveri River is the main body of fresh water of Anzoátegui, and it crosses all the state. One of its tributaries is the one that flows in the Pica del Neverí, in a channel of approximately 15 meters wide and almost one and a half meters deep (these measurements vary along their route).

The water is warm and has a lot of current, but it's fun to let the river drag you by. Inside, the ground is sandy but sometimes you can find some large stones (watch your little fingers ), and there are also small and harmless fish that tickle your legs.

When I went down to bathe in the river, a kind of air transport caught my attention. It was a grid hanging on chains that in turn were connected to a piece that slid on a guaya that went from one end of the canal to the other. It had the right dimensions to move a person with a thin body, or objects.

But I forgot this discovery when I found a kind of metal cage surrounded by many tubes, practically on the banks of the river.

The inhabitants of the hamlet, having no water service, chose to install their own pumps and pipes to obtain water from the river.

Those tubes transport water underground until you reach many houses.

That water is stored in large concrete tanks that take at least a day to fill up. This is how they solve the hydrological problem. Those same tanks are also used as natural pools. I went to the place for a weekend and I could see families bathing in it, especially the children playing there.

In the country house I visited there was one of those tanks, and I decided to bathe in one, since I had never done it before. I thought about how great it is to have a kind of "private river" at home and to be able to bathe there whenever you want.

The water was warm, quite nice. I felt very fortunate to be able to enjoy a natural pool and also, to eat the mangoes I wanted, since I had them at hand.

In short, Pica del Neveri has its attractions even without be a tourist area; If you like contact with nature, and you are an explorer, or at least something curious, this place will please you.

📌 The images referring to the river were of high risk, the author had to fight in some cases with the current and in others with fishes tickling her legs to can make the photos 😜

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📣 My native language is Spanish, sorry if I use any expression you do not understand, I try to translate the text as best as possible, but if you have any questions you can ask me.

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📷 All the photographs used are my own and were taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T2i and my Smartphone Samsung Galaxy SIII.

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