The region  (Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

The Shipyard is in the town of Cumana but close by...

The Eastern part of Venezuela has many bays and islands. The Gulf of Santa Fe,
which leads to the shipyard, is open to the Caribbean Sea.
Most of its inhabitants are fishermen, of both European and Indian origins.

One can find a great variety of landscapes, from calm waters....

...to more turbulent ocean views, from arid deserts...

...to ones rich in luxurious vegetation.

The sea is, at times, so clear in the depths of the coral reefs that the fishermen construct wooden towers where they can spot the arriving schools of fish.

The fishing boats are still built of wood and constructed in the small local shipyards.

Aside from the villages and the great port of Cumana, the shoreline is often very arid and desert-like,

but also, at times, edged with mangroves.

Here nature is still untouched.

The pelicans put aside their usual dignity when they plunge, head first, into the fish leftovers that we throw them.

They are very skilled, using quite simple tools, and are said to be the best pirogue builders all around.
The shipwright is a shaman, since this trade is at the very core of their mythology.