011.Santa Marta 03.Nueva Venecia (Colombia)

2022-09-11

A water village on the brackish lake in Colombia is Nueva Venezia (New Venice).

See the village of Nueva Venecia. In the foreground on the right side, only the stakes of the decayed house remain after the inhabitants have left.

One of the origins of the name of Venezuela is Venezia. It dates back to the 15th century when explorers likened a water settlement to Venezia. In an era of limited information, Venezia may have been a synonym for floating places.

Nueva Venecia has the name of the remnant of Venezia. It is a water village in Cienaga de Pajaral, one of small brackish-water lakes like clusters connecting with the large brackish-water lake, Cienega Grande de Santa Marta, by a narrow waterway. The village stands in the middle of the lake, and the reasons why this place was chosen were the fishing industry and the shallows, which makes it easy to build a house. There is also a church and a small soccer ground.

However, potable water and food except fish must be brought from the land by boat. The guide bought dried fish. It cost one carbonated drink price for three fish. Direct-to-consumer prices were ordinary, but I'm skeptical if they can make enough money for their high food costs. Houses with only stakes left remained in the water and showed the traces of people who went out from there. I predicted that houses with only stakes would increase in the long run.

So I was a little surprised by the 2020 article in a Colombian newspaper that wrote 3000 people living in 400 houses then. In 1991 when I visited, there were only 200 houses. The population of this inconvenient area on the water has doubled in 30 years, despite poorer water quality and lower catches. The reason would be because it is a peaceful place free from crime except the massacre of 39 villagers by terrorist-like men who had drifted to the area in pursuit of a traitor in 2000? When I visited, it was a laid-back place where time stopped.