This is the hot, bursting-at-the-seams principal oil port of the region. Most streets in the centre are numbered; even numbers generally run west-east, and odd south-north. Calle 20 is the seafront malecón and the road to the airport and university is Calle 31. There is also a tourist office (main plaza, near the seafront malecón, open 0800-1500).
The attractive, cream-coloured cathedral (Parroquia de la Virgen del Carmen), begun in 1856, is notable for its stained glass. La Iglesia de Jesús (1820), opposite Parque Juárez, is surrounded by elegant older houses. Nearby is the Barrio del Guanal, the oldest residential quarter, with the church of the Virgen de la Asunción (1815) and houses with spacious balconies and tiles brought from Marseilles.
There are several good beaches with restaurants and water sports, the most scenic being Playa Caracol (southeast of the centre) and Playa Norte, extensive white-sand beaches with safe bathing. Fishing excursions can be arranged through the Club de Pesca (Nelo Manjárrez, at Calle 40 and Calle 61, T938-382 0073). Coastal lagoons are rich in sábalo (tarpon) and bonefish.
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