We spent an afternoon with Devi & Hunter from Arctic Tern, snorkeling around this sunken car ferry wreck. We saw some incredible sea creatures that have made a home in the twisted and rusted metal.

We spent two luxurious nights on Cubagua where we snorkeled over a car ferry wreck in fairly shallow water. It was quite fascinating. Apparently the rescue boat that went to help the ferry also sunk so it makes for interesting adventure. This island is so small with very few residents, that it is only the odd cruiser who happens by to take in its beauty. Only the cruising life could afford such a luxury.

There is a small red circle that appears on the top of this cactus. You need something sharp like tweezers or needlenose pliers to pry it out but when you do there is a delicious edible juicy fruit attached to it. The hills were full of the cactus but just a few had fruit ready to harvest.

We explored this pretty island with sandy beaches and quite a history. It was the First European Settlement in America. Christopher Columbis saw some natives with pearls along the Peninsula de Paria and it was discovered that the pearl beds were off Cubagua. At the height of the pearling industry, Cubagua pearls provided Spain with a wealth almost equal to that of the gold transported from Inca lands. In one year alone, Cubagua exported 820 pounds of pearls.

As we walked along the beach we came across this box and wondered what on earth it was for. Imagine, a little shrine for the Virgin Mary.

Here is a pretty large jelly fish we found washed up on the beach.

It can be a little dangerous swimming and snorkeling with fishing boats around and Devi has found a unique way of being noticed. She simply ties an inflated balloon to herself and away she goes. Very effective Devi (and stylish). Devi told me she had bought several bags of balloons to distribute to the children on the Macareo River and these were leftovers. Clever! I need to stock up on balloons again.

We had lots of fun with Devi & Hunter and they are a wealth of information with their diverse backgrounds in biology and ornothology (scientific study of birds). I started to pay closer attention to birds after hanging out with Devi and they began to fascinate me. I'm hoping Devi will read this blog one day and identify the unique bird I photographed in the Golfo de Cariaco.

We left Margarita heading to Los Coche. Along the way the Coast Guard started hailing us on Channel 16. Fortunately there was somebody aboard who spoke English and they asked us several questions about our Port Registration, nationality, destination, etc. They had pulled up right beside us (I mean right beside us) and I could almost see the color of the officer's eyes. It was a little intimidating to say the least. Next it was Preferred Stock's turn but for some reason Richard had trouble hearing or understanding them. For a time he had two large Coast Guard boats on either side of him, sandwiching him in the middle. Shellee thought they were going to rub the new paint off their boat. Eventually they got the information they wanted and departed. What was interesting is Richard hadn't heard them questioning us and thought he had been singled out for some reason and wondered why. As the Coast Guard left us they said "we're here to protect you", and I thanked them. That was interesting.

After several months of hanging out with Richard & Shellee it was sadly time to part company. They left Coche, a small island just south of Margarita, early one morning heading to Puerto La Cruz. They had a spot at the dock reserved and didn't want to risk losing it. To our delight Devi & Hunter arrived at Coche and we teamed up with them, taking a trip to Cubagua for a couple of days. The hiking was very interesting as a volcano had devastated the island some time ago and there were shells on the tops of the hills we were climbing. There were also wonderful shells on the beach and I started a small collection.