Margarita

Dave caught two fish on the way to Margarita (he threw one back - didn't want to be greedy) and I have to say our hearts sank when we saw all the high-rise blocks on approach. We haven't a lot to say about our visit apart from that we were not at all impressed with the place, didn't find too many bargains as we thought we might (a sign of the times?) and were happy to leave after two weeks and head for the small island of Cubagua.

The small island of Cubagua
We were we the only two boats (with Chrisandaver Dream) at anchor off this bay although Whiskers did join us just for the first night. We went ashore in the morning and said hello to a lady and her children who belonged to one of only three fishing families remaining there. After walking over the salt flats to another beach and finding two seabeans (one for each Dave) and a sea coconut, Dave spotted the skeleton of a 3-toed sloth on the beach and decided one of it's claws would be a great lucky charm for me (??) - see photos. We wandered back and chatted to the lady who we later found out was XoXirys (pronounced Iris). She was very friendly and pointed out that her little boy had stung himself in the sea and asked if we had any antibiotic cream. Fortunately, Chris had some onboard that she could spare so we went back to the boats and returned ashore later with the cream plus various other small gifts in the form of first aid stuff and food, and of course sweets for the children. We sat with them and had a drink and talked with the aid of a lot of sign language. They had small pigs and numerous cats and dogs running around, not all of which looked very healthy it has to be said. The father of the family came back from spear fishing with 3 octopus which we guessed they would have for tea that night (maybe with the rice or pasta we'd brought?). Dave and Chris bought a beautiful conch from them and it was just a lovely experience, sitting on the beach in front of their very basic home (an open tin/wood hut) and enjoying the evening with a lovely family. As we have found from time to time, and again with this family, they appeared to have next to nothing but seemed to be happy enough with their life so it makes you wonder.....

To the mainland and Cumana and the Gulfo de Cariaco
We left there for Cumana which is a marina just before the entrance to the Gulfo de Cariaco on the mainland. We went there mainly to check in but that didn't appear to be necessary (well, nor formally anyway) and found the marina staff there very friendly. We spent two nights there before moving the 12nm to Laguna Grande in the Gulfo and were completely overwhelmed by the beauty and tranquillity of this beautiful place. The photos will not do it justice but will give some idea of the amazing colours of the hills surrounding the various anchorages. We had three peaceful days there in three different anchorages. Goats roam the shores and a few fishermen work their nets in and outside the harbour in their small boats. A local lad from the small fishing community there came out in his rowing boat and asked if we had any snorkelling gear he could have (we learnt later that he asks all boats and then sells it on to the locals). Luckily for him CD had a couple of snorkels with small cracks in them that they gave him and he also sold them some fish. All we could offer him was a can of 7Up but he seemed happy enough. On the second evening we had a bbq on the beach which went very well until the drinks ran out and we decided it was so lovely we should stay a while longer. The two Daves went back to the boats and brought further supplies. After a while longer, one Dave fell in a cactus and the other was laughing so much he fell and cut his face - MEN!

We headed on up the Gulf for Medregal Village where we wanted to haul True Colours and have the antifoul done. We found the owner, Jean-Marc, and his team very friendly and helpful and an excellent job was done for about quarter of the price in the UK. Whilst the work was carried out we spent our days lounging by the pool, doing some washing and using the wifi connection (mostly unsuccessfully). Dave kept Fi happy by getting the odd newly-fallen coconut and smashing it open for her to nibble as she sat by the pool. We also met Sven, a Swedish guy who now has a house a few plots up the beach and holds a pizza night on Thursdays which we enjoyed twice - he has a pizza oven in his garden and does an excellent and tasty variety of pizza to order. The atmosphere is great with everyone sitting together.

After re-launch, the two boats, together with Bo, a guy from Georgia on a yacht called Free Spirit, sailed to the top of the Gulf. That evening, we took the three dinghies for a trip up a river that joins the Gulf where, apart from the usual pelicans, frigate birds, kingfishers, skimmers, etc we saw giant egrets, parrots, and beautiful scarlet ibis. Hawk-eye Dave noticed one lost a feather when flying overhead and it landed about 100yds off so we went and grabbed it from the surface of the water. It is so red it looks artificial (see photo). When dusk was falling we drifted back down the river and the fish-eating bats started flying about around our heads. We just managed to catch a photo of one, more by luck than judgement, and if you look carefully at the photos you might just be able to make it out! It was a great experience - another to add to the memory bank...

The next day the five of us caught a local bus called a por-puesto which is like a truck with seats down each side and a roof and side panels and after an hour changed to another in a small village for another hour's ride to get to the Guácharo Caves. These caves house the only birds in the world of this species (Guacharo Birds) of which there are apparently about 27,000. The birds live in the caves and only come out at night to feed. They make the weirdest noise - a bit like a lot of Donald Ducks all speaking at once. Our guide took us over a mile into the cave where there were fantastic examples of stalagmites and stalactites and quartz in the rock. We had to go through a couple of narrow passages which was not the best experience for Fi who suffers with claustrophobia (guess it must be getting better!) but it was all worth it for the experience. A man in the same party kindly translated some of the guide's information for us and, when we saw him later, we went and thanked him. His name is Tommy and he was there with his wife, daughter, mother and mother-in-law. He offered to give us a lift to catch the bus back home which turned into a marathon event for him as we were unsure where we needed to go. However, apart from being extremely patient and taking us all over the place to make sure we got to the right place, he stopped on the way and bought us all strawberries and cream. He refused our offer to buy them for the family, saying that he wished to be friendly to visitors to his country as he has found people friendly to him when he is abroad. What a lovely man with a lovely family. At one point, Fi was wearing Bo's cap in the back of the truck when it blew off so Dave, thinking Tommy had stopped the truck, jumped out to retrieve it, only to find that the truck was still moving - oops! Then it started pouring with rain and the four of us in the back got soaked but it was all good fun.

The driver of the por-puesto that took us the rest of the way back seemed to have a death wish by the way he was driving but luckily we all got back in one piece, in time to sit in the cockpit with a glass of vino blanco and watch another beautiful sundown, with pelicans diving all around for their supper.

We called in at Medregal for one night on the way back down the Gulfo, where we caught up with Where II, an Australian couple who were hoping to get hauled there and said hello to Bo as well as Dinah and Jim from Canada on Evergreen, and Debbie and Wayne from South Africa on Sunshine, all people we'd got to know when we were hauled.

The next day we started out early for Laguna Chica, just west of Laguna Grande, where we spent a couple of nights. The two Daves went ashore the first day to investigate the bar/restaurant we had been led to believe was there but wasn't. The following day Dave and I went for a walk ashore and met the road we had walked up when in Laguna Grande.

Bahia Redonda Marina, Puerto la Cruz
We headed off for Puerto la Cruz and despite a great start when we were actually sailing along well, we ended up motoring most of the way. We had many dolphins swimming with us for long periods which made the trip more enjoyable.

On arrival at Bahia Redonda Marina in PLC, we were helped into our berths by the friendly staff and settled down to a couple of weeks alongside in order to get a few jobs done and book a tour or two.

It takes a long time just to get one job done by the locals here so we spent a lot of time sitting by the pool reading and watching the resident iguanas eating and sunning in-between times. We decided not to get a cockpit enclosure made as it was too costly so just settled for a new oarlock holder for our dinghy which only cost us £20 so that was a result. Dave and Dave spent a morning fixing our compass light which was a godsend - thanks CD Dave for saving us so much money!

Los Llanos, crocodiles, and anacondas....
The four of us arranged a tour with Matthias, a German guy who has lived in Venezuela for years, and booked with him to leave on the following Sunday for a four-day trip to Los Llanos, the flatlands about 12hours' drive away. We chose this trip as it sounded less commercialised than the popular Angel Falls trip, we would see more wildlife, and it would only be the four of us going.

Matt picked us up at 5.30am outside the marina and we headed off in his Landcruiser, stopping for refreshments along the way and sampling traditional Venezuelan dishes at lunchtime in a restaurant he knows, where they cook the meat above a log-burning fire pit and serve flat corn pancakes, local cheese, yuka and salad.

We neared our destination and Matt started pointing out the crocodiles and some cacubaras (water pigs) as well as numerous birds, before we'd even arrived at the smallholding where we were staying, which now also caters for tourism on a small scale. A hearty meal was ready for us shortly after we'd taken our bags into the round, thatched building that was to be our sleeping quarters where, apart from a couple of small beds, there were half a dozen hammocks slung from the central supporting pole. The breeze ran through all the way around the building via mosquito-proof wire openings and the floor was concrete so as cool as we could hope for. That night we discovered the wildlife that inhabit the shower/toilet block each evening - cockroaches, spiders, moths, mosquitos, millipedes (these can give a nasty nip) and best of all, toads in varying sizes from the size of a 50p piece to the size of a large man's hand.

The night was spent getting adjusted to sleeping in a hammock and we all persevered for the three nights apart from CD Dave, who suffers a bad back and could not get comfy.

The next morning Dave and I got up early and went for a walk up the track (it stretched for miles in both directions) to watch the sun rise and the birds taking flight. The black ibis that we'd seen coming into roost as we arrived the evening before all took flight as well as numerous other birds and we also caught a glimpse of a wild cat crossing the path in front of us.

We returned in time for breakfast and then headed out on a pony trek across the fields belonging to our host family with the father and son riding with us. After stopping in a small wood and sampling the oranges growing there, we rode on and were a little surprised when the two guys starting riding off without us and, apparently, ignoring us completely. Hmm, a bit unfriendly we thought, what's going on, don't they like us? Anyway, turns out they went off to track down an anteater for us to see. Well, when they drove this animal towards us I couldn't believe how big it was (see photos). I thought they were about a foot high and maybe two feet long but this was more like 4ft high and about 5ft long. It was huge! That made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else......

Dave then spotted some owls on the ground and said he believed they were the type that live in burrows in the ground. Pa confirmed this and showed us the burrows. We saw a couple of pairs afterwards. That made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else......

We then had great fun, much to our delight, helping round up the cattle with them which Dave got stuck into (memories of Canada Blizzy...) and a thoroughly good time was had by all.

After heading back and having lunch (all meals, incidentally, were plentiful and tasty) Matt drove us, with Pa and sons on the roof, to a part of the river where everyone had a go at piranha fishing (apart from Fi). It's a case of flicking the line in quickly as soon as they take a bite of the bait or you lose them from the line so speed and dexterity are needed. Chris and the two Dave's all caught fish so that was a great success and made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else. The piranhas were later bbq'd over a fire back at camp and sampled - the consensus was okay but bony.

The second morning we headed off after an early breakfast to the part of the river where our hosts keep their river boat which is a long, narrow canoe (about 20ft) with an outboard on the back. We were taken up river and after a short time Chris spotted a howler monkey in a tree. This was a bonus as Matt had said that it wasn't likely we'd see one. This made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else...... We went on further and Pa started to turn the boat in a circle so we thought we were heading back but in fact, what he was doing, was circling time and again to attract a very rare species of turtle to the top. Eventually, when we'd almost given up after about 10 minutes, Matt spotted one of these turtles and the young son on the bow dived in the muddy water and came up with the turtle in his hands. It was the most weird looking creature ever and amazing to see. We all said this made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else......

We continued yet further up the river and saw myriads of birdlife - parrots, parakeets (bright blue, red, green, yellow), a very ancient bird that lives up there and reminds us for some reason of a phoenix, ospreys, macaws, cormorants, kingfishers, heron, egrets, stalks etc etc. as well as crocodiles on the banks (no-one fancied a dip...) After a while the son, who was now on the helm, started circling again and we thought we were heading back (by now we'd been going for about an hour) but he was just circling to bring the fresh water dolphins to the surface. They are amazing - funny heads and faces and pink and grey in colour, not like seawater dolphins at all. CD Dave had caught a glimpse of one just before we'd started out and we weren't optimistic we'd see any so we all agreed it made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else......

We stopped by a bank further up the river and got off to stretch our legs on the land which was occupied by Pa's sister. On the way to say hello to her he pointed up into a tree to a bird which, for some moments, Dave and I couldn't even see. This nocturnal bird was so well camouflaged as an extension of the branch that it blended in completely. It is impossible to describe this bird as it was so amazing to look at (we've yet to find it on the internet) but was incredible and must be the best camouflage I've ever seen on any animal. We were all amazed by it and agreed that it made the trip worthwhile if we didn't see or do anything else......

We slowly headed back down the waterways, ducking branches in the narrow channels and speeding along in the wider waterways. It was a really fun trip and we saw ten times more wildlife than we'd hoped.

After lunch we headed out with Pa and two sons - Will and Aman - to watch them track and capture an anaconda. Earlier that day they had found one, about 1-2 metre, in the grounds and we'd duly had our photo taken with it around our necks, apart from Chris who has a strong phobia against snakes. Anyway, Dave found himself armed with a long stick and wading through the edge of the river and on the bank with the other three. Now, bear in mind that Dave had deck shoes on and that these locals normally go about their everyday life in bare feet, but they had donned wellies for this purpose. After what seemed a long time but was probably only an hour or so and about 1-2 miles there was a commotion behind some bushes screening us on the road from the view of the riverbank. A few minutes later, the four of them came up into the field carrying an anaconda - 4-5 metres long! Will was at the head (holding on tight!), Aman next, Dave was carrying the heaviest part of the body and Pa was at the tail. Apparently, when Will had dived for its head it immediately flared and curled up its body to try and wrap itself around him so all three had to act quickly to control it before it got a hold. The snake was writhing around trying to get free (obviously) but not being caused any pain. It was very difficult to hold onto it so photos were taken quickly before letting it go back into the river. Dave was pumped up with the excitement of catching it and said it was an experience he'll never forget - it made the trip worthwhile if he didn't see or do anything else......

Matt took us for a slow drive along the river for a last look at wildlife and birds and some more photo opportunities before heading back for our last night in the hammocks.

We headed off early the next morning for the 12-hour drive back to PLC, got stopped twice by the police and held up for half an hour getting petrol in the garage so were back at about 7pm.