Wherever there's a net or a fishing boat, you don't have to look far to find hordes of birds. They are as entertaining as the humans as they swoop down and gorge themselves on the small fish that the fishermen discard. We aren't quite sure what the fishermen discard as often they are catching bait for other boats that sit in wait (as was the case in Los Testigos). As our boat was almost in the middle of the action we had flocks of birds bussing our boat.

We just happen to anchor closest to the beach and spent the best part of a day being entertained by the fishermen setting their nets, monitoring them and eventually retrieving their catch. What was most interesting was a dog, similar to a black lab, that spent literally hours and hours in the water with the fishermen who were diving on the nets. The dog would manage to get in and out of the net without problems, swim around and around, and after about 3 hours would swim back to shore. We watched him shake himself off and trot along the beach, tail wagging. Then, later in the day when the fishermen were pulling in their catch, guess who was right in the middle of all the action. You guessed it, the black lab. Great entertainment.

The sailboats silhouetted against the gorgeous sunset...how idyllic. Los Testigos didn't disappoint in any way, including sunsets. Wonder what tomorrow has in store for these sea gypsies?

This large vessel was under construction and one night is actually fell off it's supports. What a challenge to put it back on. There were 2 or 3 men working on it most of the time we were there, obviously trying to get it ready to put to work. It was very heavy build to withstand whatever the sea through at it.

This is actually a salt pond situated behind the houses that are along the beach. We aren't sure if salt is being extracted from it or not. There wasn't much evidence of that.

Not to be outdone by the French group, Bill took a dip in the lovely, warm sea...(except he kept his clothes on). Conservative North Americans just don't have the same freedom as the French.

We hiked back over the sand dune, walked around the village and then returned to the boat for a siesta. It's amazing how fun in the sun can drain your energy.

We thought we would be the only people on this lovely deserted beach until a group of 4 people on another sailboat arrived (French, I might add). In true French style they instantly removed all their clothes, went in for a swim and then lounged on the sand. We met them later and have had a few more encounters with the women, who have graduated to another boat and are here in Cumana. Bill can't help but smile when he sees them and remembers the lovely view on that lazy afternoon on Los Testigos. Memories!!!

Bill, Richard and Shellee (from Preferred Stock), accompanied us up and over the sand dunes to the beautiful, deserted beach on the other side. There were recent turtle tracks and I couldn't help wishing more turtles knew about this lovely, isolated area to counteract the overpopulation on Trinidad's north coast.

Richard, from Preferred Stock, is dwarfed beside this fishing boat. They are a unique design but very sturdy and seaworthy as they battle the elements regularly and must be able to take care of their crew.

Los Testigos (The Witnesses)
We sailed from Trinidad with Preferred Stock, both recognizing that there is safety in numbers. We took a direct bearing from Trinidad and sailed throughout the night on calm seas. On my shift I noticed a light in the distance and Preferred Stock shifting to starboard further and further, trying to keep their distance. There have been incidents in these waters and we were on guard. I decided to follow Preferred Stock but the further to starboard I went, the light continued to move in the same direction. Nearing the end of my shift I called Bill and told him I was a little uncomfortable with this boat. As we were now some distance off course we decided to move to port. Preferred Stock had been quite some distance ahead of us and now they were considerably further to starboard. I called them on the radio and they too were a little concerned about this boat. However, as we approached the boat made no movement toward us and we just carried on by. Probably just a fisherman, but you have to be prepared.

We were completely surprised and delighted with Los Testigos. It was such a relaxing stop, we did some great snorkeling on the reef and hiking across the sand dune.

We checked in with the Coast Guard who filled in a comprehensive form about the boat and its crew which actually surprised us. This is not an official check-in point but they certainly want to keep track of who is visiting their area. They were very friendly and, with the exception of the language challenges, they made us feel very welcome.

We have an English/Spanish form that we completed with all our boat and crew information. We returned to the Coast Guard office later and presented them with a copy, without our boat information on it, to assist them when dealing with other boats without Spanish speaking crew aboard. They were most appreciative.

Venezuela is primary Catholic and there are numerous statues of the Virgin Mary around. However, El Shaddai attracts Christians to us and we now know that evangelical Christianity is alive and growing in Venezuela. We can't count the number of friends and acquaintances we have made in our travels who are familiar with El Shaddai.

Got a bit ahead of myself as our first Venezuela stop was Los Testigos. We are permitted a 3-day stay on these beautiful islands and ended up getting an extension and staying for 6 days. The weather was better and the officials were fine with that.

Los Testigos is occupied by fishing families and there's not much else there except wonderful vistas and great snorkeling. We thoroughly enjoyed it there. One night we went to shore where all the cruisers were gathering for a social. We were concerned nobody would speak English because all the flags were foreign...but to our delight they all spoke English. We met some fascinating people who we continue to run into. This cruising life sure opens doors of opportunity to meet wonderful and interesting people.