Yes, you can also find rabbits for sale at Conejero Market.

The meat and fish couldn't be fresher at Rabbit Market.

This lady wore most of her wares on top of her head. She had a big smile as she wandered through the food court at the market hoping to make a sale.

We had lunch here and Shellee & I ordered omelet. Big mistake. Shellee left most of hers because it was full of egg shells. I've seen their eggs for sale and the shells are usually covered with bird dung and feathers. My omelet just tasted terrible so we left hungry. Another lesson: don't order an American style omelet in Venezuela as it doesn't remotely resemble anything we'd be served in America.

We were heading to Jus Now for a delightful social gathering and captured this photo from the dinghy. That is our boat in the foreground. We left the next day for Los Coche.

Yet another gorgeous sunset, just a new location.

We visited some of the more popular malls and we could have been in downtown LA. The brands were very American, the surroundings very modern and prices expensive. We preferred the downtown area better where the majority of Venezuelans shop.

Margarita is the most popular getaway for Venezuelans. There are some lovely beaches but we really didn't see the big attraction. Despite that we had a very nice stay there. However, about 2 days after we left there was a BBQ on shore that many cruisers attended. That was enough to tip off some undersirables who took advantage of unoccupied boats and tried to rob three of them. The first boat lost a liferaft that was tied up on deck plus numerous lines, someone scared the thieves off the second boat but on the third boat it was a different story. A woman was on board caring for a baby when a man boarded, tied the woman up and forced her to divulge where their cash was kept. Although neither she nor the baby were physically harmed, the emotional trauma must have been enormous.

Margarita is turning out to be a cruisers' nightmare because boats are continuing to be robbed and nobody is being held accountable.

Most cruisers have several hiding places on their boat to stash their cash as well as a stash they are willing to relinquish.

Shellee, Bill & I went to Conejero (Rabbit) Market one Saturday morning. It was a long way across town but well worth it. There was one very large section of clothing, another with fresh meat and another food court. We spent several hours wandering around. I spotted this dog in the meat department and his demeanor struck me oddly. Not sure what the scoop was but thought it was an interesting photo.

Simon Bolivar is an icon and his birthday is a National holiday. In Caracas there is a 3-hour walking tour all centered around Simon Bolivar.

If I find any little town or village without a statue of Simon Bolivar I'll be sure to report it on the blog but I rather doubt that will happen.

We left Los Testigos early one morning and reported to the Coast Guard on Channel 16 that we were departing. I wrote out the message in Spanish and hoped they didn't ask me anything because chances are I wouldn't comprende. Thankfully they said nothing but suddenly we were hailed by Devi on Arctic Tern. They were just arriving in Los Testigos and only planned to spend one night as a weather system was moving in and they wanted to get to Margarita (where we were headed). We traveled with Preferred Stock and Paradise was a short distance behind. It was a beautiful day, good winds and perfect sail. We anchored in Margarita and the next morning Manuella, from Paradise, offered to take us to Customs and Immigration and help us with our official check-in. Manuella speaks very good Spanish and had been to Margarita before so she knew the ropes. We left our papers with the officials for the day, being told to return around 4 p.m.

We then went to change some money at a nearby chandlery. We were delighted to get a rate of 3.5 bolivars/$1 US and it was the only time we got such a good rate. As there was a limited amount of money available and several of us wanting some, we were only able to change a small amount. From there we took a taxi to downtown at a cost of about $3 (shared with Preferred Stock). What a deal. We were dropped off close to Plaza Bolivar (which I'm sure every city in Venezuela has) and wandered around the streets. It was delightful as the streets were wide and closed to traffic. There were lots of great bargains as well. The atmosphere was relaxed and very pleasant. We had lunch at a popular chicken restaurant, wandered around a bit more and caught a taxi back to the anchorage.