Venezuela

We were frankly paranoid in traveling to and through Venezuela. We know many people who have gone there often, and some practically live in Puerta La Cruz. We have also heard of many acts of piracy or at least major thefts of dinghies and outboards. So, we decided to stay in the outer islands, away from the pirates. Unfortunately, we did not realize that by avoiding a ports of entry we would become problematical elsewhere, i.e. when we visited the outer islands we were informed we could not stay and only did so by virtue of timely gifts of rum and charm (mostly rum). It was helpful that the Captain was born in Cuba and spoke passable Spanish.

We left Trinidad at sunset and ran in "stealth mode", i.e. no lights whatsoever and frequent checking of the radar. Purists may find this inappropriate, but you need to sail in these waters before being too critical. Pirates in Venezuela are real and real nasty. While the main problem is along the Paria Peninsula, boats have been attacked while sailing between Grenada and the Testigos; shooting crew members is not uncommon and they steal everything, down to your kids' clothing. We stayed in stealth mode until we reached the Roques.

This is a photo of the north end of Testigo Grande. All the cruising guides said the fishermen wanted useful things, like dive masks, in trade for their catch; the reality is they want rum. Why not?

Here are some pictures of El Gran Roque and the pretty town thereon. Getting permission to stay here is very involved, requiring you to visit about 6 different officials, starting with the Coast Guard, then the National Guard, the Parque office, etc, etc. All the officials are very, very nice, even when they tell you to leave.

Here are some shots from Las Aves de Barlovento. Note the light tower is built next to the remains of its predecessor and the check out the hammocks on the foredeck of the boat. The water here is just gorgeous. We stayed about 2 weeks, which was not entirely cool but the Guarda Costa doesn't drop by very often.

If we get by here again we'll probably opt to visit Porlamar on Isla Margarita as well as Puerta La Cruz. There's a lot to like about Venezuela so long as you are careful about where you go. Sailing downwind from the Aves, we headed for a place we wanted to visit for a long time, Bonaire

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