Venezuela… Tierra de Gracia

In 1497 on his third voyage to the Americas, Columbus sailed to Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta and declared he had found heaven on Earth. He subsequently named this region “Tierra de Gracia” (Land of Grace) which remains the country’s nickname even today. Rich in biodiversity, culture and history, our first landfall in South America was the beginning of a love affair with the continent and its hospitable people.

We departed Trinidad and made our way rather slowly to Puerto La Cruz on Venezuela’s mainland. We spent a month visiting several Venezuelan out-islands along the way including the Islas Los Testigos, Isla Margarita, Blanquilla, Cubagua and a bit of exploring in the Gulfo de Cariaco.

Our arrival in mainland Venezuela at Puerto La Cruz was our first landfall on the South American continent and our timing was bad. 2002 was a tough year for many Venezuelans. More than half the population lived below the poverty level, inflation was more than 30%, oil prices were declining. The plan had been to visit as much of inland Venezuela as possible. However, on 2 December 2002, a national strike to oust President Chavez began and continued beyond our stay in Venezuela. Shortages of fuel, food and beer were most noticeable. The value of the Bolivar plummeted and inland travel was inadvisable. The U.S. & Canadian Embassies issued traveler’s warnings and advised Americans in Venezuela to leave. What a disappointment to be in such a beautiful country and miss exploring all of its wonder.

Politics in Venezuela…An excerpt from a letter home…
“The national strike has continued for weeks and things are escalating a bit. The protests are becoming louder and more vehement; stores and banks are open for only a few hours a day; ATMs are running out of money; petroleum tankers have joined in the strike which means no fuel. We are
advised to stay in the marinas and on our boats. It appears Hector Chavez was elected for a 6 year term and the Venezuelan constitution allows for a referendum vote of confidence after 3 years… that would be August 2003… but lots of people don’t want to wait and he doesn’t want to hold a
national vote right now, so they are at loggerheads. As President, however, he has a tremendous amount of power including charge of the military and the National Assembly (the Venezuelan Congress). The “people” indicate they will strike till they get their way and he vows he won’t give in.
We don’t feel threatened at this point, so don’t worry. Word today indicates the strike will continue.”

After two weeks on the hard, it was a pleasure to get back into the water and move Cups to Isla Paraiso Resort & Marina. Since the resort was new and not quite opened yet, we got a great discounted price. We spent the Christmas holidays with cruising friends.

Back to the Out-Islands

In January 2003, we set out for Bonaire via several Venezuelan island groups. We anchored first at Chimana Oeste, then spent nearly a week at Las Tortuguillas, never even leaving the boat. It was good to be away from the marina and out at anchor again. We continued on to Los Roques and Las Aves… spectacular archipelagos with a charm and splendor all their own.

Archipiélago Los Roques is comprised of about 40 islands with names and another 250 unnamed islets, sandbars and cays. In 1972, it was established as a Venezuelan National Park. Huge coral reefs and mangrove islands provide lots of spots to explore and tuck in. The entrance, marked by a lighthouse, is narrow and the chart calls for caution in traversing the area. ‘Reading the water’, however, was fairly straightforward with distinct color variations for deep water (dark blue), reef & coral (brown, black), sand (white) and shallow (light turquoise).

Our favorite anchorage in the Roques Archipelago was Cayo Elbert. The islands here were low-lying with lots of white sand and sand dunes. Most interesting to us was a booby nesting area where we found hundreds of fuzzy, white baby boobies in different stages of development from eggs, to hatchlings, to fledges learning to fly. The nests were no more than depressions in the purslane-covered ground, lined with twigs and grass.

From Los Roques, we moved on to Las Aves (the birds), two separate little archipelagos of reefs, islands and islets. The more easterly group is called Aves de Barlovento (windward) and the westerly group is called Aves de Sotovento (leeward). Their name comes from the large number and variety of birds that call these islands home. Though there are no large settlements, there is a Guardacosta (coast guard) station in Sotovento and fishing camps abound on every little island.

In all, we spent nearly a month in the Aves. Finally, a weather window appeared which allowed us a day of moderate winds and seas and a wonderful 40 mile downwind sail to Bonaire. Time to re-enter civilization, replenish the larder and sample yet another country.