June 25, 2004 to August 04, 2004
Aves de Sotaventa
Venezuela's offshore Islands
12° 03.56’N, 67° 41.24'W
Greetings Earthlings
The month of July was a happy time. We took a 10-day road trip to the town
of Merrida in the foothills of the Andes. I turned 51, trying not to notice it.
We celebrated our 19th anniversary and Richard’s 15th birthday around a
bonfire on a desert island. Finally, we took in as much as we could of Puerto
La Cruz, Maremares and the friends we had met there before heading west on
a trip through the offshore islands of Venezuela, with Bonaire, the
Netherlands Antilles, our final destination.
The road trip to Merrida, a popular destination at the foot of the Andes, was
a great adventure. Our party totaled 12. Our traveling companions were
Molly, Lauren’s friend visiting from Mountain Lakes, the crew of Duchess and
their visiting family.
We had booked a private van with two drivers but, when it showed up, it was
an absolute wreck. It was supposed to be a 14 passenger van, but they had
taken a 30 year old, 9 passenger van and bolted an extra bench seat in what
had been the luggage area. They wanted to strap our luggage to the roof, but
had no tarpaulin to cover it, even though drenching tropical showers are
common in the late afternoons. Without any of us in the van, the suspension
was so low that you could hardly see the tires, which, when inspected, proved
to be almost bald. Obviously, we needed to go to plan B. It was pointless
getting upset, as this type of challenge is part of the charm the 3rd world.
Without any hope of finding a suitable replacement van, we headed to the
town bus terminal and boarded a bus for the overnight trip that would be our
first leg of the journey. Long haul buses in Venezuela are quite magnificent,
with fully reclining seats, lots of legroom and the road equivalent of a flight
attendant. We didn't know how we would eventually reach Merrida, but we
were determined to begin the journey.
The next morning, around 6am, we arrived in the town at the end of the bus
line. We took a cab to the local Intercontinental and struck gold. The
concierge found an almost new, 14-seat Kia van with a driver who could stay
with us for the remainder of our trip. We spent the next two days driving
across Venezuela to Merrida, a beautiful trip across the lowlands and into
the Andes. At one stage, we drove over a mountain pass at 14,000 feet, where
we stopped for a break. Climbing up a short trail to a roadside chapel only
20 yards away was exhausting as there is so little oxygen in the air at that
altitude. We spent the nights in small village hotels that were both clean and
comfortable, not unlike those you would find in the countryside of South
Africa. In fact, much of the lowland landscape also reminded me of South
Africa, with it’s rolling hills, sugarcane fields and flat-topped trees. The
Andes, of course, were another thing altogether.
An unusual aspect of travel in Venezuela is the cars you see on the road.
Because it is a poor country with mountainous terrain and fuel is virtually
free (about 15c per gallon), big, old, Detroit muscle is to be seen
everywhere. Many of the cars we saw were between 30 and 40 years old
and often seemed to be the composite of many different vehicles. They really
appealed to me, especially when our 2004 model Kia micro-bus was struggling
up a mountain, the engine giving off a high pitched wail of protest, and a 1962
Chevy Impala cruised by us as if we were standing still, it’s massive V8 calmly
emitting the throaty rumble of power to spare. For some reason, I was drawn
to these ancient relics and shot tons of picture of them. At a small, dusty
road stop, the owner of a rebuilt 1969 Mustang Mach III let me take it for a
drive - what a blast.
Merrida is perched at 5,000 feet on a plateau in the foothills of the Andes
and is also a destination city for vacationing Venezuelans. While Merrida has
a decidedly third world flavor, it’s people are welcoming, it’s location quite
spectacular, it’s restaurants serve good food, and I never diet while on
vacation, or on any other occasion. But, I digress...
A highlight of the trip was the 5-station, 2-hour cable car ride that took us
from Merrida’s sub-tropical climate to the roof of the Andes, an arctic
wonderland at 15,600ft. It is supposedly both the longest and highest cable
car ride in the world. I had picked up a local tummy bug and Lauren and
Molly were having difficulty with the altitude, so I took them back down and
we all slept off our problems at the hotel. Carol, the boys and our travel
companions took the cable car down to 12,000 feet and then took a 4 hour
horseback ride down to a beautiful mountain village where they spent the
night.
After the Merrida trip, Lauren's friend, Molly, headed back to Mountain
Lakes, NJ, and we finally headed out of Puerto La Cruz for the last time.
Our good friends on Duchess followed us out to Isla La Tortuga. It was our
third trip to this little slice of Paradise. We feasted on lobster and conch,
celebrated our 19th anniversary and Richard’s 15th birthday, and spent a
couple of days getting used to the idea of leaving behind our closest friends
of the past few months. We built a large bonfire on the beach and while the
kids roasted marshmallows under the stars, we enjoyed some good South
African wine. Early in the morning of July 29th we hauled anchor, gave
Duchess a final wave, and headed first for Islas Los Roques 100 miles to the
west and then the islands of Las Aves, another 35 miles west.
Venezuela’s offshore islands are beautiful, wild, low-lying islands with
spectacular beaches, surrounded by coral reefs in the most perfect turquoise
and green waters. There are little or no facilities in these islands and you
have to bring everything you need with you, but that’s what makes it such a
“get away from it all” adventure. Both air and water temperatures hover in
the low 80’s, and the steady trade winds keep you cool. Never before had we
experienced such a perfect combination of temperature, wind and water.
Andrew and Richard perfected their spear fishing skills – not so easy using a
slingshot instead of a gun – and they kept us well stocked with fish for the
grill. Between the Roques and the easternmost Aves, we landed a large Mahi
Mahi. Then, as we approached the Aves de Barlevento, a flock of red and
yellow-footed boobies descended on us and immediately dived on our lures
before we could reel them in. Quickly, we had two birds in tow and had to
back down to free them. Having done this on occasion before, we had learned
the drill. The trick is to gently lift the bird onto the back step of the boat
and quickly throw a towel over it’s head before it can rip you apart with its
beak and the small but sharp claws at the tips of its webbed feet. Luckily,
the towel over its head has the miraculous effect of rendering the bird
motionless. The birds on this occasion were amazingly calm and seemed
totally unafraid of us. The first was held by a twist of the line around its
wing. The second had the hook caught in the fleshy part of its foot which I
treated with some Neosporin before releasing them. They flew close by for a
few minutes and then took off. I imagined they were trying to say thank you.
When we arrived at the island, we found the mangrove trees at the south end
to be home to thousands upon thousands of boobies that were completely
unafraid of humans. We could dinghy right up next to them as they nested
and they would simply look at us, curiously, and then go on about their
business. We found them enchanting.
At one of our anchorages, while we were cleaning some fish we had speared,
the largest barracuda I have ever seen came up to the boat to eat the fish
guts we had thrown overboard. Andrew and Richard quickly loaded a rod and
sent the bait overboard. The fish took the hook almost immediately and first
dived deep before bursting out of the water just behind the boat. It was late
in the day and the sun, low on the horizon, lit up this magnificent creature as
he flashed brilliant grey, silver and white patterns in mid air and spat out the
hook before returning head first to the water. He must have been nearly 6
foot long and almost a foot deep in the chest. It was quite a sight and when he
returned to the boat a few minutes later, we decided to adopt him instead of
kill him. “Barry Cuda” stayed with us for the few days we were there and we
fed him daily. He would rise to from the depths to take our offerings, his
open mouth breaking the surface at a leisurely pace. While we were tempted,
we were never brave/stupid enough to let him take them from our hand as his
teeth were intimidating. Barry never moved far from the boat except when
we jumped into the water, and then he would move off a respectful 20 feet or
so, from which distance he kept us company. We became quite attached to him.
Before we knew it, the time had come for us to move on to Bonaire where we
were to meet our New York Friends, Paul and Judy and their kids Jeff and
Margo. It was difficult to leave these islands behind, but we were anxious to
see our friends again. We hoped to return some day, and we did. But that’s
another story.
