Island Vacation 2010: Blog #7 Our New Island

Hola Blog Followers!! We made it safe and sound to Isla Margarita. Flight through Mexico City to Caracas and then to the island went well. Our most memorable moment travelling here would have to be flying into Mexico City at night. Oh my god it's big!! As we flew into the city it was like flying into another planet. . . lights that went on forever!

Beach Boardwalk

We were greeted with a friendly welcome from Dan the innkeeper. Dan is from Toronto who visited here 20 years ago, married a Venezuelan lady and never went back!

Playa Agua (about 4 blocks from our hotel)

A Typical Venezuelan home on the island

We are very pleased with our B & B called Margarita Tropical Villa. I would rate it with 5 C's. Cute, comfy, clean, cozy and cool (good air con). Comes with a lovely pool and breakfast for $35 US. per night. Eggs, empanadas, omlets, sandwiches, pancakes etc with a different item each morning.

Our Room

Amazing Towel Sculptures Everyday

Open Air Breakfast nook and lounge

Breakfast

Pool Shot (Very Clean and refreshing)

Our first impression of Venezuela is that it is definately a poor country but no one seems to be suffering. A funny thing is that on Mon/Wed/Fri from 7-9 p.m., there is a black out on the island to help save eneregy and money. So everyone gropes around in the dark for a couple of hours. Our hotel has some auxillary lights that give us a bit of light. Most restaurants are still open with their own sources for cooking but need to use flashlights to read the menu etc. Another experience!! No one eats before 10 p.m. so it works out! As in Mexico, there is music blaring all over, from cars, bars, restaurants and people's homes. It is usually nice Latin American music so quite enjoyable.

Beach Road

Crab on the Beach

Jelly Fish on the Beach

The island kind of reminds us of Thailand somewhat only a little less tropical. Apparently there has been a drought for the past few years, but when it rains things green up instantly. The water comes from the mainland. Our beach, Playa Agua is huge (4 Km long), lined with palm trees. The sand is a light beige and the water is a clear bluey/green with active waves that are fun to play in.
Apparently there are more than 50 beaches around the island so we will have a big job ahead of us exploring them. Taxis are cheap so we will check them out.

Fresh Oysters on the Beach

The food is different from Mexico other than the standard fish, chicken, sea food, pasta and pizza. No Mexican good except empandas. Prices are about the same, around $2-5 for lunch and about $10 for a nice supper. The typical Venezuelan meal consists of meat, cornbread, marinated salad, fried plantain and rice. Very good. Not very spicy. Had the best white bean soup the other day for lunch.

Typical meal as described above

We have met a young girl from our hotel in her early thirties from Denmark (Tanja) who has been travelling on her own for 6 months. She is a nurse and is taking a leave to travel. We get along well so we kind of hang out with her. I think she likes being with us so she can walk around at night and feel safe. By the way, things are safe here. The only advise is not to where big flashy, expensive looking jewellery and to take a cab home after 10 p.m. if there are only a few of you.

We also met a couple of dental surgeons in their early 30's from Caracas that are on the island for a conference. They speak very good english and gave us a lot of tips. They love Canadians and wanted to show us the island and dismiss the rumor that Venezuela is a scary place! They invited us to tour around with them in their fancy car to some island highlights. Pays to get to know the locals!

Tanja and the two sisters from Caracas (Eather and Gura)

A Fishing Village on our Tour with the Girls

A castle dating back to the 1500's. Christopher Columbus disovered the island during his third voyage

Sunset on Our Tour

Sunset Supper with The Girls

Everyday we get a new design

The island is tax and duty free. They have many ultra modern shopping malls with every kind of store you can imagine. Tanja and I went shopping one day. She had to buy another suitcase to fit everything in as she only has a back pack!!

Tanja In The Mall

Beach Shot

Corn on the Cob on the Beach

We also met a couple of fun guys from Argentina who are staying at the hotel. They are great to hang out with as well. They are both psychology students. One speaks English fairly well but the other not much. So with our limited Spanish it has been quite funny conversing. But we are both learning each others language!! Warren gets along well with them and everyone is always laughing. A couple from Canada arrived a few days ago who have lived in Central America for the past 20 years. He is in the gold mining business and are on vacation. So we kind of all hang out.