Sunday, October 29, 1995 - Isla Margarita, Venezuela

Got up at five again for an early-morning drive before returning the jeep. Went to another fortification that we had seen from the water, but there wasn't much of anything there. Continued on out towards Whale Point until the road ended. Then we went back towards town and took the first right. We drove out a dirt road and found a salt flat, but it was much, much smaller than the one in Bonaire and had apparently gone out of business a long time ago. The piles of salt were covered with dirt. Guess when the locals need salt, they come out here and help themselves. We saw one man scooping up a bucket of salt. Roy's such a kid! He kept going off-road and bouncing over rocks and hills and ditches. He especially enjoyed hearing me scream and laugh. Sometimes I thought the jeep was going to tip over, but it didn't. It was a relief to get back on smooth road. We bounced past a flock of vultures and out a dirt road to the beach. Saw some people gathering something, but they were too far away for us to tell what. Drove past a bunch of hovels to the highway. Soon we came to a luxury development called Margarita Lagunamar. There were several hotels, many tennis courts, and a large waterslide. Somewhere was a lagoon and a beach, but we couldn't get close enough to see them. It was close to nine o'clock, so we headed towards the car-rental place, taking numerous detours to see interesting sights. We sure hated to turn in the little jeep. It had been a lot of fun. Found a very nice, clean, attractive bakery-cafe, where we enjoyed a delicious snack. The owner was a Puerto Rican, who had lived in Germany for 17 years. He was fluent in English, Spanish, and German. He had only been in Isla Margarita for seven months, and he really regretted it, but there was no chance of selling the place now. He said the Venezuelan government was corrupt, but the German government was very honest. He wasn't making much money. Stopped at a hotel, and Roy phoned Steve to let him know where we were and that all was well. It was an ideal place to phone -- cool, quiet, and private. We were surprised to find stores open on Sunday. Even Rattan's was open, so we went in. I showed Roy the one-burner stove and the filters I had found, but they weren't quite what he wanted. We bought a few groceries and returned to the boat. It was nice to be on the boat in daylight for once. Three kids came by in a pedal-boat. There were two eleven-year-old boys and a slightly younger girl. Roy invited them aboard. First they returned the pedal-boat; then the boys swam out to the Jofian. They were nice, courteous kids. Roy got a big kick out of showing them around and trying to communicate with them. The little girl came out on a board, but she didn't stay long. Roy got the boys to dive off the Jacob's ladder. They dove and swam really well.