300 different tropical islands to choose from ain’t bad… The Los Roques archipelago of Venezuela is truly a paradise destination. There are no big resorts, and on the few islands that have hotels, there are only small “posadas” hosting a few guests each.
Small boats take hotel guests for day excursions, meaning all of the anchorages are rather quiet, and odds are you will probably be there by yourself. This is what we have been craving over the past few months when we were in the more busy part of the Caribbean.
Just about one year ago, the rules unfortunately changed for visiting sailboats. New rules only allow us to stay for five nights, instead of the previous admittance of fourteen days. So, we had to be efficient, and chose our anchorages wisely.
The checkin to the country takes place in Gran Roque, the main island. The process was quite elaborate, we had to visit a total of six different offices to clear in. A lot of sailors pay a local agent USD 300 to handle this for them, but we like to handle these things by ourselves. It becomes part of the experience of getting to know a destination, we believe. With the Admiral’s Spanish, we got by just fine 😊
We didn’t have time to move the boat to our next anchorage before dark, so we stayed overnight and went for a little hike the following morning, before taking off.
After the hike, we went straight to an anchorage we got recommended by two Belgian neighbor boats we met in Gran Roque. They had spent the previous night there, and could also recommend a small restaurant on the beach, if we could get hold of the owners to make a reservation for dinner. If so, they would immediately head out and cash fresh fish for dinner.
We got really lucky… We were the only ones at the anchorage by the island of Crasqui, and luckily, we found the owners of the restaurant right away. They ensured fresh catch for dinner that same night. We enjoyed an awesome meal of carpaccio fish and conch as starters, and fresh grilled fish for the main. And, a prime location as we were the only guests at their beach side restaurant run out of their home. We felt truly blessed 😍
The following morning, we went with the restaurant owner and his cousin on a half day boat trip along the Southern side of the archipelago. It is too shallow to go with Noxoma in this area, so we got to see an area that is not easily accessible. We had some awesome snorkeling experiences, as well as learning a lot about the life of the people living on the islands.
In addition to snorkeling, we visited a hut made for fishermen, which stood on stilts in the middle of the ocean. Up to 50 men live there during the fishing season from October to February. Their buyers stop by and buy the catch directly from the hut, so they stay put for this entire time.
Our next anchorage was Norsqui, where the only other boat we saw was an excursion boat with a small group on a beach trip. They left before sunset, and we had the anchorage to ourselves. This is probably the place where we set the anchor in as shallow water as we have ever tried. The captain is standing on the anchor on the photo below! Good thing our draft is only 1.6 meter…
As we made our way to the next anchorage the following day, the captain caught a huge barracuda. We decided to release it, as larger barracudas may have ciguatera, which is a toxin that some reef fish get. Turns out it is really not a problem in this area, though. Better safe, than sorry 😊
The next anchorage we stayed at was Los Careneros, where we spent two nights. It was a beautiful anchorage, and again another paradise location. The first night was spent alone, and the second one we had company of a fairly posh yacht, with a Venezuelan family onboard with a crew of four people.
Considering that all of the people we have met here in Venezuela so far have been very poor (and willingly shared this with us), it was very interesting to see that some are living the life of the rich, having it all in this communist country.
The father of the family shared with us that he had been in Norway to view the Northern lights the year before. Perhaps he taught the current Norwegian Prime Minister about socialism. There is a very interesting dialogue going on about the current politics of the Norwegian government, as they are being compared to Venezuelan politics.
Having witnessed the results of the Venezuelan politics up close, let’s hope the direction of Norwegian politics changes soon…
The last anchorage in Los Roques, was Bequeve, on the Western side of the archipelago. We just spent one night, as we now had overstayed our permit. Our last night in Los Roques, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. It is not often you see the sun perfectly round hitting the ocean, with no clouds in front of it. These islands have truly provided a paradise like experience!
