Saturday, July 25, 2009

"Booking" into El Gran Roque

Los Roques is quite remote. This group of Venezuelan Islands has one town - El Gran Roque. The town has no cars and the streets are made of sand. It runs along a beautiful sandy beach and has several blocks of houses, shops, restaurants and even a small school and medical office. El Gran Roque is where you must officially check in. This process itself was quite an adventure. We went into the town by dinghy and tied up to the Guardacosta (Coast Guard) dock (shared by the Policias (police) boat as well. Here we checked in with a young man in uniform who pulled out a big "book" with about 14 columns across the two pages. He proceeded to fill in each column by hand, asking questions (in Spanish/spanglish). We answered in Spanish/Spanglish. Luckily a gent was around who turned into our translator. Michael's Spanish form came in handy again. During the process, people were coming in and out of the office - some in formal uniform (braid on the shoulder etc.) and others in t-shirts, flip-flops and shorts. All looked to be Guardiacosta. One of them tried to sell us a framed piece of art (a chart of Los Roques with nautical knots/braids on it). The price started at 200 Bolivars and went to 50 US by the time it was all over.(though when we returned it was $40).

Once we finished with Guardacosta, we were given this stamped form - and told to go to three other locations - in a specific order. Parque (Park office); Guardia Nacional (National Guard) and Aduana (customs). The offices were in town (customs at the tiny aeropuerto (airport). Luckily, this gentleman was nearby who spoke some English and proceeded to help us understand all this and walk us to the offices. We started at the Parque but it was closed. Luckily, he ran into the head of the park, Jesus Duran, who told us to come back after lunch.and to do him last and get the others out of the way first. "Oh, oh," we thought - that's out of the order that was clearly indicated!! We then went to the National Guard and a uniformed man was sitting at a desk on the porch and we went to him. He spoke little to no English so we laughed a lot and got it done (he was very nice). He kept telling us we needed to check out the next day and come back - which started to confuse us. He also had a big "book," with columns across both pages and he hand-wrote all the information in these tiny columns. He stamped our sheet to make it official and sent us on our way.

Next stop Aduana at the airport. This airport is a small strip (very small) right on the beach. There are a few small wooden shacks along the waterfront selling souvenirs and a water taxi to take folks to other islands. Next to these is the customs office. Inside a young woman in a uniform shirt and jeans was rocking out to some great music. She spoke a bit of English and we communicated pretty well - telling her we liked the music. She filled out "her book" - another one with lots of columns - all handwritten. She stamped the paper and sent us on our way.

We made it back to the park office - nobody was there. We waited. Went to the Supermarcado (Supermarket) and picked up some eggs and beer, went back to the Park office - and nobody there. Went to have a cold drink and came back. Nobody there. We waited and waited. Somebody came by and told us they'd be back at "a la dos" (2 o'clock). It was already that (according to our time). Finally someone gets there and we get checked in. He also tells us we must clear out the next day and come back. He too fills out the big "book" with columns and all handwritten. He stamps our sheet.

We get back to the Coast Guard station and show him our sheet with stamps from all the appropriate offices. We ask our guy if we need to check in the next day to clear out - as this was confusing when we were checking in. He tells us "no" we are all set. We can leave the next morning. The price of the art comes down another ten dollars. We also find out the island is a half hour earlier than the eastern time zone!

We get back to Astarte and change from our "clearing in" clothes to our walking around and climbing hills clothes, and head back to the island. We got permission to keep the dinghy at the Coast Guard dock.

The town is really charming. In fact, if any reader is looking for a remote place to go that has lots of beaches, water sports of the diving, snorkeling, boating, fishing variety (no jet skis), and really nice little posadas and restaurants - this would be a good choice. The town is tidy and colorful. Planes come from the mainland regularly. That would mean having to land in Venezuela however.

Of course there is a hill on this island and you know Michael's rule - if there is a hill, it must be climbed. This is the only Los Roques island with any height. The hill leads to the old lighthouse. It was a nice trail all the way - and great views from the top. We then went cruising around town, found a bakery for some bread and then went for some cold beers on the beach. We had dinner at a lovely restaurant on the beach and had a terrific meal (Barbara had fresh (Pescado) fish and Michael (Camarones) shrimp. A few beers and two glasses of wine and the whole meal cost under $40 US.

Back to the boat after a great day in the town. These were the first out of pocket boat units we spent in 10 days! These remote islands help with the cruising budget.

The next morning (Friday) we left El Gran Roque for Cayo de Agua on the western side of the group. It was a fabulous few hour sail all the way. No joy on the fish front (we were so optimistic). We did catch a small mackerel - but lost it before it got to the boat. Then we ended up losing a lure - probably one of the islands' "el gran barracuda!" Bummer.

We anchored in between some reefs and went snorkeling. It was a bit shallow and surge-ey - and not too clear, so we looked at a few spots and headed back to the boat. We are getting spoiled - if it's not perfect, we quit! We did clean waterline of Astarte which was getting "mermaid hair" (long green, slimey, grassy stuff) growing along the waterline. Michael also did some free diving to scrape some barnacles off below. We got some big rain squalls and heavy wind through the afternoon and evening.

We'll explore the beautiful beach and island on Saturday. There are lots of birds on the island. One laughing gull has decided to make Astarte and our dinghy a new resting spot - she is fearless. You can approach very closely - within a foot. She likes sitting on the windvane, barbeque grill, or dinghy.

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