Margarita Island ao Mochima NP, Venezuela

Margarita Island to Mochima National Park: a very Caribbean Caribe


semi-transvestite party
Venezuelans wear props and masks and have fun aboard the boat that connects Margarita Island to Coche Island.
Caribbean haste
A boat crew member travels the jetty that leads to the island of Cubagua.
No way out
Signboard indicates the end of a trail full of cacti on the island of Cubagua.
avian island
A rocky island of PN Mochima occupied by seabirds.
no foot
A girl from a fishing village relaxes on a buoy.
Motorboat
A boat sails through the crystal-clear sea off Punta Ballena.
Iguana
One of the many iguanas that inhabit El Faro Island, part of PN Mochima.
Deadly
A boy from a fishing village on Margarita Island does a somersault from the bow of a boat.
strange reef
Snorkelers explore the Caribbean Sea around a boat that has caught fire.
almost ready
Auxiliary runs to help with the docking maneuver on the island of Coche.
Total Rumba
More party aboard a boat heading to Coche Island, off Margarita Island.
Afternoon bathing
Residents of Venezuela's Caribbean coast relax on a tropical beach on Arapo Island.
rough slope
The slope of the El Faro island is full of low-lying cacti.
Stern talk
Two passengers talk aboard one of the boats that travel between Margarita and Coche islands.
improvised pontoon
Coche Island jetty enters the Caribbean Sea.
The exploration of the Venezuelan coast justifies a wild nautical party. But, these stops also reveal life in cactus forests and waters as green as the tropical jungle of Mochima.

We're counting down to the weekend.

Hundreds of inhabitants of Isla Margarita insist on enjoying it until the last second.

We went up the last meters of the ramp to the Juan Griego viewpoint at an almost-running pace. At the top, inside the fortification, a crowd in joyful conviviality occupies the entire length of the walls, facing the Caribbean Sea where the sun has almost set.

Two competing ice cream vendors carry styrofoam boxes and advertise their product. They encourage him to ring little bells, awakening the desire of the children who make their parents' lives a misery there.

Sunset, Juan Griego viewpoint, Margarita Island, Venezuela

Crowd follows sunset over Juan Griego's viewpoint.

The ecstatic assistance accompanies and records the star's fading.

After a few minutes of additional contemplation, civil peace surrenders to a political-military ceremony.

The Solemn Download of the Venezuelan Flag

Two military come out of nowhere. In accordance with the pre-staged choreography, they bring down the huge yellow-blue-red Venezuelan flag that flies, haughtily, against the almost clear sky.

They stretch it, bend it to perfection. And they carry the symbol of the homeland Bolivarian in his arms, carried with a thousand cares, as if he were a newborn.

Flag drop, Juan Griego viewpoint, Margarita Island, Venezuela

Military personnel fold the Venezuelan flag to collect it at night.

It darkens in three times. The next morning is work and, accordingly, many families disband. One or two clans of young people resist dancing to tropical rhythms that spring from their small cell phones.

The international entourage of which we are part admires them with fascination and some anxiety. Until we receive departure order and leave them to your party.

Discovering the Famous Margarita Island

Let's move forward in the narrative until after the new dawn. We followed instructions.

With breakfast already eaten, we wait for the transport that will take us to a nearby dock. And from there, to Playa de la Punta, a quiet cove on the Isla de Coche, a few miles offshore.

Coche Island, Margarita Island, PN Mochima, Venezuela

Auxiliary runs to help with the docking maneuver on the island of Coche.

A humorous host on board welcomes passengers in hyper-fast Spanish and then, with the boat already in motion, in English with a strong Yankee accent.

Shortly thereafter, the vessel's bar opens. The crew DJ behind the counter blasts the first Caribbean themes with loud shouts and inaugurates a rumba that would drag on.

The journey to the secondary island is a long one. Sitting on the deck's seats, passengers avoid the role of inaugurating the dance floor, which is increasingly obvious and complaining.

conversation on the boat, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

Two passengers talk aboard one of the boats that travel between Margarita and Coche islands.

But, in addition to the host and DJ, there is an MC on board who recruits them for the most distinguished exercises and borderless pastimes. They tie balloons full and of different colors to their ankles.

With a signal from the animator and to the rhythm of the music, the forced participants jump and jump like crazy to blast the opponents and stay “alive” in the game.

rumba party on the boat, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

More party aboard a boat heading to Coche Island, off Margarita Island.

Playa de la Punta and the Speedboat in Rumbero Mode

Carlos, the MC, notes the speed with which that childlike joy takes over the boat, reinforced by the effects of rum under the most different recipes. It then launches other challenges that enhance the phenomenon and continues with its encouraging role even after landing at Playa de la Punta.

The entourage enjoys the warm and gentle sea. take the opportunity to decompress the day-to-day stress and fatigue of games on deck. The MC returns to attack and calls them to new activities, now aquatic.

Some of the old world vacationers turn up their noses. Faced with growing membership, they end up surrendering. Until lunchtime arrives and a meal at a popular restaurant near the beach rescues the group from that tentacular animator, not necessarily from the alcoholic beverages that continue to facilitate their mission.

Pontao Coche Island, Margarita Island, PN Mochima, Venezuela

Coche Island jetty enters the Caribbean Sea.

Towards the end of the afternoon, on the way back, none of the passengers are able to resist. The music plays louder and louder. The MC poses new challenges. This time, the Venezuelan press team accompanying the delegation takes the honours. And it's Rogel's turn, in particular.

With the help of another crew member, the master of ceremonies puts a red wig on the head of his last guinea pig. And inflated balloons inside a bikini that fits her, matching a short petticoat. Carlos announces into the microphone: “Ladies and gentlemen, coming from Colombia, the exuberant Shakira”.

boat party, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

Venezuelans wear props and masks and have fun aboard the boat that connects Margarita Island to Coche Island.

Instigated by the audience, to the sound of one of the singer's hits, the young man wobbles and displays a sensuality borrowed for the uncontrolled laughter of the trip's guests and colleagues who soon invade the “stage” to abuse the unlikely star.

Other numbers of the genus follow. Part of those present on board, lose their voice from screaming and laughing. Only the end of the afternoon and the return to the port from which that nautical epic of fun had sailed.

Back to the Historic Tour of Margarita Island

Enter a new day. The rumba is interrupted for another early riser tour. They show us the Castle of San Carlos, the Church of Buen Viaje, the Valle del Espiritu Santo and other relevant panoramic and historical points of the island of Margarita.

girl on buoy, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

A girl from a fishing village relaxes on a buoy.

Like Coche's, Margarita was visited by Christopher Columbus on his second foray into the Americas.

It became the only island state in Venezuela and one of the pioneer territories to declare independence from the Spanish Crown, in 1810. And it is said that the discoverer compared those parts with a small Venice.

At the time, the natives were not as friendly as they are now, or they provided the Genoese's entourage with the spree that was being imposed on us.

boat burned, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

Snorkelers explore the Caribbean Sea around a boat that has caught fire.

We moved to the mainland Caribbean coast. We settled in Puerto de la Cruz, operational base for the exploration of the Mochima National Park that would follow.

dead end sign, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

Signboard indicates the end of a trail full of cacti on the island of Cubagua.

A Summer Excursion in Mochima National Park

Two small boats depart from the hotel's maritime rear. Passengers completely fill the padded edges of the boats.

In the center, as was already suspected, there are large glaciers with endless beers, subsumed in an ephemeral and misplaced ice.

The brand, Polar, perfectly matches what is intended for the drink and some of the most nationalist Venezuelans on board wrinkle their noses when intrusive cans are passed to them: “Brahma?? Too bad idea they brought this!” exclaims one of them ironically.

We skirt around islets colonized by cormorants, pelicans and other nautical birds, accompanied by bouncing schools of dolphins. Once on land, we explore the island of El Faro among verdant cacti and in communion with huge iguanas.

iguana, margarita island, PN mochima, venezuela

One of the many iguanas that inhabit El Faro Island, part of PN Mochima.

From El Faro, we move to a lush bay on Arapo Island. There, we join in a much more peaceful bathing version of the celebration of life.

Hundreds of families and groups of Venezuelans share the meager sand and almost still, warm water of the Caribbean Sea.

Arapo Island Beach, Margarita Island, PN Mochima, Venezuela

Residents of Venezuela's Caribbean coast relax on a tropical beach on Arapo Island.

Many brought their private soundtracks to the beach.

As they chat and picnic around the inevitable colorful neveras or semi-submerged in water as green as the surrounding tropical jungle, a Latin American buzz rocks the bathing community.

We, the embarrassed Europeans, have recovered for the real rumba we knew was in store for the return journey.

Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa

In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted
Corn Islands - Islas del Maíz , Nicaragua

pure caribbean

Perfect tropical settings and genuine local life are the only luxuries available in the so-called Corn Islands or Corn Islands, an archipelago lost in the Central American confines of the Caribbean Sea.
Mérida, Venezuela

The Vertiginous Renovation of the World's Highest Cable Car

Underway from 2010, the rebuilding of the Mérida cable car was carried out in the Sierra Nevada by intrepid workers who suffered firsthand the magnitude of the work.
Mérida, Venezuela

Merida to Los Nevados: in the Andean Ends of Venezuela

In the 40s and 50s, Venezuela attracted 400 Portuguese but only half stayed in Caracas. In Mérida, we find places more similar to the origins and the eccentric ice cream parlor of an immigrant portista.
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.

Gran Sabana, Venezuela

A Real Jurassic Park

Only the lonely EN-10 road ventures into Venezuela's wild southern tip. From there, we unveil otherworldly scenarios, such as the savanna full of dinosaurs in the Spielberg saga.

Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia

Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.
PN Canaima, Venezuela

Kerepakupai, Salto Angel: The River that Falls from Heaven

In 1937, Jimmy Angel landed a light aircraft on a plateau lost in the Venezuelan jungle. The American adventurer did not find gold but he conquered the baptism of the longest waterfall on the face of the Earth
Amboseli National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro, Normatior Hill
Safari
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

A Gift from the Kilimanjaro

The first European to venture into these Masai haunts was stunned by what he found. And even today, large herds of elephants and other herbivores roam the pastures irrigated by the snow of Africa's biggest mountain.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
holy plain, Bagan, Myanmar
Architecture & Design
Bagan, Myanmar

The Plain of Pagodas, Temples and other Heavenly Redemptions

Burmese religiosity has always been based on a commitment to redemption. In Bagan, wealthy and fearful believers continue to erect pagodas in hopes of winning the benevolence of the gods.
lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Adventure
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
Balinese Hinduism, Lombok, Indonesia, Batu Bolong temple, Agung volcano in background
Ceremonies and Festivities
Lombok, Indonesia

Lombok: Balinese Hinduism on an Island of Islam

The foundation of Indonesia was based on the belief in one God. This ambiguous principle has always generated controversy between nationalists and Islamists, but in Lombok, the Balinese take freedom of worship to heart
Music Theater and Exhibition Hall, Tbilisi, Georgia
Cities
Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgia still Perfumed by the Rose Revolution

In 2003, a popular political uprising made the sphere of power in Georgia tilt from East to West. Since then, the capital Tbilisi has not renounced its centuries of Soviet history, nor the revolutionary assumption of integrating into Europe. When we visit, we are dazzled by the fascinating mix of their past lives.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Kigurumi Satoko, Hachiman Temple, Ogimashi, Japan
Culture
Ogimashi, Japan

An Historical-Virtual Japan

"Higurashi no Naku Koro never” was a highly successful Japanese animation and computer game series. In Ogimashi, Shirakawa-Go village, we live with a group of kigurumi of their characters.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
The Toy Train story
Traveling
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Ethnic
Shows

The World on Stage

All over the world, each nation, region or town and even neighborhood has its own culture. When traveling, nothing is more rewarding than admiring, live and in loco, which makes them unique.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

History
São Nicolau, Cape Verde

Photography of Nha Terra São Nicolau

The voice of the late Cesária Verde crystallized the feeling of Cape Verdeans who were forced to leave their island. who visits São Nicolau or, wherever it may be, admires images that illustrate it well, understands why its people proudly and forever call it their land.
Singapore, Success and Monotony Island
Islands
Singapore

The Island of Success and Monotony

Accustomed to planning and winning, Singapore seduces and recruits ambitious people from all over the world. At the same time, it seems to bore to death some of its most creative inhabitants.
Passengers on the frozen surface of the Gulf of Bothnia, at the base of the "Sampo" icebreaker, Finland
Winter White
Kemi, Finland

It's No "Love Boat". Breaks the Ice since 1961

Built to maintain waterways through the most extreme arctic winter, the icebreaker Sampo” fulfilled its mission between Finland and Sweden for 30 years. In 1988, he reformed and dedicated himself to shorter trips that allow passengers to float in a newly opened channel in the Gulf of Bothnia, in clothes that, more than special, seem spacey.
Visitors to Ernest Hemingway's Home, Key West, Florida, United States
Literature
Key West, United States

Hemingway's Caribbean Playground

Effusive as ever, Ernest Hemingway called Key West "the best place I've ever been...". In the tropical depths of the contiguous US, he found evasion and crazy, drunken fun. And the inspiration to write with intensity to match.
Nature
glaciers

icy blue planet

They form at high latitudes and/or altitudes. In Alaska or New Zealand, Argentina or Chile, rivers of ice are always stunning visions of an Earth as frigid as it is inhospitable.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Ross Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Natural Parks
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

The favorite victim of Australian anecdotes has long been the Tasmania never lost the pride in the way aussie ruder to be. Tassie remains shrouded in mystery and mysticism in a kind of hindquarters of the antipodes. In this article, we narrate the peculiar route from Hobart, the capital located in the unlikely south of the island to the north coast, the turn to the Australian continent.
Van at Jossingfjord, Magma Geopark, Norway
UNESCO World Heritage
Magma Geopark, Norway

A Somehow Lunar Norway

If we went back to the geological ends of time, we would find southwestern Norway filled with huge mountains and a burning magma that successive glaciers would shape. Scientists have found that the mineral that predominates there is more common on the Moon than on Earth. Several of the scenarios we explore in the region's vast Magma Geopark seem to be taken from our great natural satellite.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Characters
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Montezuma and Malpais, Costa Rica's best beaches, Catarata
Beaches
Montezuma, Costa Rica

Back to the Tropical Arms of Montezuma

It's been 18 years since we were dazzled by this one of Costa Rica's blessed coastlines. Just two months ago, we found him again. As cozy as we had known it.
Braga or Braka or Brakra in Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Society
Dali, China

Chinese Style Flash Mob

The time is set and the place is known. When the music starts playing, a crowd follows the choreography harmoniously until time runs out and everyone returns to their lives.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Wildlife, lions
Wildlife
NP Gorongosa, Mozambique

The Wild Heart of Mozambique shows Signs of Life

Gorongosa was home to one of the most exuberant ecosystems in Africa, but from 1980 to 1992 it succumbed to the Civil War waged between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Greg Carr, Voice Mail's millionaire inventor received a message from the Mozambican ambassador to the UN challenging him to support Mozambique. For the good of the country and humanity, Carr pledged to resurrect the stunning national park that the Portuguese colonial government had created there.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
PT EN ES FR DE IT