In America, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  31/07/2012  2 comments

Dos Mosquices and Cayo de Agua are considered the far away islands; they are about one hour by boat from Gran Roque. As the landscape is beautiful, I did not notice the time pass by. The first stop was Dos Mosquices where we visited “their Tamar”, a center for research and turtle preservation. The biologists told us about the turtles in the tanks, the species we can find in the archipelago and about the preservation work they develop.

After, our stop was Cayo de Agua, considered by many the most beautiful of the archipelago (see Carlos Quintana interview). The place is actually beautiful, the paradise. There is two islands linked by thin tripe of white sand and the sea is a bluish green gradient. The day was diving, walking on the sand until the lighthouse and sleeping under the shade. Everything one deserves on vacation. The place radiated tranquility, peace, and silence. It is impossible not to go back reinvigorated after a day around there.

kb_ve12_1126

kb_ve12_1130

kb_ve12_1162

k...

In + More..., Curiosidades Venezuela, Venezuela 2012 On  31/07/2012  No comments

Money exchange is one of the curiosities in Venezuela. The official rate for one dollar is 4 bolivars. However, in the black market you can get up to 9 Bolivars for 1 dollar. The reason for this huge exchange rate difference is the currency exchange controls adopted by Hugo Chavez government. In general, people have a limit of US$500 per year to exchange to foreign money. These controls generated the growth of a parallel market to sell and by foreign currency. Concluding, in Venezuela, a traveler has to take cash and not spend money on credit card, otherwise, s/he will spend a lot more.

Travel Tip: Bring cash.

In America, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  30/07/2012  No comments

Oscar, from the beach equipment rental, invited me to a night snorkel. I accepted, I had done many night dives but never a night snorkel. A late afternoon, when coming back from an island tour, I met Oscar. We walked around the airport, passing through some airplanes, in order to get to our starting point. It was getting dark and the mosquitoes were hungry, lucky me that Oscar was prepared and had mosquito repellent.

By the time we went into the water, it got dark. It was a very interesting experience, I liked the feeling of being in the sea, in an open space, with anything around, no boat waiting for me, or a port next to me, or a beach with people. We surrounded the island on the airport site, therefore, there was no people on the beach.

Right in the beginning we saw a very big lobster, but is was fenced season, so we could not grab it for dinner. Oscar was excited but respected the rules. Our goal was to find an octopus for Oscar’s dinner...

In America, Adventure, Interviews, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  30/07/2012  One comment

A short interview I did with Otto Daniel Naranjo in Gran Roque, Los Roques. Otto is a divemaster at Ecobuzos and talks about the dives in Los Roques. He suggests dive-sites for beginners and advanced divers.

http://vimeo.com/57327951

Apoio de:

In + More..., America, Karla and animals, Venezuela 2012 On  29/07/2012  2 comments

A sea full of stars, by the end of Noronquí, Crasquí and Rabusquí tour, in Los Roques, Venezuela (July 2012).

In + More..., Karla and animals On  29/07/2012  One comment

Surrounded by seagulls at Gran Roque, Los Roques, Venezuela (July 2012).

In America, Adventure, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  29/07/2012  No comments

El Morrito is an incredible dive site in Los Roques. It is calm, very colorful, lots of little fishes, and what I like the most: a wreck. I recommend this dive site.
See the videos of the wreck.

Apoio de:

In America, Adventure, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  28/07/2012  One comment

My first tour to the islands in Los Roques was to Crasquí. I had been in the island before on a stop from a dive. What impressed me a lot on the site was a “sea of conch sells”. Yes, in a part of the beach I could not see the sand, large conch shells, beautiful and impressive at the same time, covered the ground. It was worth it the trip only to see this surreal place.

On the way to Craqui, we stopped in Noronsqui to enjoy the beach, I stay some time observing the small lizards, they were ugly and had some strange feet. In Crasquí it was snorkel, lie on the sand, sleep and read…

The best part of the trip, in my humble opinion, was the stop in Rabusqui on the way back to Gran Roque. It was a sea of sea stars; I had never seen something like that. White sand, transparent water and dozens of sea stars spread all over the ground, it was like seeing a sky drawn underwater. Even though it was late afternoon and sunlight not so strong, it was impacting...

In America, Adventure, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  28/07/2012  11 comments

The great motivation to visit Los Roques was scuba diving, so, I spent my first day planning what I would like to do on the 8 days I had in that tropical paradise. The place, I can say, is one of the most beautiful I had been. The sea is incredible, clean beach, transparent water, fisherman, birds, beautiful landscape, great small hotels and interesting people. Everything was very simple and “not simple” at the same time. Almost everybody stay in Gran Roque, the island from where you can depart to dive trips and get boats do visit other islands in the archipelago.

On my first days in Los Roques I was diving. Later I decided to have a “vacation”, not to plan anything, it matched the place… I would wake up at any given time, go to the port and get a boat to wherever they were going. This way, little by little I could go to great part of the islands in Los Roques (Francisquí, Madrisquí, Noronsquí, Crasquí, Rabusquí, Dos Mosquices, Cayo de Agua)...

In America, Traveled places, Diving & Snorkeling, Venezuela 2012 On  27/07/2012  2 comments

transparent seawater

white sand and blue sky

mangrove

Francisquí and Madrisquí are the islands near Gran Roque, many hotels offer transport as part of the accommodation fee. Madrisquí I visited in one of the stops of a dive. We spent some time in the island enjoying the place and chatting. The sea is gorgeous, as anywhere here. There are many tourists that spend the day on the island. They bring their cooler with food, chair and umbrellas to sleep under the shade. The peace and silence are incredible, difficult to imagine when comparing to the beaches in Salvador, that are noisy and looks like people have a competition to see who has the loudest music.

Francisqui was my chosen place to “do nothing”. I spent two days laying down the sand, going for a few walks, reading and enjoying the sandbanks to be “soaking” in the water at midday.

Path to the natural pool

Natural Pool

self-portrait with sardines

The island is near Gran Roque, only a few minutes by boat...