So, I was on the back of a motorbike of one guy I had met just moments earlier, his Posada was full so, he was giving me a ride to another Posada in the sleepy town of Chiciriviche. I checked out this Posada, which consisted of a door with no lock, and a dirty mattress on the floor. I know that I am backpacking, but that was just way too dire for me, so I made my excuses and started walking around this small town, wondering why I had not thought to book something ahead. This was a town without tourists, and my Spanish was still in the early stages, I needed a beer, the town was very small, undeveloped, and pretty dirty, and with only a couple of places to get a beer. Just as I came to this decision, I heard someone shouting, “You have got to be English”. I looked up, and saw the smiling face of another backpacker, and I was very relieved to discover that I was not the only person travelling in this town.

After a few beers, with my new friend, we discovered that we were both from the same part of Wales, and we formed an instant friendship, he then helped me to find some suitable accommodation. This turned out to be the most expensive place in town, but there were little other options, and it was getting late in the day. I bid farewell to my new friend and headed to my clean, air conditioned room, for a night with no sleep. The most expensive place in town came equipped with lizards, cockroaches and a broken air conditioning system which dripped water on the bed all night.

Next morning, I arose early and went in search of someone who could take me across to one of the islands belonging to the Parque National Morrocoy. That was not too difficult, and I took the boat across with a few other people, and I thought that finally, I would be able to unwind on a beautiful beach, but that was certainly not to be. Although the islands are very wild and secluded, they have one big problem, the mosquitoes, there were literally hundreds of them, and I spent all morning, waving my hands around, in attempt to stop myself being eaten alive. Then, the sky literally turned black, and our boat driver, informed us that we would have to leave, before the storm.

Well, let’s say, his reaction was a little too late, to say the least. And our journey back to the mainland was exactly through that tropical storm. And during the journey back, I really was not a 100% convinced that we would arrive back safely, for the boat kept rising a few metres in the air, and then it would come crashing down, with every jump, it seemed the boat would topple into the waters. Every person on that boat was screaming, and when we arrived back, two of the girls were crying, boyfriends comforting them, and by that point, I had had enough. I took the decision to head back to the city and from there to venture to another one of the islands belonging to Venezuela.

As our small plane flew over the group of islands known as Los Roques, a place on the Caribbean coast, regarded as a diving Mecca. I was feeling more confident that this trip would be a better experience. From the sky, the islands looked like paradise, crystal clear water, and white sand, perfect.

This time, I pre-booked the accommodation, El Botuto Posada, and someone from my posada came to meet me at the airport. The Posada was very well maintained, with an outdoor shower and toilet, it was actually really wonderful, devoid of luxury, but full of charm. Included in the package was all meals and transport back and forth from the islands, which was very convenient. Since I arrived early, I had some breakfast and then headed straight out to one of the islands. I spent the day not doing too much at all, the place was beautiful, but after reading, writing, and listening to music, the boredom set in. I was surrounded by couples, enjoying a romantic holiday, and my inability to relax kicked in. So as soon as I arrived back to the main island, Gran Roque, I headed to one of the dive shops, www.ecobuzos.com and booked a full days diving for the following day. At the dive shop I found two American guys, who had not come for a romantic holiday but to dive, both very friendly, and so I had some friends to enjoy the evening and some beers with.

In the end, I had to leave the American guys to it, I think they were out for a long nights drinking, and I wanted to be in a reasonable condition for the dives. I arose the next day, and headed to the dive shop, shortly afterwards, the Americans more or less crawled into the dive shop, seems I was the most alert of the group, and I was glad of it. There was a group of about ten of us, made up of Venezuelans, Norwegians, Americans, and of course, one British girl.

Both dives were fantastic, and there was a rich marine life around these islands, I was even lucky enough to see a nurse shark. In between the two dives, we stopped at one very secluded beach for some rest and a bite to eat. We arrived back to Gran Roque around late afternoon. For the sunset there is a wonderful highpoint with an old lighthouse, and from here you can look out at all the islands, and you can even see all the wonderfully, brightly coloured Venezuelan houses, a feature that really stood out about this island, the colour. The last evening was spent at a bar enjoying ‘Cuba libres’, sat on great big beanbags, overlooking the sea, there was a peaceful ambience to this moment and it was lovely way to end the trip in a serene group of islands.

And so, the final island on my list was Isla de Margarita, an island well known to international tourists as a top holiday destination, but a place difficult to contemplate as an island due to its 1071 sq km size and 25,000 inhabitants. I was to be accompanied by two local Venezuelans, close friends of mine, and my tour of this island was to be from a local point of view, rather than as an international tourist. From the outset, I had my doubts about this island, as it is reputed by some to be a commercial place and full of tourists. But, the many guys I had met from Venezuela had strongly recommended that I visit the island, as they rate the place very highly. I am sad to say that I am inclined to agree with the former of these two opinions, and as much as I do not want to offend the people of this country, I have to say that this island is not a place for me.

I was staying in an apartment owned by one of my friends, and it was a really beautiful place, in an area of Margarita, seemingly rich. But then, that was one thing that stood out to me about this island, it seemed there was a lot of money around, from the five star hotels, to the exquisite restaurants and the designer clothes shops. The beaches were beautiful, and there is no argument here, but it was full of tourists, and it seemed the only Venezuelans were the two friends that I had travelled with. Now, for some people, this is no problem, but I do not travel half way across the world to share my beach with other Brits, or even Europeans, so for me, it meant that the island lacked any authenticity.

There were plenty of activities on offer, from windsurfing in Playa El Yaque, a beach with an international reputation for the sport, with annual competitions taking place here. From Playa El Agua, you can arrange snorkelling and diving. And in El Valle, you can visit the church and museums, the town is regarded as very spiritual, since it is home to the islands patroness, ‘Virgin del Valle’, however, all the market stalls selling souvenirs along with the people constantly following and badgering you to buy their crafts, takes away from the supposed tranquillity of the place.

On the positive side, I did enjoy some wonderful food in some of the best reputed restaurants, and I even partied the night away with my Latin friends, so as you can imagine, many a cocktail and plenty of dancing. I also enjoyed a very blissful sunset from Bahia de Juan Griego, and every morning, I ate the freshest empanadas, one of my favourite Venezuelan snacks.

So in summary, if you are looking to party, good places to shop, and to share your beach with large numbers of tourists, then Margarita is not so bad, and if you want to hide yourself away on a desolate beach, then Morrocoy is the place, but for me, I’m definitely more of a Los Roques kind of girl, an island that sits somewhere in the middle of these three destinations.

You can find all our photos and stories on Venezuela at
Venezuela photo series and travel stories