Chichiriviche and Morrocoy
4th September - 21st September 2011
Rudi hadn’t even gone through customs yet, when Hesta was already standing next to us with her enormous smile, ready for adventure. After a few days on Curaçao assessing the possibilities and the risk of visiting mainland Venezuela, we decided to go for it. It was a pretty rough and very long trip there, but the area around Chichiriviche is rewarding enough. We arrived on the day of “La fiesta de la Virgen”. This is a holy celebration of a random apparition of the virgin Mary somewhere at sea a long long time ago, which was celebrated by tens of thousands of Venezuelans with fireworks, BBQ’s, boats and a lot of alcohol.
Beyond Chichiriviche a large lagoon provided a surreal decor much like what we saw earlier in Samana Bay (DR): high cliffs covered in dense jungle with parrots, pelicans and even some monkeys. There were caves in which Indians lived hundreds of years ago and pretty mangroves to providing a giant playground in which we could pretend being monkeys ourselves. Close by is the national park of Morrocoy, harbouring beautiful little islands, mangroves and some incredibly red birds called scarlet ibis. We tried snorkling at night with a small flashlight and slept on the beach in a hammock next to a little bonfire.
Venezuela is said to be one of the most beautiful paradises many cruisers have visited, but unfortunately those days are largely over. The area we visited is relatively safe, but we heard many accounts of piracy –some even including cold blooded murder- from other areas of Venezuela. As there are enough other pretty places, why take the risk?
On the way back the Dutch Coast Guard suddenly took an interest in us: three youngsters arriving from Venezuela, they’re bound to be loaded with coke. Luckily we were all clean and they had to leave empty handed.
Rudi hadn’t even gone through customs yet, when Hesta was already standing next to us with her enormous smile, ready for adventure. After a few days on Curaçao assessing the possibilities and the risk of visiting mainland Venezuela, we decided to go for it. It was a pretty rough and very long trip there, but the area around Chichiriviche is rewarding enough. We arrived on the day of “La fiesta de la Virgen”. This is a holy celebration of a random apparition of the virgin Mary somewhere at sea a long long time ago, which was celebrated by tens of thousands of Venezuelans with fireworks, BBQ’s, boats and a lot of alcohol.
Beyond Chichiriviche a large lagoon provided a surreal decor much like what we saw earlier in Samana Bay (DR): high cliffs covered in dense jungle with parrots, pelicans and even some monkeys. There were caves in which Indians lived hundreds of years ago and pretty mangroves to providing a giant playground in which we could pretend being monkeys ourselves. Close by is the national park of Morrocoy, harbouring beautiful little islands, mangroves and some incredibly red birds called scarlet ibis. We tried snorkling at night with a small flashlight and slept on the beach in a hammock next to a little bonfire.
Venezuela is said to be one of the most beautiful paradises many cruisers have visited, but unfortunately those days are largely over. The area we visited is relatively safe, but we heard many accounts of piracy –some even including cold blooded murder- from other areas of Venezuela. As there are enough other pretty places, why take the risk?
On the way back the Dutch Coast Guard suddenly took an interest in us: three youngsters arriving from Venezuela, they’re bound to be loaded with coke. Luckily we were all clean and they had to leave empty handed.