Cubagua to Puerta La Cruz

1st October 2008

10.17 N 064.45 W

After leaving Cubagua we saw only one other cruiser in a month, probably because of the reputation Venezuela has for the attacks on boats. There are many stories of yachts being robbed at gun point and of cruisers being murdered in these attacks. In fact whilst we were out we believe there were at least 2 such incidents, one at an anchorage we had been at only days before. However, these attacks are random and, whilst we were cautious, we decided to stick to our plans and do it anyway. And we are very glad that we did.

First we headed for the Golfo de Cariacou. We sailed in changeable winds towards the coast of mainland Venezuela, shrouded in dark clouds. As we entered the Golfo it was clear that we would have to take the first anchorage as the darkness was deepening. We ducked into Puerto Real just before the rain began and spent a comfortable night there before moving on in the morning to Laguna Grande.

Laguna Grande is a lagoon about 2 miles long, surrounded by hills. It is pretty dry and the bare hills are in shades of red and orange with only cactus and gorse adding splashes of green on the slopes. Clusters of flowering bushes gather wherever the infrequent rainfall cuts a path through the landscape. It is stunningly beautiful and completely protected from all weather. It was only surprising that there was no one else there. We had the whole lagoon to ourselves, apart from the goatherd who came every day to check on his stock. He always had a cheery wave for us as he passed and it was lovely to watch the goats coming down the hills to meet him as he called to them from his pirogue, on his way to shore.

We left Laguna Grande reluctantly after a stay of a couple of weeks and headed into Mochima, which is thought to be a sunken valley and is the beginning of a large National Park which extends from here to Puerta la Cruz. The inlet reaches 4 miles into the surrounding hills and is gorgeous, but couldn’t quite match up to where we had just left! Here there is more rainfall – despite it being only a stone’s throw from our last anchorage – and the hills are much greener. There is a small, pretty village which provides for the many tourists who visit the area but sadly not for those of us needing fresh food!

After Mochima we stopped at El Occulto, which means ‘Hidden Bay’. It is on the mainland but hidden by a group of islands close to the shore and it felt like being back in a lagoon. This truly is paradise. The water is so startlingly clear that we could see the anchor on the bottom in over 40 feet of water. Again we had the place to ourselves, with only a couple of local boats stopping by at the weekend, and only one of those staying overnight.

The snorkelling was unbelievable. Thousands of Christmas tree and feather duster worms inhabit the reef and their blues, purples, reds and yellows give the appearance of baskets of dried flowers. There were so many fish of every variety that it would be impossible to describe them, and each part of the bay provided something different. I even saw my first sea horse, which I have looked for on every dive I have ever done! One of the highlights was the appearance of an octopus. I spotted him as he came up from under a rock. First one tentacle emerged, feeling for an adjacent rock, then, in a flash, the rest of his body followed and wrapped itself over the surface. The stretched out membrane of his body was almost translucent, then, gradually it began to change colour to blend with its host until it was almost invisible, only the occasional movement of his eye gave him away. After a minute or two he quickly turned back to his octopus shape and disappeared once more under the rock until he was ready to start the whole thing over again. We watched for some time as he made his way across the reef, totally mesmerised by this strange behaviour. We are truly blessed!

We moved on with heavy hearts, intending to get to Puerta La Cruz but as we passed the next island, Caracas del Este, about a mile into our journey, the view up between the islands just kept calling to us so we had to go in and investigate. Again we were met with outstanding views and just had to stop another night. Another deserted anchorage, more gorgeous views, more fabulous snorkelling. Sometimes life is tough!

Finally we got away and with more than 50 dolphins keeping us company we headed west and stopped at an anchorage just outside the city on the island of Chimana Grande. It was nice, with some interesting and dramatic rock formations, but having been totally spoiled and with civilisation in site in the distance we were perhaps not in a sufficiently positive frame of mind to really enjoy it. We upped anchor early in the morning and came into P la C. Well we are pretty desperate for fresh supplies. It is a huge culture shock, loads of people and pollution; shopping malls and restaurants; and lots of noise. Help!!!