LatinWorld Magazine: Land of Tepuis

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what a nice European style hotel restaurant & bar! It was buzzing with patrons. The service was excellent and the food fantastic. I have always looked for places like this that offer good value and safety. I though to myself, could this pleasant hotel be the reason I missed my flight? I hoped that I could return here for a visit before leaving the country. Next day after lunch, and very well rested, I was off to the Maiquetía national airport, next to the international airport where I had arrived 20 hours earlier. I was pre-checked this time on Avensa to Margarita Island (U$52.00 o/w). LTA, the operator that I used for all my travel arrangements, is based on Margarita Island, where they begin and end all their excursions. They are a self contained outfit, with their own aircraft, lodges, camps, boats, beach cabanas and web site. After a 30 minute flight on a 727-200, with snack served onboard, we arrived at Porlamar International Airport.

We walked into the modern terminal where I was greeted by an LTA tour guide that whisked me over to their counter and checked me aboard their colorful version of a twin engine, Dash 7. My accompanying German passengers were already waiting. Finally putting a face to the name, I met LTA’s Sales & Marketing Coordinator, Cindy Smith, who had made these ever changing travel arrangements for me. My schedule changed again. Cindy informed me that I was going to the archipelago Los Roques National Park, a one hour flight West...instead of to the Orinoco Delta, which is 1 1/2 hours Southeast.

This had become a most spontaneous adventure. The on-board cabin attendants, Alexandra Sánchez & Yesmín Guerra, took good care of a full flight while Captain Ernesto Machado and first officer Alberto Acevedo treated me to a cockpit view of these magnificent islands. Upon our arrival, we cleared the National park entrance and paid our U$10 dollar park fee. We met our tour guides, Natashia Smith & Guillermo Sánchez, and they walked us over to our Posadas (colorful little hotel of sorts) just three blocks from the airfield.

No cars here; there are only two motorized ground vehicles on Gran Roque; one is the garbage truck and the other is an electric golf cart that carries the luggage to and from the airfield. Sandy white streets and brightly painted houses and businesses line the ‘main drag’ of the island. The town is approximately five city blocks long and seven wide, and the streets curve around in all directions. The island itself is 3 km (2 miles) by one km wide. The small houses and buildings mostly cater to tourists. ,others are resident fisherman homes or the summer houses of wealthy Venezuelans.