LatinWorld: Land of Tepuis

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Page 4

"Heaven on earth" is how Christopher Columbus described this place and I certainly agree! Pleasantly, it has not changed much since my last visit here five years ago.

On the way back from my private island, I paddled near the only other sailboat anchored by us and waved at the occupants. It was a French registered ‘Beneteau Oceanis’ sailboat, also visiting the marine park...what great company we kept!

This is the Caribbean’s largest marine preserve. Consisting of white sand, rocky outcroppings, clumps of mangrove trees, sea grass and cactus, the landscape is dotted with splotches of green grassy areas where iguanas share the islands with marine turtles, frigate birds, brown boobies, scarlet ibises and herons in mass amounts. A nature photographer’s dream come true.

We met back at 12:30pm for lunch onboard; all the tables were set with plates, silverware and glasses before our hungry group arrived. Buffet style again, with a delightful, varied selection. We cast off Noroquises and sailed to Sarqui for another stop. This island was inhabited by fishermen. There are half erected houses here; construction abruptly stopped when one of the country’s leading banks suddenly closed its doors in the 80’s, Captain José recalls. José grew up on these islands and is a personal friend of the Bottome family, who own the parent company of LTA. He said that the family continues to strive for conservation in all the national parks in Venezuela. Although Los Roques is rapidly becoming one of the country’s hot tourist attractions, it remains tranquil and unspoiled because of its distance from the mainland and the protection it has enjoyed as a national park since 1972. One of Peter Bottome’s dreams was to build an environmentally friendly camp next to a national park, employing the neighboring indians.

This dream became reality when camp Arekuna was built atop a hill deep into La Gran Sabana. I depart for it tomorrow morning. I was up in time to see the sun rise before heading to breakfast; then on to the landing strip. I said my good-bye’s to my snorkeling companions and boarded my flight back to Margarita Island. Heading due east we see Gran Roque fading on the horizon as we flank Isla Larga and Agustín. Our trip here comes to an end, but a new one begins. I wondered now where I would end up. The proposed schedule in my computer back pack has changed twice since arriving. Giving it a second look, we make our way South.