THE TRIP THROUGH THE ISLAND, A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A DOLPHIN, AND 20 METERS DEEP IN THE CARIBBEAN SEA
And so, after deciding that I was going to remain a tourist on Margarita Island, I definitely also needed a tourist agent who could give me potential offers. That is how I met Siro, a young man originally from Peru, who aside from my agent became my friend as well. Siro had a cozy office near the beach alley, not more than a ten-minute walk from the guesthouse, which made it easier to visit him regularly.
My location offered an endless number of attractions, each more exciting than the previous. I chose to begin with a one-day jeep trip around the island. We left at eight in the morning with drinks at hand in a roofless jeep. It was six of us – a sweet Argentinian couple in their fifties, another lovely Argentinian couple, the driver, and I. Right after the driver met us he offered that I sit in the front seat next to him and handed me a beer instantly, without asking whether I wanted one or not. To the rest of the crew, he offered juice and water.
The day was similar to all the other three hundred and forty days on the island during the year – clear, sunny, warm, and pleasant. First, we went to Castillo Santa Rosa – a defense tower built in the early 1682 serving as a guarding point against pirates and other marine villains. After that, we visited the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Valle – surely an impressive building whose patron is Virgen del Valle – the city and the Venezuelan Navy guardian. One more beer later we arrived in Laguna de la Restinga – a national park, dividing the island into east and west sides in the shape of a beautiful lagoon full of different water birds and fish species. We had the pleasure of sailing through the lagoon in a motor boat, which was an absolutely unforgettable experience. Later we enjoyed lunch at a restaurant with a sea view that had not only humans for clients but also some pigeons and iguanas. From there we headed for Playa Punta Arena, a truly astonishing and popular for its calm waters beach. There were some fishermen who were just pulling out their nets full of fish. My new Argentinian friends and I swam, suntanned, and laughed a lot.
The next stop was Fortín de La Galera – a defense tower, which was the battle location in one of the fights against the Spanish Royalists from August 8th, 1817. There, at the top, we were supposed to observe the amazing spectacle of our biggest star, the Sun, setting over the horizon. And that is exactly how it went down – our driver had perfectly calculated the drive and even took the petrol stops along the way in his calculations. Now that I mentioned petrol, I’d like to say something on the topic. If you are like me and have dreamt of petrol prices lower than water prices, then there is a place where your dream is a reality. You simply need to visit Venezuela. A half-liter bottle of water there costs 10 bolivara, whereas 20 liters of petrol cost 2 bolivara. To pay for the petrol the driver simply had to reach to the ground and pick up the small change someone had dropped earlier, which around here was enough to pay only for petrol.
The day was to be remembered. Aside from the adventures I also made a friend – Lucas. He was an Argentinian with whom I’m still in touch and plan to visit in the future.
The Dolphins Encounter
After extensive research on dolphins and their life, there was a period in my life when I was deeply convinced that not us humans, but the dolphins were the most intelligent creatures on earth. Specifically, the fact that they lived without any of our modern society conveniences and still were able to simply have fun all day long, proved me right.
Siro, my Peruvian agent offered to meet one of their “representatives” and without giving it much thought I accepted. The meeting was set up in a pool and the dolphin was a beautiful female named Sunny. After we kissed lip to lip, Sunny offered to take me for a swim holding tightly onto the fin on her back. What an intelligent, cheerful, and positive creature! We humans, definitely have long ways to go on the evolution path to catch up with them.
Becoming a Diver
The Caribbean Sea is one of the most suitable diving spots in the world. The reason for this is that the water maintains the same temperature all throughout the year, something the coral reef likes very much, which respectively is especially liked by hundreds of fish species and sea creatures. So that is how they all happily live down there, and even more happily I smiled at the opportunity to dive and swim among them. To do that we boarded a small boat and sailed for a near deserted island. My instructor was a young German girl who randomly found herself on Margarita a few years back while on a trip with her father. She fell in love with the island and decided to move here for good.
After a short lesson on how to use the oxygen bottle and safety, we plunged into the water. What I saw down there was truly spectacular – a completely different ecosystem. Big, small, yellow, blue, shy, curious, perky – you name it. It was all so exciting to me that the thought of drowning didn’t even cross my mind. All in all, if you wish to dive but you are too scared, the moment you do it and look down below, you will be completely captured by everything you see, and the thought of danger won’t even occur to you. So next time you’re given an opportunity like this, don’t pass up on it.
