That Trip I Took To Margarita

First I will describe what Margarita is.

Venezuela has a state located in the east of the country called Nueva Esparta and this state is made up of 3 islands Coche, Cubagua and Margarita, being the last one the biggest one the seat of the capital of the state, La Asunción and a city with many stores called Porlamar.

In Margarita there is a market system known as Puerto Libre, that is, you can buy imported goods duty free, so you can buy brand name items, electrical appliances, household goods, well just close your eyes and think about what you need and you can get it in Margarita!

Of course, besides the commercial aspect, Margarita has always been a tourist center par excellence, not in vain is it called the Pearl of the Caribbean.

This name also comes from the fact that Margarita was famous for its pearls and its fishermen and / or growers. But well, having said that, let's tell you what I have come to tell you!

That Trip We Took To Margarita

Irma, my first wife, and my children Omar and Karina.

I had been to Margarita on two or three occasions but always under my father's tutelage, that is to say, my father took me there. This time I was the one who invented the trip. I wanted to take my family on vacation somewhere and Margarita was the chosen place... So....

. My love, we are going to Margarita on Thursday, organize everything and invite Freddy, my younger brother-in-law with whom I got along very well.

Said and done on Thursday at 5 o'clock in the morning we left Maracay via Puerto La Cruz, that's 8 hours of road, time that went by let's say fast because of the excitement and the expectation of the trip itself.

We arrived in Puerto La Cruz at the ferry station, those big boats that take you with car and everything and here the problem began!

That day the tickets for vehicles were sold out, so we had to get in line, a huge line, to buy tickets for the next day.

Well, we got in line, and .... where we were going to sleep, especially Irma, my wife, Omar Jose and Karina, our children, we looked in 5 or 6 hotels nearby and there was no room. What a setback!

We were parked, in the queue, at the level of a famous place called Paseo Colon, there we ate and the night began to pass, Irma and the children to sleep in the car, a Caprice, two doors and Freddy and I to lie down on the benches that there are for quantities.

Paseo Colon

[SOURCE]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Paseo_Colon_en_2013.jpg)

That's how we spent that night, it was a beautiful oriental dawn, but with pains in the bones due to the bad sleep on the bench in the square. I talked to the manager of a business and paid to allow us to use the bathrooms, you know to clean ourselves and excrete what we all do every day.

Well, it was not until 2 o'clock in the afternoon that we could board the blessed ferry, that trip was endless, they are 4 long hours, so at 6 o'clock in the afternoon we were stepping on port in Margarita, a port called Punta de Piedras and a few minutes later we were entering Porlamar.

Ferry to take us to Margarita

We arrived in Porlamar and started looking for a hotel, well there was not a single hotel with a room available, after asking around and asking around, already getting desperate, we found a shabby pension and I proceeded to pay for 2 rooms.

I found it strange that the manager gave me 2 pots of Baygon, insecticide spray and told me, throw it in the room just in case and some pest, go out for a while, walk around and return to your rooms.

Well so we did, at about 8 pm we got back to our rooms, had a good bath and went to SLEEP!

That's what I thought! I felt super tired, surely when I turned off the light I would go into a quiet and peaceful sleep until the next day and tomorrow, I would calmly resolve the hotel!

But, nothing could be further from the truth, when I turned off the light I heard some strange buzzing sounds, I turned on the light and they were cockroaches flying!..... At that moment there was a knock on the door of our room and it was Freddy, my brother-in-law, horrified, he is terrified by the blessed cockroaches, so we had no choice but to leave the pension with all our clothes and go to sleep in the Plaza Bolivar in Por la Mar, well the same situation Irma and the children in the car and Freddy and I on the benches.

The next day very early we went to the room to wash, do what is always done in a bathroom and went to Conejero, the popular market and where they prepare super delicious breakfasts.

From there we went to the boulevard and the 4 de mayo avenue famous for its stores, we did some shopping, then we took the road to Juan Griego always consulting the possibility of getting another lodging, we passed by several beaches including

Parguito Beach Nueva Esparta

We also passed by La Asunción, capital of the state of Nueva Esparta and where the Catholic Church of the Virgin of the Valley is located, a very beloved, venerated and miraculous patron saint, according to her fervent believers.

Virgen del Valle Sanctuary La Asunción

Since we did not find a hotel where to stay, we decided to head back home. That means that a trip scheduled for 5 days of vacation turned into a round trip. At 11 o'clock at night we were boarding the ferry to Puerto la Cruz, to return to the tranquility of our home in Maracay.

After this bad experience, which I lived and made my family live, I never again went anywhere trusting in the good services and spaces in our tourist Venezuela.

In another post I will tell you about two occasions when I was in Margarita, but working. Stay tuned dear readers.

Original photo and writing support by oizaguirres for read.cash.

(Photo of Paseo Colón taken from Google free)

Thanks to

for supporting me in the translation of the text.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)