It was a beautiful morning the day after my arrival. A light rain the night before helped cool things down a bit.
We had breakfast then I just took it easy in one of the hammocks on the deck. The cool ocean breeze and the sound of the waves crashing in the distance was soooo relaxing.
We decided to go to the beach for the day and we packed up our tote and headed out. Once there, we choose a nice area to set up. There were not many people on the beach...this was during the general strike in Venezuela and among other problems this had a big impact on tourism. Playa de Agua is the most popular beach on the island and normally is very crowded.
There were restaurants all along the beach and all were open but no customers. The restaurants were for the most part open style with grass roofs. The beach was nice but not as clean as I had expected. There are some rolling hills in the distance with many palm trees. With the torch lights burning at night it is very romantic.
Back home, the biggest pests outdoors are the mosquitoes. Here it is the vendors. Mostly young children selling little trinkets and other items made with seashells. We were continuously saying "No, Gracias!!". The older vendors were selling fake Cuban cigars and hair braids.
I stayed under an umbrella and also wore a t-shirt so I wouldn’t burn, or so I thought. Wrong!!! Dubraska loves my fair complexion and found it amusing that I burn so easily (blue eyes also).
While relaxing and watching some other couples frolic on the beach, I noticed a couple of really cute girls running around with out their tops. I found myself looking as any normal warm-blooded man would, while trying not to allow Dubraska to notice, but she did. She did not seem to be jealous...I explained to her that I was not used to seeing such back home. I asked her opinion about this and she said that she would not go topless but did not have a problem with it and she would expect me to look just don't touch!!!
We met a friend of hers on the beach. He used to live near her house and now works at a hotel on Margarita. He has a fiancée who is living in Canada and she is working on getting a fiancé visa for him. She is originally from Argentina. She and her family are all fair complexion with blind hair.
Very friendly and extremely helpful. Her friend, Darwin, said that he could get us a room at his hotel (5 star) for $20.00/night!! Cool!!! With AC and everything!! It was located near Palomar (the capital). We spoke for a couple of hours about life in the US and Venezuela, political views, problems in both countries and the world. It was nice to make new friends. Our friendship has paid off for us since as we were able to help each other in the following months.
We returned to the bead and breakfast around noon and she rubbed my back down with some lotion and gave me a wonderful message. Again this escalated into something more. As I lay on the bed as content as I'd been in a long time, I realized that I was getting very hungry.
We decided to try one of the restaurants on the beach and chose one of the nicer ones that specialize in seafood. I ordered grilled shrimp and she ordered red snapper. The shrimp was extra large...I mean they were huge!!! Very tasty as well. Total bill: U.S. $6.00!!
This being an open style restaurant, I found it interesting to have dogs wondering around the place. One even next to our table waiting for food scraps!! The service was very good and everything was clean and organized. Amazing considering the lack of business.
We returned to our room for some more fun and to make plans for the next day. We decided on going horse back riding on the western part of the island at a ranch owned by a French guy. That end of the island is very dry and looks very similar to the western United States. The package includes round trip transportation, beverages and a long horse ride through the mountains and along the beach. All for around $60 total (for both of us!!).
Next, Part 5, The Ranch, sunburn, chaffing, and dancing
Tim.
