Golfo de Cariaco, Venezuela

After leaving the headwaters of the Rio Cariaco, we headed back out into the Golfo and went to check out the amenities of Medregal Village, a hotel with a restaurant, pool and bar which also offered shuttle service into town, (Carupano or Cariaco), plus a paperback book exchange.  The owner Jean-Mark, a Belgian, is a fabulous chef.  He along with his Venezuelan wife take great pride in offering civilization in the wilderness.  We had a wonderful steak with Roquefort sauce meal, and another time a great chicken tarragon meal.  His plates always offer a large array of beautifully prepared fresh local vegetables.  Needless to say there are many cruisers that decide to stay at anchor there for long periods of time.

The pool at dusk is lovely

Anchorage off Medregal Village

Sampling some of Jean Mark's fabulous food

The honor bar

Gorgeous flambouyant tree

Finally, it was time to move on towards Puerto La Cruz, so we headed down through Mochimo National Park, a series of islands and bays, wonderful for their snorkeling.  First stop, El Oculto, (Hidden Bay).  As there were no other boats anchored, we had the pick of the spots.  After getting settled in, we head out for some snorkelling.  Fantastic coral covered with colorful Christmas tree worms and featherdusters.  I wish we had a shot of these worms as they are so colorful!   Lots of fish awaited us, including some really large pufferfish, with eyes about as big as a halfdollar - kind of scary looking to see them hiding inside these caves.   There were also a few "string of pearls" jellyfish too... oh well, no big deal.

Looking out at the anchorage

Using the "look" bucket to check the anchorage

El Faroe, the anchorage and the iguana's

Cool local boat with great artwork

Interesting geology

After a short few nights in El Faroe, an anchorage just a few miles from Puerto La Cruz, we took a slip at Maremares, a 5-star hotel/marina complex in the affluent Lecheria section of town.  It is almost like being in Ft. Lauderdale, a huge lagoon complex with condos, boats and more boats.  The grocery store is a short dinghy ride away, and great restaurants are within walking distance.  As we got our sun awnings up by midday yesterday, and filled the ice chest up with cold drinks, we reflected that we were happy to be here at 10 degrees North as the wind field from Felix went on by some 75 miles to the north of us.  We’re staying put for the remainder of the hurricane season, and enjoying the luxury of it all!

Maremares Hotel and Marina - the pool is awesome!