 Los Roques is part of Venezuela Los Roques National Park is a Venezuelan archipelago around 160 kilometers north of the capital Caracas in the Caribbean Sea. The protected area contains more than 300 islands and cays surrounding a 400-sq.-km lagoon. The coral reef makes it popular with snorkelers and divers and it is renowned for its isolated, white-sand beaches, kite and windsurfing, fishing and sailing. Los Roques has an atoll structure, more typical of the Pacific Ocean, with two external coral barriers, which protect the archipelago from strong currents. It also has an internal lagoon with shallow waters and sandy bottoms. The islands and cays range from a considerable area, such as Cayo Grande, with an area of 15.1km², to Gran Roque, which despite being the most populated, only has an area of 1.7km². Well that's what it said in the brochures and it sounded like a really unique and interesting place. A friend of ours had passed through several weeks before, giving it glowing reviews, so we decided to see for ourselves. We set out planning to stay around 10-12 days (the maximum allowed was 15 days, or so we thought…) also expecting to visit Los Aves, two smaller and even more remote archipelagos to the west of Los Roques, on the way to Bonaire.  Los Roques has an atoll structure, with fringing reef protecting the east Getting to Los RoquesIt's a 367nm journey from St Anne, Martinique, with steady 15-20kts trade winds from behind, so we left early Wednesday morning. It was such a relief to hoist the freshly repaired Parasailor and to see it looking just like new! Well the bottom half is new and very much whiter than the top bit, which may contain traces of Saharan dust. The sailmaker has done an excellent job. Initially we were looking glamorous doing 8.5-9kts VMG in 18kts TWS, despite the choppy seas. We slowed as we got further from the land and the breeze became flukey, before filling in a gain. A nice way to celebrate my birthday. We carried the Parasailor throughout the night, keeping a watchful eye out for squalls lurking in the dense clouds that have followed us. Made good progress overnight in 10-15 kts and settled seas - just perfect. About 10am we found ourselves with an ugly looking squall approaching us from behind, and a massive tanker approaching us from ahead. Played it safe and took the kite down, stuck the motors on and got out of the way of both of them. The squall passed by with a little bit of rain and a few squirts of wind and it wasn't long before we could sail back on to our course. We have switched from 3 to 4 hour watches on a trial basis. Three hours is just not enough if you spend part of your off watch time cooking, doing weather downloads, changing sails or babysitting a nervous first mate. It’s great to wake up and realise you still have another 2 hours to go!  Somewhere, over the rainbow, Parasailor flies.... We made good time on day 3 (Friday), with a few squalls giving us a kick along every now and then. It’s been testing managing the boat through the ones that have come a bit close! The Parasailor has really had a work out and handled the conditions very well. I was watching a nasty looking long cloud system behind us and came up as high as I could hoping to go in front of it. It seemed to just sit in the same place for a long time, and then finally the tail end of it passed over us. Got a little rain as well as some gusts up to 26kts. I was able to pull away and manage the kite without problems. Love this sail! Conditions cleared later in the morning and finally we are getting some sunshine.  What a welcome!Arrived into Gran Roque on Friday at around 2:45pm and quickly got ready to go ashore, thinking we could check in and then go to a nicer anchorage. Although the check in process is a bit of a multi-step ordeal we decided to have a go at it ourselves, without using an agent. We tied the dinghy to a floating plastic dock between the Coast Guard and the Port Authority. First stop: Port Authority office (a container on blocks to the east of the dock). Here we paid US$60 to start the paperwork fest, and were told in no uncertain terms that the stay in Los Roques was now limited to 5 days, full stop. Literally “cinquo dias y vamos!” Well that is a bummer and not quite the welcome we expected! The Port Captain spoke no English so we used Google translate, then he got Alejandro (the "agent") on the phone who told us that the limit was put in place a week ago! He suggested we should make the most of the eastern anchorages and then come back for our exit stamp in 5 days and then slowly make our way west, as no one will chase us. Hmmm... Next we are taken to the health office, a small Igloo where we find out that we were supposed to have a Covid test before leaving Martinique. Dang! After an interesting discussion via Google translate it seems that we can get stamped in with a "discretionary review" ... I think I will just leave that one there... Then off to the GuardaCostos where the gentleman does speak some English, is very welcoming and says we should contact the GuardaCostos if we need any help. Here we did not have to pay any money. Phew.  Next stop Immigration, who are at the airport, only to find that we should have first been to the SATIM (national park) office in town, even though they have an office next door to Immigration. Never mind, the Immigration official took us to the SATIM office, which was in the town square in a courtyard next to the bank with the ATM that doesn’t work. Here we got to pay US$30 per person in park fees plus US$57 for the boat. Officially they can now only charge us for 5 days park fees, but the per-person entry fees remain the same. We have a little pennant to display, that will probably last 5 mins in the trade winds. I asked the guy in the SATIM office, via Google translate, where to buy a VN flag. It seems he thought I wanted a pharmacy, so he took me to one. Anyway it was a pretty funny when we realised. Then he took us back to immigration at the airport, and walked into the empty SATIM office next door to Immigration. So more Google translation established that we needed to pay US$180 by card (so we get a receipt!?). That’s for immigration and entry. Then its another US$30 cash per person for our entry stamps (that’s some expensive ink!) We need to come back in 5 days to pay another US$30 per person for our exit stamps. Hmmm… The immigration officers then told us they want to come and inspect our boat. Fair enough I guess, but they dont have a dinghy so we have to take them in ours. Okay… They don’t want to walk all the way to the GuardaCostos where we left the dinghy so we must walk back, get the dinghy then come back to the airport dock and pick them up. When we get back to the dinghy it is absolutely covered in bird$h1t! Every seagull in Los Roques has had a go! I frantically try to wipe some of it off as we head over to pick up the two immigration dudes in their hobnail boots and blue camouflage suits. They are clearly not boaties, judging by the way they got on and off the dinghy and tried to tie up the painter. The inspection seemed a bit more like an outing to see a new(ish) boat, with our starry-eyed guests commenting (GoogleTranslate) on how nice it is and how Keith reminds them of their grandfather. Grandad kept a close eye on them as the younger chap took photos and selfies downstairs, opened a few cupboards and poked around. Not sure if they think people bring drugs into Venezuela... Then they asked for a glass of water and were sort of hanging around uncomfortably. Keith asked why they wanted to see the boat. After a lot of typing they said something about verification. Finally they politely asked to be taken back to the shore, which was a relief. They offered their assistance should we need it. By now sadly it was too late to move and we were sooo tired and out of sorts about our shortened stay. We had a cocktail for dinner and a very early night.  Los Roques Clock Starts tickingDay 1 (or is it day 2?) After breakfast we up anchor and head over to Francisqui island. It’s a horse-shoe shaped bay and we go inside and anchor off the end of the beach. It’s a popular spot with rich Venezuelans flying in from the mainland for the weekend to sit on the beach, drink cocktails and wallow in the crystal clear water. We certainly saw a lot of planes coming in. I take a paddle board ashore and walk around. There is a swamp here and mosquitos love it. On return I find that all the fins have fallen off my paddle board so the trip back involves a lot of zig zagging. We have lunch and then go for a bimble in the dinghy. There are a couple of wrecked yachts in the bay and they have been stripped of all their deck fittings. After lunch we go across to Madrisqui Island and anchor off the beach. The depth is 2m but somehow we find a 4.6m hole and drop the anchor in that. Its a beautiful white sand beach which is popular but not that busy or noisy and we are a fair way from the shore. We relax and enjoy the dulcet tones of a Spanish crooner coming from a nearby power boat... until the owner starts singing along at the top of his voice!  Anchored off the beach at Franchesky  A unique location, deserves a unique Greenskin Wine Day 2: Sebastapol/Half Moon Reef In the morning, as soon as the sun is high enough to see the bombies, we move to the south east corner of the Archipelago, near Sebastopol, anchoring just off Half Moon reef. OMG! What a place! It feels like we are anchored in the middle of the ocean. All we can see to the east of us is the sea, with waves breaking over the barrier reef 200m away! There's a very shallow sand shelf between us and the reef and we nose the boat in close, trying to drop the anchor on the shelf, but the set-back anchor made it too difficult and it ended up on the slope. Its well dug in to the sand though. The water is chest deep on the sand bank and it’s quite strange standing so close to the anchor. We get afternoon rain-squalls and the mosquitos are pretty fierce so we hang out indoors in the afternoon & evening. Day 3: Soyoqui In the morning the sun came out so dingh-ied to the reef for a snorkel. The coral here is mostly dead except for some huge brain coral bombies. There is an amazing variety of quite big and colourful fish. Sadly there is so much rubbish floating in the water - Styrofoam and plastic - when we are so remote you have to wonder where it comes from. Later in the day a small group of kite-surfers go charging past us, travelling from the north end of the islands all the way down to the south. A quick and exciting trip I imagine. After lunch we moved directly north to an anchorage called Soyoqui, which is a small island with a beach. Took 3 goes to get the anchor to bite in the hard substrate. Initially we thought there were fishing buoys in the bay but it turned out to be just a lot of plastic bottles & buckets etc. More Styrofoam pieces and plastic float past us, very disappointing. I went for a snorkel but it is mainly weed here. On the beach I started to pick up rubbish, there always seem to be single shoes, including the plastic remnants of what was once a platform shoe. The mosquitos moved in rapidly though and I could not get back into the water quickly enough. Day 4: Crasqui North Conscious of our 5 day limited we head around to Crasqui Island. While the charts here are accurate for the reefs you also have to keep your eyes peeled for shifting sands as the depth can change quickly. We picked the gap between two islands and motored around a shallow sand bank to anchor in the north of the bay, which has a beautiful white sand beach. Some fishermen came by to try and sell us fish and lobster but we declined - the lobster was massive and I don’t have a pot big enough! Quite windy overnight but great holding and (bonus!) - no mosquitos!  The beach at Crasqui Day 5: Crasqui North to Carenero In the morning we went ashore and walked along the beach which was lovely. The sand is so soft and white quite like Whitehaven in the Whitsunday's. On the north end of the island there is a lot of pumice rock and people have built rock cairns. After lunch we took the dinghy across to the snorkelling area. Could not get the anchor to hold so beached it further south. Managed to swim out through a gap and find the nice area to snorkel. Not that impressive, a few fish and large bombies of brain coral. Couldn’t find the gap to get back in so walked around the point picking our way through piles of Lambi shells. On the way back we stopped by a Lagoon 450 owned by a German guy. He had paid US$3,000 to the agent to check in as he wanted to stay for 4 weeks. He was not happy. It seems the 5 day limit has created some opportunities... Later we moved across to Carenero, a horseshoe shaped bay surrounded by mangroves. Keith puts the drone up and from above it really looks spectacular. At boat level, it’s nice enough and well protected, but as dusk falls the mosquitos move in. It’s very quiet though.  Day 6: Carenero to Los Aves, Barlovento We decided to continue west rather than go back to windward to Gran Roque to pay another US$60 for exit stamps. Our next destination won't care if they are missing. Los Aves, Barlovento is 36nm west of Los Roques. We got away just after 8 and put the kite up in 18kts. Quite a reasonable swell running. Gybed the kite once and then dropped it just as we arrived off the southern tip of the island. The anchorage is deserted but we can see lots of birds nesting in the trees. I thought I saw a boat coming towards us but it turned out to be some waves breaking over a reef in the distance. Have to say we are feeling a little on edge, having not checked out of Los Roques and being over our 5 day limit. We explored the mangroves in the dinghy. There is quite an extensive branched channel and so many nesting boobies in the trees. Amazing! Some are white with bluish beaks and orange feet and others have darker coloured bodies. Male and female or maybe adult and juvenile. There was one wayward pelican nesting in the trees with them. We have also seen some frigate birds flying around here but not sure where they are nesting. No flamingos yet, although apparently there are some here and surprisingly no mosquitos.  Boobies on a branch Day 7: Los Aves Barlovento to Los Aves Long Island Sotovento 12 nm As we were eating breakfast we were approached by the coastguard boat that came screaming around the bottom end of the island and into the anchorage. Heaps of guys on board including the guy we met at check in, who spoke some English. Him and another guy got on board with their guns. At least they took off their shoes. The English speaking guy did an inspection, first looking in the engine bays and then down below, opening a lot of the floor board covers into the bilges, taking photos etc. All very nice. The other guy dropped his gun on the floor inside and took a chunk out of the laminate. Thank god it didn’t go off! We would probably still be in Venezuela trying to explain it. They asked us if we checked out of Los Roques and we said we had. Looked at our paperwork, which clearly showed we didn’t but he didn’t say anything. They said they plan to go to the other island of Los Aves and they are patrolling because the local coast guard has a problem with their boat. Seems like they will stay the night at Los Aves on the boat and there were a couple of plastic wrapped mattresses on board. All of the guys who stayed on the boat had scarves wrapped around their faces. Keith had his picture taken with the two guys that came on board and it was smiles all round, but still didn't feel like a warm welcome.  Aerial view of Barlovento
 The other 2 and the dog stayed on the boat and we anchored at Long Island. As I worked through the paperwork with one of the CG boys, Keith got some water for the dog. There was a heap of questions and it was slow going with Google translate. Nearly freaked out when my passport was not with the boat papers but it turned up in my handbag! Phew! Then one more guy got on board but his shoes were really dirty so Keith hosed his feet down. The guy in the CG boat came up to the bow, stumbled and fell in the boat. He then blamed the dog and pushed the dog and the dog fell overboard. Anyway there is no way they could get the dog back on the boat with its high freeboard so the dog came onto the back of ITIKI and then they got him back onto their boat. Then two guys did a very thorough inspection, opening cupboards, pulling stuff out, taking selfies etc. Didn’t check the bilges or the engines like the first guy did. Finally the paperwork was done and they politely left the boat, giving us a copy and thanking us. Keith gave them some cold beers. It’s not as protected here as the other bay and we don’t feel like doing much after all the stress of the day, with two inspections! We did however go for a walk along the beach. Not much to see other than the usual collection of rubbish and a few shells. There are some fisherman shacks on the beach and a few people staying in them. Day 8: Out the gate! Left quite early in the morning and given our state of mind it was a relief to lift the anchor. It had been a windy night and we had not slept well. The low island gave little protection from the wind but was good for the swell. It felt good to be heading to a new country where the rules are clear. Did we enjoy our time in Los Roques? Well yes.... and no. It is a really beautiful and unique place for sure, but our experience was tainted by our interactions with officialdom. Being told on arrival that you could only stay for 5 days was a bit of a shock, as the hefty cost of checking in is effectively spread over a much shorter period. Yes we could risk it and overstay, but who wants to run foul of officials carrying guns. Being boarded and inspected 3 times by armed men, who went over the boat with a fine tooth-comb, was also pretty nerve wracking. While they didn't find anything we never felt comfortable that we really knew what they were looking for... In the back our minds too was our proximity to the Venezuelan mainland, we were within easy reach and somewhat vulnerable in remote locations. We were very happy to see the coast of Bonaire. 
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AuthorAfter more than 5 years of (minus time off for Covid) and more than 27,000nm Lynda has finally got the hang of this cruising life Archives
June 2024
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