Venezuela and Bonaire updates

From Mike and Sue Stover, Jus' Now Porlamar, Margarita, Venezuela June 30, 2008

Jak's is now open under the name Sunset Grill. We ate there the other day.

Marina Juan (Juan Baro), the long shallow dock in the northeast corner of the bay, still offers a wonderful service to cruisers on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday when he supplies a free bus to the Sido Supermarket / shopping center. The prices are as good or better than the Rattan in downtown Porlamar and the selection is better (we haven't tried the new Rattan near Sambil, another large supermarket and shopping center). Across the street from the grocery store is a housewares store and part of the chain. Next door to that is the Traki shopping center with many imported items. The Tuesday and Thursday trips are no longer in effect

Marina Juan also has a flee market on Friday afternoons from 3pm on, and offers a happy hour where beers, already ridiculously cheep, are even cheaper. Many of the cruisers in the anchorage participate.

Important!

As of tomorrow, July 1, 2008 the new bolivar called Bolivar Fuerte (BsF) is to be accepted. The easy way to tell the difference is the many zeros on the old currency - one BsF is equal to 1,000 B's. The current rate of exchange is officially 2.15/USD but the street price is about 3/USD. Be careful of folks who want to give you a lot more, you will probably end up with nothing. The clerks in the stores examine the currency very carefully; we expect that they are used to counterfeit bills.

The old bolivars will still be accepted until 10 December; that is a big help to us cruisers.

There was a security issue a few days ago with a boat anchored in Pampatar (where anchoring of foreign boats is prohibited). He reported on the morning net that he had been pistol whipped and his boat robbed. There was another report of a cruiser that had some lines cut and fenders stolen. Since we have been here (June 19th) these have been the only verified incidents.

Water and fuel are a problem here. The fuel guy comes out from time to time and charges about 60 cents USD per gallon. The fuel we got was clean and had no water in it that our baja filter could detect, but a gold plater in the anchorage was underwhelmed with the quality. He also sells gasoline for about 60 cents USD per gallon, many times what it costs at a gas station, but unless you are buying quite a lot it is cheaper than the taxi fare.

The water boat comes out once a week or so and charges about 10 cents USD so we are told, we have been trying to get water for a week or so now. One can get non-potable water from the spigot at Juan's, price as yet not determined. Juan also sells potable water in 19 liter jugs for 7BsF, there is a 40BsF deposit on the jug.
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I saw the following letter from John Smith in Compass and thought it well worth reprinting here. It is many years since I visited this yard, and sounds like it has grown a lot bigger and better. The mangrove swamp in Tyrrel Bay has grown in John’s memory if he thinks Carenero is only 5 times as big.

Astillero de Higuerote on the mainland of Venezuela is one of the best boatyards I have been in, especially in regard to security here in Venezuela. The yard is on a peninsula just adjacent to the capitaneria or port captain’s office, so clearance from foreign is easy. The port captain has authority to issue the ship clearance zarpe, which can be extended to 18 months before the vessel must leave the country for 45 days. The yard is large and has five travel lifts with the largest rated for 100 tons. It is airy and well maintained with plenty of free, clean water, free electricity and very clean restroom facilities. While showering in the outdoor facilities I watched a pair of osprey in a nearby tree and watched as three small owls explored the recently plowed and cleared surface of the surrounding land. The main town of Higuerote is a 20-cent, ten-minute bus ride away and the town boasts six good hardware stores and countless bakery/coffee shops as well as the normal plethora of street vendors selling a vast array of clothing, CDs and prepared food. On every corner are fruit markets, fish stalls and/or bodegas, at which a cold bottle of beer costs about 20 cents! The main beach (which I walk along to town) is about two miles long and never have I seen such a rich supply of shellfish being harvested on a daily basis. I walked into the gentle surf up to my knees and with bare hands was able to collect over three dozen small edible surf clams in less than one minute! Chipi-chipi, as they are known locally, are like very small New England quahogs and make a very similar tasting chowder. One must remember, however, to leave the clams in a bucket of seawater with some cornmeal for a while. The normal siphoning process of the clam will exchange the sand which it has carried from the sea with the cornmeal that has been added to the water, making a much more savory broth. Now that my haul out has been completed I am anchored 200 yards away on the opposite side of the channel at the entrance to an extensive mangrove lagoon area, Carenero, which must be five times the size of Carriacou’s. Sitting here in the late afternoons I watch flocks of red ibis, green parrots and pink flamingos returning from their day’s fishing, and on weekends the Venezuelans come out in family groups and camp on the beach at the head of the mangroves where there are benches and barbecue facilities. Unlike in my New England hometown, the tenting is not only allowed but is encouraged! And yes, there is ball playing, loud music, and open fires for cooking. In Connecticut about the only thing you can do on the beach is leave footprints and take pictures. (I certainly would not eat the shellfish from there any longer.) All the crowds in Puerto La Cruz oughta loosen up a little and check it out for themselves, but sometimes I think that the yachtsmen of today are a lot like the folks who have to put bars on all their windows for the “luxury” of living in a city.

I notice in the same Compass, two people had a narrow escape in Puerto Santos, and I would like to make a comment. As an area gets a bad reputation people stop going there. When people stop going there, you do not hear of horrible things because there are no yachties for horrible thing to happen to. Just something to keep in mind when you read the safety and security reports.

In the guide, we became hopelessly confused over the Vemasca stores, It turns out there are TWO separate stores that evolved from the store that was originally started by Denis Laesker. Both are owned by members of the family but completely separate from each other. A visit to both should be on your list of thing to do.

Vemasca Marine Supply is a chandlery and it is very conveniently placed right between Marina Juan and Marina Puerto Miguel in a block called Asovene. They sell a big range of yacht gear as well as fishing gear, everything from deck hardware to electronics and clothing, plus lots of stuff you need to work on your yacht. They also bring things in on special order and do all the paperwork. The ad for Vemasca Marine Supply is in the wrong place in our guide on page 182 in the Puerto la Cruz section. Ritchie speaks excellent English.

Vemasca Marine Services is another big chandlery in Porlamar and it also has another branch in Puerto La Cruz (Their ad is correctly placed on page 94, as is the location on page 95). Vemasca Marine Services also repair electronics and may be able to help with other problems. They are half a mile down the main road towards Porlamar (see picture). It is probably best to take a cab. It is also possible to either walk down the road or dinghy close by to the beach and walk, but do not do either of these until you have checked on the current security situation.

Getting things wrong in my guide is always bad news, but having TWO VEMASCA stores instead of one in Porlamar is excellent news!

The information I had when I did the new version of the guide was that I had not heard of many problems in this area. Update: Security is a problem in this area. Yacht Lady Anne with two people onboard suffered an armed robbery while anchored off the village. They stole all electronics and valuables.

Page 181 left column. Jose from Costa Rica retired, Kings service no longer in action.

A cruiser recommended staying very close to the starboard buoys for the deepest water. They squeezed in with 6 feet of draft at low tide. It is best to contact the management for the controlling depth before you go, they may have dredged by now.

There have been fewer incidents, but be alert. I got the following from he safety and security net. Check their web for the latest news

Hello. I just find out that in Venezuela Cumanagoto Marina has changed their phone number into 02934000347 and VHF watch on Ch.09. So maybe you will be so kind to update your useful guide. Thanks. Vincenzo Sparavigna SY Spirit of Hope

Three "canal police" stopped us, as we went from Plaza Mayor to Bahia Redonda in the dinghy the other night, and said a curfew has been imposed on dinghy traffic in the canals, between 6PM and 8AM. Apparently, there was a serious accident one night involving some locals and some cruisers and an unlighted speeding dinghy. Vessels may enter the canal, but only to go home, and may not go outside. This certainly crimps our fun - no dinners at MareMares or the mall unless we take a taxi, and the roads are mobbed all day/night long. Traffic around Plaza Mayor is beyond belief!

Note from Chris: In the new guide I did not mention how long clearing took. I hope this is the extreme length of time. I would like to hear from others...

Hi Chris, just a tip for easy navigating through the NE channel into los roques. on the southern most little island on the east side of francisqui there has been built a triangular reasonably large whit house, which is visibly for many miles from the outside (we picked it up in the early morning sun almost 5 miles out. when used in conjunction with your way point for the entrance it gives a clear and safe transit into the los roques. on a true course of about 220 you have a nice visual reference together with your gps waypoint. best personal regards, dick marx s.v. "Geramar"