Cayo agua, the most interesting island and it really deserve a visit – the paradise is here
Los Roques is a paradise, it is an ideal place for a perfect holiday and a big rest for those who want to clean the soul.
…but, one need to have all the patience in the world, need to go there with a free spirit and really need to be prepared for all the set backs one can have at a holiday – and need to be sure that all planned is really planned…
We have bought a nice package for the “posada” and the airplane tickets, we were planning this trip for more than 2 months, 13 friends, among them my pregnant sister with her baby of 1,5 years…
…and how nice it was to arrive to the pousada “La Laguna” with the vouchers from the Explorerpartner.com and hear from the owner of the posada that they have never received this reservation neither payment for the days planned (we had paid 100% the trip in advance). Calling the agency, they have spent the day looking for the reservations – it turned to be that they were cheated – a venezuelan girl, Carolina, who worked some time ago for the La Laguna had mislead the agency and the posada La Laguna and had told them that she was the one who was responsible for doing the reservations – finally she had reserved pousadas on a much lower price level and had kept the money for her – what a nice start in Venezuela.
Finally my friends were able to stay, some of them at a better pousada, since they did not enter the reserved one and paid themselves a better one (which was far away from a luxurious spa in tahiti and others at a not so good one, to say so) but my husband, myself, my sister and her family, instead of staying from the 26th of December until the 7th of January, we had to come back to Caracas on the 30th of December… Still pending to check how to receive reimbursement for the the payment made…
Well, but to go to Los Roques – Be prepared to;
– Daily lack of energy – during this holidays, each second day our “pousada” did not have energy – meaning, no air conditioning, and depending on the posada where you stay, you would have candle night…
– Lack of Water – some of the posadas had problem with water – at the majority you will be “monitored” not to have 2 showers a day – you might get an angry manager shouting at your door
– NO HOT WATER AT ALL – the island has a policy of no warm water for the showers – indeed the weather is so nice that, unless you decide to shower very late at night, this will not be a problem
– Lots of garbage and mosquitos all around the Gran Roques. Unfortunately the island is not well preserved, and very close to one of the most expensive Pousadas, and the only one at the beach, literally door at the sand – Caracol – there is a huge dam with lots of garbage, which smells a lot…
– Take with you anything to keep all the mosquitos far away from you, being at the main island or the others, during the day or night.
All the set backs apart, here are some of the nice tips and good experience there in Los Roques:
1) Pousadas:
You have to go to some expensive ones;
Posada La Laguna is a nice one, is not among the high priced ones, is a simple one, very nice one, and its main attraction is the owner, Mavi (Maria Victoria – an Italian – journalist who decided to move to Los Roques 4 years ago and is running herself the pousada wiht the help of her daughter and her son – Italians from Rome) and her daughter, Sveva. This is one of the only posadas with capacity for more than 20 people at once. When we arrived there, with the vouchers and no real reservation, they offered us rooms for us to change and to go to the beach, they accommodated the reservations in order to have place for us that night in case we would not find anything – contacted us somebody so we could go for the daily boat trip – and by the end of the day, after using her rooms, we left to the reserved posadas and she did not charged us anything – Finally my sister stayed there for the remaining days. Mavi and Sveva were basically running the posada alone, only with 1 young lady helping them – They do deserve my respect!
Posada Los Corales is a tiny little posada, with all the charm one posada can have! It is managed, owned, by Jesus and his wife. Our friends Carol and Rafa stayed their, and the meals attracted so much them that by the end, the group ate there for 3 nights. They have only 4 rooms, you have just to take care not to choose the room which is located beside the generator, since the noise might keep you awake! The price here during the high season was BsF 840,00 around US$98,00 per person half pension.
Posada Galapagos is among the best ones (the price per person per night – high season, half pension, is US$ 150,00, meaning – couple US$ 300,00 – I have never paid so high price for any hotel in Europe, even when I wanted to treat myself…). If you try to save some money, you might have so many headaches that you can jeopardize your holiday.
2) The boat trip to know the islands
– Normally the posadas have included 2 or 3 islands – the closest ones. For the rest you have to hire a boat, which will charge you, per person around BsF 160,00 for the cayo agua, and additional Bsf 90,00 for the “cava”, the little refri with cold drink and some sandwiches – for the furthest islands the chairs and sun tent are included for the closest ones you will be charged by chair and umbrella, so take care when they are offering more chairs for you to enjoy better!
– For the organization, try to all Dani – some of the posadas can refer him to you – his cell phone is: 0414 251 8385 – it is better to ask for a reservation one day before, otherwise you might end up drinking warm beer, since the ice is also a treasure there!
Nice islands to stay with children:
Francisqui – try the restaurant there, which has a great Pargo and a great Lobster! Here you can spend several days, just sitting with water at your knee, sitting “on” the sea!!
Crasqui – Try the restaurant where you an find a mother with a daughter called Maria and Maya – they have great Lobster and fish – We loved it, because of the coincidence – my sister is Maya and her daughter is Mariah!