Down the Islands

We spent the day down the islands today with our neighbours Nicky and Brucie. We are so lucky that we have these little islands off the North coast that have beach homes. This is just one of them (and, no, this is not where I was!)

t is a real reminder that we were part of the South American mainland as these little islands dot their way towards Venezeula. Gasparee island is the largest and has impressive caves that have become a great tourist attraction. We have a boat and go down quite often to the family's house but in rainy season, we are sometimes no match for the sandflies.
The last mountain ridge in the background is Venezuela. Very close. Isn't it beautiful?

This is Hayley and I coming home in the boat. We soaked in the sea for ages with all the children and just enjoyed cooling off. Our water is not the blue of the rest of the Caribbean as the Orinocco river feeds into our waters and the tannin from the leaves turns the water browny-greeny. The plus is that our water is so rich with nutrients that the fishing is very good, the negative is, of course, that we don't have the postcard image water that is meant to be the Caribbean sea. The marinas are all full of yachts at the moment because many sailors come South to wait out the hurricane season and a healthy service industry has developed around this phenomenon. The marine workmanship is respected throughout the region and many come to have their boats refitted during the season.