Day   13 -   Isla  Margarita:

Fact Sheet:       89 Km

                            Isla Margarita

                            Hotel Hibiscus -  aprox. USD 20/twin

The "mission of the day", was to hit Porlamar: the bustling, busy fashionable city of the island. It is not actually the capital, but the biggest, busiest, and liveliest place, and where all the major shops, restaurants, discos, hotels, etc. are located. Margarita is actually a tax-free haven in Venezuela, and attracts plenty of domestic tourists, out to buy booze, perfumes, highstreet name-tags, and other flashy items. It has a famous shopping area, along the "4 de mayo", which is a pretty and modern boulevard, where most of the world-known brands seem to be displayed, and the shopfronts are similar to what you would expect in any flashy city-centre. However, we were here to buy our return tickets on the Conferry, as we were under the impression, that the tourist season was coming to a close, and therefore, could not take our chancesfor a space on the ferry back to the mainland. We were not wrong: the Conferry office was packed, and we managed return tickets on the "conventional" ferry - it was the earliest/first one out the next morning. After that was resolved, we had no other worries, and headed for another famous beach: Playa Guacuco. Most of the afternoon was spent beach-bumming, and after that, we bought some souvenirs at the "Veneguay" atelier: here, a Uruguayan got togethjer with a Venezuelan artist, and they sell figures and decorative items made of clay. It is also in Paraguachí, close to the hotel we were staying at. We took things easily, and rested early: this was the last "easy" day, before the return stint of 3 days, and just over 2,000Km back to Manaus. Even the hotel manager of the hibiscus was smiling: we settled our bill in cash, which seemed to cheer him up, and he distributed visitors cards.

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