And so the day came when we had to leave this paradise where time seems to stand still and ‘chill’ is the official mantra. That morning at 9 am we took a boat to Francisquí, another of the closest cays to El Gran Roque, to enjoy a few hours in the sun before going back to the frantic rhythm of Caracas. Francisquí is actually a set of three small islands (upper, middle and lower); our ‘lanchero’ dropped us off in Francisquí Medio (middle) and this was the view that welcomed us there.

Once we arrived we set off to see the area called La Piscina (the pool), a popular snorkeling spot.

At first sight, it was pretty clear where the name came from.

As we continued to walk, we found an area that was more rugged, with darker colours and livelier waves.

As we walked back to our little spot of heaven, we saw this guy having a grand time kitesurfing.

Walking towards the other side of the island we came upon a small hut that offered food and drinks and kept their lobster as fresh as can be.

These lobsters were the largest ones I’ve ever seen! It was early so they were not open yet; we made a mental note to bring money and our appetite next time we visited Francisquí.

Unfortunately our beach day was cut short when our ‘lanchero’ came earlier than expected, apologizing profusely and saying the time for the return flight had been changed, yet again, and we had to go. We quickly gathered our things and got on the boat. We were back in the posada in no time, took a quick shower, packed our bags and were off to the airport to check-in for our flight.

When we got there we weren’t sure where to check-in as there isn’t really a terminal or counter anywhere in sight, which makes sense as it would probably look out of place. Finally we figured out we needed to check-in with a lady sitting in a hut, who in turn proceeded to check our travel documents and inform us that the flight was delayed because the airport was closed due to high winds. Obviously we didn’t believe that was the reason of the delay, but at that point we were pretty much into the Los Roques chill mantra and simply sat in the shade enjoying the views of the ocean, the warm breeze, putting our feet in the water one more time… let’s face it, there are much worse places to be waiting for a delayed flight than here!

And so after some time (I couldn’t tell you how much as at this point time wasn’t of the essence), we saw our plane approaching.

We left El Gran Roque on a Britten-Norman BN-2A Mk.III Trislander, a slightly larger plane than the one we came in, with two pilots who seemed to do a slightly more professional job than the one who flew us in. As we were climbing I looked at these beautiful colours from our little plane and I felt a bit sad to leave this paradise, very grateful to have been able to visit it and lucky to call Venezuela my home, for it is truly a “Land of Grace” (Tierra de Gracia).

During our short visit to Los Roques we had the opportunity to do a bit of exploring around El Gran Roque in the mornings and evenings.

We walked streets lined with colourful houses.

We saw little kids being walked to school and heard a group of them singing in the small church when we walked by one morning. We saw people going about their daily routines, like this grandma fishing by the shore (we saw her sitting outside her home with her granddaughters later that evening),

this young man busy texting at the end of a quiet street,

and these fishermen getting their boat ready for their daily expedition.

We also saw many, many birds -around 92 birds species can be found in Los Roques, most of them migratory. The morning walks were most entertaining as these guys like to put on a show.

These brown pelicans were pretty efficient at dive bombing, getting fish in their mouths almost every time.

It was funny to see the laughing gulls attacking the pelicans every time they did one of their dive bombs to try to get them to drop the fish. Needless to say they didn’t seem to have any luck with that plan.

We saw lots of laughing gulls in the different cays as well, bobbing around on the water or begging for food with their characteristic raucous call.

We also got a glimpse of a few brown booby birds with their clear blue eyes and their bright yellow feet.

This elegant great egret greeted us one morning in all its bright, white splendor.

I can’t think of a better way to start the day than wandering around El Gran Roque…

After a relaxing first day in Los Roques (which you can read about here), we decided to do a bit more exploring on our second day in paradise. Amadeo, who was in charge of feeding us delicious meals at the posada El Paraiso Azul, suggested a tour around the park. So off we went on that morning to find our “lanchero” for the day, Fran, a.k.a. “El Chino” and his boat “Furioso”. It was lovely cruising those beautiful waters in the “peñero” with the sun and wind on our face.

The first stop was Boca de Cote, a popular snorkeling and diving spot located on the southern border of the park, about 15 km south of Gran Roque. There we jumped off the boat and enjoyed watching the marine life around the coral reefs thanks to the masks, snorkels and fins we rented at Oscar’s Shop (located near the airport in Gran Roque). The second stop was the Palafito, a collection of small stilt houses built right on the water. El Chino told us this particular dwelling was owned by a local family from Gran Roque and used for lobster fishing during the months of November and December, when the family sets-up camp there to make the most of the beginning of lobster season.

It was great to explore the area around the palafito, where El Chino pointed out schools of fish that we wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. We also spotted bright orange starfish here and there, and saw El Chino picking up several botutos (queen conch).

That’s when I understood the reason behind this massive conglomeration of conchs close to the palafito.

My dad used to love botutos. Everytime we went to the beach he would devour them fresh with lime juice and I never had the nerve to try them because they seemed like giant alien worms to me. This time, in honour of my dad, I was determined to try the botuto, especially after seeing that, really, you can’t get it any fresher than this!

After El Chino had collected and cleaned enough botutos and we all had a chance to wander around and explore, we were off to our next stop, where we were able to see many more starfish from the boat and snorkel some more around the roots of mangroves, home to so much wonderful sea life. Our final stop for the day was Noronquí, another one of the many islands in the Los Roques archipelago.

As we were slowly approaching the shore we were able to spot a turtle, apparently frequent visitors to this particular island. We walked around, swam and enjoyed a botuto ceviche prepared on the spot by El Chino. Once I took a bite I almost wanted to kick myself for not trying botuto before, it was absolutely delicious! No wonder my dad loved it so much, he was right, as always… 🙂

And then it was time to go, braving some choppy waters due to the winds, but happy to have seen a bit more of this magnificent park. This day of touring Los Roques made us realize there is so much more to see and do here that another visit may be necessary in the future…