Margarita-Ve

There were 94.000 tourists here last week.

2006-04-18T04:49:00.000-07:00

And now, the mass exodus of people leaving the island - standing in line for the ferry, standing in line at the airport. I am glad the week is over. There were so many car accidents last week.

Tomorrow is another great holiday - The Battle of Carabobo. My daughter has off from school for it. I wonder if the grocery stores will be closed?

Our rainy season has ended and we have our wind to keep us cool but it sure felt hot yesterday.

My granddaughter informed me that there were some new baby humming birds in a tree and their mama was sitting on them to keep the sun off of them.

There are certain staple foods that the government requires the stores to sell for a set price so people can afford them. Sometimes, the stores want to raise the prices since they are not making much or any profit on the items, so those items are hard to find in the stores until they get a cheaper source or can raise prices. Right now, I cannot find the brand of powdered milk I like or white sugar very easily. Fresh milk is not available and reconstituted milk (liquid milk in a jug) is expensive. Powdered milk from Columbia or Argentina is pretty good and a few Venezuela brands are good such as Campesina. Milk is at 7700 bolivars a kilo right now. One kilo of powdered makes 8 liters of liquid milk.

You have to go to a health food store or specialty store to buy cocoa (cacao en polvo) powder here. I paid 22.500 bolivars for 750 grams last time I bought it. It takes 2150 bolivars to make a dollar.

Have a good day.

12 million tourists in VE for semana santa

2006-04-13T04:59:00.000-07:00

Well, my daughter came in and said they were already starting the horse races today. We have a gravel road that goes by our place and not very many people live down at the end of it. That is where people gather and have horse races.

There have been a lot of car accidents here this week. It doesn't pay to drink and drive. Remember that!!! It might be as holiday, just don't let it be your last. I will leave that with you to think on for the weekend. Hope yours is safe.

I'm Back!!!

2006-04-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

Did you miss me? My internet server went down a few days and I never made it back because, I lost my password. OOPS! I found it again, finally got time to clean house, hee hee.

So, many ships later.... Today the Golden Princess is here. She will only come once more this year, April 26, 2006, which is the grand finale for port season here this year. Sniff, sniff!

There are plans to expand the port at El Guamche so three large ships can dock at the same time. That is great news for people who hate to tender in.

I have met so many nice people at the port this year. The 17th we have the Empress of the Seas and the Sea Princess. The 21st we have the Sun Princess and the 23 cometh the Ocean Village.

So, what am I going to do with all my spare time, are you kidding? I am going to paint, paint, paint and play with my granddaughter. She is four years old and a real sweetheart. I had some games and picture frames laying on a card table that I set up for her to "paint" on when she comes. She looked at the things and asked, "Did you paint these or did I?" I am not sure what that says for my painting, hee hee!

This is Semana Santa week and there are over 37.000 tourists on the island this week. Guess what I am doing? I am staying home. Do I like traffic? NO way.

http://www.elsoldemargarita.com.ve/ If you want to see the beaches, click on that link. It is the local paper and it has a picture of some tourists on the beach. See anyone you know? Picture yourself there.

I will be selling my things at that beach in August, Playa el Agua.
Gotta run, things to do, people to see, places to go, things to paint. You all take care and have a nice weekend. Drive defensively.

We're having a rainy season ~ winter?

2005-12-17T03:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I got busy and the internet server was totally down so I have missed a few days now.

We have had a lot of rain. It is falling from the sky as I write. The cooler weather is nice. We call it winter. Some people at the port asked me the other day, "Is it always this hot?" I told them, "This is our winter." They just walked away.

Tomorrow the Ocean Village arrives at El Guamache at 8 a.m. Monday, we have the Oceana from 8 to 6. Wednesday, the Golden Princess will be here from 6 a.m. till 1 p.m. and Saturday the Sun Princess is coming from 10 a.m. till 4. With that said, I need to go paint.

Have a nice day.
Janelle

Rain, Rain, Rain.....

2005-12-07T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, seems it has rained a lot here lately. Today at the port, it was like someone threw a bucket of water on us. Then we had some strong wind. Everyone was asking, "Are we going to have a hurricane?" No.

Whoever designed the booths for the venders here sure did it for the sunshine. It has metal corrugated roofs, (the use metal and cement here because of termites), and then put an overhang of dried grass. It keeps the sun off beautifully but when it rains, the water runs down the grooves in the roof and drips down a persons back right where they stand to look at the wares.

We had the Golden Princess today and people seemed to enjoy shopping. The women couldn't get over how beautiful the handmade jewelry was at the booth I help with.

Personally, I paint rocks from here with little scenes and make parrot magnets and checker and tic tac toe games and picture frames. The girl who also sells things, paints various items and local pottery.

So, if I charge two dollars for a nice sized parrot magnet, why do people always try to jew her down to a dollar? We have to make a living too.

Some things are cheaper here, some things are higher.

That's all for now, chau
Janelle

It is rainy and chilly, imagine that?

2005-12-05T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a cloudy rainy day at the port. It was warm and not too bad for those folks coming from the north country.

Today is still cloudy and chilly and since my house is not equipped with a heating unit (we don't need them here), I just put on a few more clothes. In reality, most people just won't turn on their air conditioning today and they will be fine.

I need to wash clothes but since I have to hang them on the line to dry, it doesn't look like it is going to happen today.

If I did what I really wanted, I would spend the day cooking and baking. I need to paint more magnets and rocks and picture frames and games for the port so I will be doing that most of the day.

The frogs love this weather and are singing jubliantly in the rain. A few crickets are chirping in their corners.

Our next ship is on Wednesday. It is the Golden Princess. It hales from the port in Puerto Rico and the people love to come here to shop.

The shopping on Isla de Margarita is tax free. Not so on mainland Venezuela.

Well cheerio people and keep the homefires burning. I believe I am going to make a cup of hot cocoa.

Hasta manana (until tomorrow)
Chau (bye)
Janelle

Saturday, time to paint, paint, paint!

2005-12-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

Today I am home and I am going to paint. We have the Veendam and the Ocean Village ships coming to El Guamache tomorrow.

Yesterday was a slow day at the port. Lots of people looked but most didn't buy. It was nice to visit with some of the folks.

Sometimes when I tell the people, good morning, or you are welcome to step around her so you can see them necklaces better, they just walk off without saying a word and act like I didn't exist. Doesn't that seem a bit rude?

I detest sales people who are pushy or follow you around but I don't do that and I was only trying to be friendly. The world is full of all kinds of people.

Lots of people went to the beach at the port. It is only about ankle deep close to the shore. If you go out far enough, the water gets deep enough to swim in. I have seen quite a few people lay on their backs in the water near the shore. Cool!

There are water craft and paddle boats for rent at the beach. They also rent beach chairs and there is a gazebo where you can get a nice relaxing massage.

Just before you reach the beach, there is a small restaurant and open air bar. They have a live band and dancers. There are restrooms there also.

The better maintained restrooms are up close to the dock where the ship is. That means you will find toilet paper, soap and water in those restrooms.

Pearls are cheap here and you can find a vast array of pearl necklaces. You can buy sarongs, island dresses (which are very comfortable), beach towels (the ship provides towels to use at the beach), hats, spoons, thimbles, bags, purses, coin purses, magnets, picture frames, paintings, tropical design shirts in gorgeous colors, Venezuelan coffee and chocolate, woven palm frond hats with the swinging leaf to keep the flies off and a huge grasshopper on top, four stringed wooden instruments and maracas, cds of the local artists, mens shorts, an a vast array of other items.

I make checkers and tic tac toe sets using local stones from the beach for my game pieces. People love them.

I need to get busy painting today.

Have a great day!

The Sun Princess is coming to El Guamache today.

2005-12-02T03:16:00.000-08:00

The Sun Princess will be at Isla de Margarita from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can pull right up to the dock and it is very convenient. People can shop and return to the ship at their convenience. It is very close by. If there is more than one ship, the others anchor out and ferry the passengers in but today there is only one ship.

The weather has been a little cooler here lately. Winter is coming. We will have temps in the high 70's at night.

I have heard so many positive comments about how pretty our island is and how much people have enjoyed their tour or visit.

They talk about how nice the people are here. I have to agree. I have lived here six years and the people just want to be your friend and be helpful. Granted there is some crime here but nothing like in the US.

The language spoken here is Spanish but people on the island speak very fast and have their own lingo just as Americans have their own terminology for things from one neck of the woods to the other. There is a big push on here to learn English. English is required in the schools. My daughter teaches English in school here.

Well, have a good day. I have to get ready to go to the port and meet all the people who have come to visit today.
Janelle

Election Day

2005-12-01T03:29:00.000-08:00

It is a beautiful day. The air is cool and the birds are singing. Schools are closed today because they are voting here today on some new officials. Liquor stores will not be selling liquor during elections.

It is also shopping day. I am going to Sigo to buy groceries. Sigo is not directly in Porlamar. It is more like a Mall. They just call it Sigo. In Spanish, that means "I follow." The owner of Sigo is very US oriented/friendly. There is a brand called Promos. I thought it was a US brand but I found out it if from Argentina. It is one of the best priced brands, other than Venezuela. However, Promos has products that Venezuela does not produce, such as peanut butter and pancake syrup. Peanut butter is 4600 bolivars for a normal sized jar. (approx. 2 cups.) Pancake syrup is just under 4.000 bs for a large sized bottle. They taste like US brands.

You will find, Ruffles potatos chips, Doritos, Coke, Pepsi, 7up, Del Monte, and other American brand names here but most of them have factories in Venezuela.

You will not find, Dr. Pepper, Root beer, creme soda, and off varieties of soda pop here.

A local bottled drink that is popular is maltin. It is made from the leftovers from making beer, or so I am led to believe. It is non-alcoholic, cheap and has the vitamins that didn't make it into the beer. Beer is cheap here.

If you are just visiting here, it is wise to buy and drink bottled water to avoid digestive upsets. You can purchase bottled water in even the smallest shops.

Time to hike to the bus and go shopping. Have a great day!

Constellation visits El Guamache port, Nov. 30, 2005

2005-11-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

Today was an interesting day at the port.

Some of the comments I hear from people prompt me to state these details about Margarita.

1. The language spoken in Margarita is Spanish.

2. The money is in denominations of bolivars. They do not use any money worth less than a bolivar. They have coins and paper money in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 1.000, 2.000, 5.000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50.000 bolivars.

3. Venders at the port accept US dollars but they cannot accept change for less than a dollar because the banks and money exchanges will not accept it.

4. Just because people speak a different language than you does not mean they are less intelligent or that they do not have feelings. Please treat people with respect. Your lack of manners and bad attitudes only helps to promote the "ugly american" label among foreigners.

Thanks for listening, chau

Margarita, Venezuela

2005-11-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

Hello, thank you for dropping in.

I want to tell you about a place in the Caribbean that is the latest discovery on the cruise circle. Isla Margarita, Venezuela (isla means island) has a legend that it was formed by a tear from a cherub; the tear fell and formed a pearl which became Margarita Island.

At present, there is one port on Margarita where cruise ships call. It is El Guamache. This port season, the ships visiting Margarita are the Golden Princess, Sea Princess, Star Princess, Sun Princess, Constellation, Empress of the Seas, Ocean Village, Oceana, Aidavita, Opera, Aurora, Ryndam, Black Watch, Artemis, Delphin, and the Veendam.

The port has a paved walkway past 130 booths filled with a great variety of goods. Local artisans, offer their wares and it is all tax free.

Meet Jesus the silversmith. He makes all of the jewelry you will see offered at his booth right next to where you exit the ship.

They prefer American dollars for payment.

Some venders are arranging to accept credit cards but they prefer cash.

If you have any questions about Margarita, just ask. I have lived here six years and am more than happy to tell you about this great place.

I will try to keep this blog posted frequently.
Y'all come back now y'hear.
Janelle