Margarita Island Info?

reed69 · Post by **reed69** » October 11, 2006 7:29 pm

Hey guys and gals a friend gave me a suggestion of margarita island for an upcoming vacation, his argument was that its the caribbean and hes heard for pretty cheap , but he has actually never been there. Has anyone actually been to margarita island or heard from friends about this destination? Any help would be greatly appreciated , Thanks

UpstateNYPH · Post by **UpstateNYPH** » October 11, 2006 10:35 pm

that's venezuelan territory. if it were me, i wouldnt head there right now... not with crazy chavez running around.

but thats just me, ive been to much worse places

Missing B'dos · Post by **Missing B'dos** » October 12, 2006 1:17 am

We've been there... nice beaches, and the most pristine salt/fresh lagoons, you tour them in small boats, but it's overall pretty poor. Friendly people. Pearls (Margarita means 'pearl'.) More Caribbean than South American. Not particularly resortish. It probably is pretty cheap. They are used to tourists as some cruise ships stop there regularly. There are jeep safaris as well. Venezuela is also famous for fantastic waterfalls in the interior and there are package trips to visit those.

If Chavez bothers you, you'd better not go to any parts of the south Caribbean; they all have good relations with him, get their oil, and everyone's TV feed comes from Venezuela, etc., this means Trinidad and Mustique and Grenada and all. Chavez isn't crazy. He's just a bit egotistical, and putting on a good "show" vs. Dubya, who isn't much liked by anyone in ANY country outside the US, and particularly not in the Caribbean or South America.

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » October 12, 2006 8:49 am

Missing B'dos wrote:We've been there... nice beaches, and the most pristine salt/fresh lagoons, you tour them in small boats, but it's overall pretty poor. Friendly people. Pearls (Margarita means 'pearl'.) More Caribbean than South American. Not particularly resortish. It probably is pretty cheap. They are used to tourists as some cruise ships stop there regularly. There are jeep safaris as well. Venezuela is also famous for fantastic waterfalls in the interior and there are package trips to visit those.

If Chavez bothers you, you'd better not go to any parts of the south Caribbean; they all have good relations with him, get their oil, and everyone's TV feed comes from Venezuela, etc., this means Trinidad and Mustique and Grenada and all. Chavez isn't crazy. He's just a bit egotistical, and putting on a good "show" vs. Dubya, who isn't much liked by anyone in ANY country outside the US, and particularly not in the Caribbean or South America.

not to get too anal, but Margarita doesn't mean pearl. Some refer to it as the Pearl of the Caribbean though.

I find your comments about Chavez interesting. Have you been outside the tourist areas to see how the common people live? Don't believe what you hear from the talking heads. He's destroying that country. They should be the richest country in S. America, but he's driving them into the ground with his ego.

Anyway, your comments about Margarita are spot on. Beautiful place!

Missing B'dos · Post by **Missing B'dos** » October 12, 2006 9:34 am

Yeah, it's that girls who have that name are given pearls. Actually our older daughter is named Margaret and called Meg, and we were told from a name book that it means "a pearl beyond price", but maybe the book was wrong?
Anyway, yes we drove around the island quite a bit, and as remarked before it is VERY poor. But Venezuela was poor before Chavez.... Jimmy's folks were there 30 years ago and came back remarking how poor it was. We saw the poorest people we've ever seen in the Caribbean out on the far end of Margarita, making wind chimes of pink shells. No electricity, living in wooden huts similar to the huts in favelas. But that doesn't mean that the folks in the other small countries don't still prefer Chavez to Bush. A lot of them also respect Cuba, which provides medical training for many Caribbean students from other islands.

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » October 12, 2006 3:29 pm

you're definitely right. The country is split about him. A lot of the poor love him because of his social programs, but the one that were a little better off hate him because he's destroying their way of life and future.

It's sad. They should be the Kuwait of South America, but he's got a firm grip on the money. Sure will be interesting to see what happens as Cuba and Venezuela get cozier.

Blondn6ft · Post by **Blondn6ft** » November 7, 2006 7:29 am

Thanks for th info ... this is one of my ports on my cruise I just booked for December of 2007 ...

frognot · Post by **frognot** » November 20, 2006 12:27 am

I used to work with a guy who went there twice and he really loved the place. Great beaches, friendly folks and very laid-back.

Dr.Corona · Post by **Dr.Corona** » November 20, 2006 2:29 pm

Blondn6ft wrote:Thanks for th info ... this is one of my ports on my cruise I just booked for December of 2007 ...

Now that's some SERIOUS advance planning!!! I'm assuming you must have got an awesome deal......or wanted to make sure you'd get the Presidential Suite!!