Last Few Days of the Isla Margarita Inspection Trip
Sunday 18th May 2008
Sunday we toured around the island, seeing what Isla Margarita has to offer the island is not too big which allows you to travel and what the island has to offer quite easily (Margarita Island is approximately 1,000 Square Kms (115,000 hectares). With over 250Kms (160 miles) of beaches.).
Our first stop of the day was Playa El Yaque which is famous for its non-stop wind, El Yaque is internationally known as one of the best locations in the world having perfect conditions ideal for windsurfing and kite surfing attracting enthusiasts from all over the world. It has hotels, shops and restaurants close to the beachfront, with a wide range of facilities and sports gear. This was a great beach with lots to atmosphere and plenty of people watching to do if you’re not too on keen the water sports available here.
We then went on to Laguna La Restinga National Park, which is one of the most popular attractions on Isla Margarita, it very much reminded me of the mangroves that I have visited before in Dominican Republic and Cancun in Mexico. La Restinga is located just before the bridge that goes to Peninsula Mancanao, it is a large lagoon filled with Mangroves, oysters, sea horses, fish and many birds. We took a boat trip around the lagoon which went from speeds of slow and relaxing to fast and bumpy, when we were going through the mangroves we found a star fish, the photos are on our flickr account for you to have a look at. After our boat trip we had local snacks (a sort of pasty served with hot chilli sauce) and ice cream, there are also a few stalls selling a few touristy items.
We then drove just past Isla Bonita Golf course to a hill side where we had fantastic views of the golf course and the bay below, it was stunning. The Isla Bonita 18 hole golf course commands breathtaking sea views and is open all year round. Golf lovers will be very impressed by the standard of facilities on offer at the par 70 course. Club hire and caddies are available and there is a club house bar where refreshments and food are readily available.
15 minutes drive from Isla Bonita Golf Club is Playa El Agua where we stopped for lunch, Playa El Agua is Isla Margarita’s longest beach, it is lined with palm tree and is over 4km long, making it perfect for a walk where you will find artists and painters, vendors selling beachwear, bikinis, sunglasses, drinks, ice cream, coconut water, and local handicrafts. We had a delicious sea food lunch which comprised of calamari and a sea food and fish platter. After a relaxing walk long the beach which was busy with locals (it was a Sunday) or Venezuelans tourists we headed back to the hotel. The drive took about 45 minutes as we were the other side of the island to the Hilton Hotel.
In the evening we visited the Casino at the hotel.
Monday 19th May 2008
This is the day of our return to the UK but our flight isn’t until 10pm so we had time to visit the local shopping mall. This falls in line with the infrastructure of the roads. The Mall we visited was the Sambil Shopping Centre in Porlamar, it is the number 1 shopping –centre on Isla Margarita. The shopping centre was built in 1999 and since has become bigger and bigger with a European feel to it. You can find the newest flat screen TV’s, home cinema-sound systems, the latest fashion from Dolce & Gabana, Espirit, Tommy Hilfiger, surf shops from Quicksilver, perfume from Douglas, watches from Breitling and Rolex. There are also a number of eateries including a Hard Rock café, we ate lunch was down with a few margaritas in the Mexican restaurant.
Porlamar is the biggest city on Isla Margarita, it is know for its commercial centre; it flourishes with shops and good restaurants, About 85,000 people live there during the low season and about 125,000, in the high season. It has two city beaches and a soon to be opened harbour for cruise ships.
The afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool, waiting to catch the flight home.
For information on this development please take a look at our top properties on www.internationalhorizons.co.uk
