Anuncio, Isla Margarita, June 28, 2008

Anxious to get the local experience, Mike and I decided to take a jaunt to the capital city of Margarita, Anuncio, about an hour away. Although we tried, we were unable to catch a bus at the marina and ended up walking for about an hour into town through some questionable areas. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. Fortunately it had air conditioning and supplied its clientelle with real knives and forks--not the plastic cutlery that is used in the streetside fast food restaurants that proliferate in Margarita. We were anxious to try some local food. Mike had a delicious chicken dish and I an arepa (a-ray'-pa), a flat, disc-like biscuit about the size of a hamburger bun, often filled with a stuffing of meat, chicken or fish. This was unfilled and a bit plain. Anyhow, we proceeded in search of the bus station, another 20-minute walk in the hot, hot sun. Finally we found a bus heading for Anuncio and hopped on.

An hour later we found ourselves in a charming old city, much cleaner and neater than Porlamar. However, since it was Saturday afternoon, most shops and restaurants were closed. We walked on the square, an ever-present structure in most Latin American cities. There was the requisite statue of the South American hero, Simon Bolivar. We later learned that his statue is featured in all central squares in different poses representing different events.

After finally finding a place for a cold drink, we caught the bus back to town. The buses are all in bad repair, but the fare is very cheap, about 30 cents to go most places in the city. The fare to Anuncio, cost us about 50 cents each, each way.

Finding our bus back to the marina was an exhausting affair. No one we asked had a clue. We were directed around the square in Porlamar whose streets were packed with weekend shoppers. (Porlamar is a destination for Venezuelan--an island with beaches, palm trees and duty-free goods.) To preserve our sense of humor, we ducked occasionally into the ice cold shops which poured air conditioning onto the jam-packed, sizzling streets. Finally, we hailed a taxi. Nevertheless, it was good to see the bustling city, buy some limes from a street vendor who also threw in a banana for each of us, and visit a quieter, more stately city.