The first day out of Margarita we anchored at Puerto Santos, a small fishing town on the north coast of Venezuela. Although the town is poor enough that many houses appear to lack doors and glass in the windows, all houses have electricity because it's free in Venezuela. Even at this point when it was still relatively safe to anchor in this area, we were glad there were other cruising boats with us as our boats definitely stand out anchored among the local fishing boats.

Next night we anchored at Medina, where we swam into shore and explored the beautiful little resort we found there. On the following night we anchored at San Francisco, one of the loveliest places we've been, where the rainforest covers the hills and runs right down to the sea.

On December 12 we finally arrived in Trinidad, which would become one of our favorite islands. Since we arrived earlier than our planned arrival date, the Crews Inn Marina didn't have space for us yet so we anchored out in Chaguaramus Bay. Anchoring in the soft mud proved more challenging than usual due to the numerous squalls hitting us, but we were finally successful.

For anyone not familiar with Trinidad, our approach involved sailing through a narrow channel called the Boca, then navigating around several islands until we came into the anchorage proper which we recognized by the hundreds of masts in evidence. The masts belong to the many boats which are not only anchored but also docked in the many marinas or ashore in the boatyards. It's truly an impressive sight.

Chaguaramus is the cruising center of Trinidad. Whatever repairs you need, whatever parts you want, you'll find craftsmen and chandleries that can provide everything you can imagine. Also, Members Only, owned by Jesse James, runs all of its tours from here as does Trump Tours, another local tour company.

To be continued.