The only chance for me to get onto a motor taxi boat at a cheap price was to get on board of a more or less complete and paid for tour and go wherever the best offer would bring me to. On a weekend day the demand is high and boats are full pretty fast; you have to run between the docks a bit. The price for the two islands opposite were at 300 Bolivares, the three or four islands further away were at 500 Bolivares, the tour to the caves plus an islands was at 1000 Bolivares and finally a tour to various islands was at 1500 Bolivares per person.

I had identified a boat that was paid for and ready to go and I spoke quickly to the driver and he accepted my offer to take me as well. I was on board and we left for Cayo Sal. I took the camera out of my bag and wanted to take some picture of the departure but nothing worked. I checked the batteries and they were full. I checked the memory card and it was not there. I had taken it out yesterday to copy the pictures onto the notebook and had forgotten to put it back. I had to go back. The driver looked at me surprised, did not really understand my technical problem and took me back to the village. On the way back I explained to him that I would just pick up the memory card and be back after about ten minutes. He replied that he could not wait for me but offered me anyway to take me for free on one of the next tours.

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I ran to the car and put the memory chip into the camera and made it back just in time for a friend of my driver to leave for a tour to the caves plus Cayo Sal. We left in the opposite direction and drove along the city into the mangroves.

First point of interest was a sunken boat from some trafficker’s …..

Second a drive through a very narrow passage through the mangroves …..

Third the cave of the virgin. We drove into the small entrance and already there we could see some fifty virgin statues cemented onto the rocks …..

Just a second later we were in the cave and more than a thousand virgin statues had been cemented all over the cave. Wherever there was the chance to place a statue there was one.

Fourth and final point of interest was the cave of the Indians. The setting was perfect for a home for a few families some three to five thousand years ago. If I had a time machine I would surely want to spend a week in that cave. I would definitely have to check the batteries of that time machine and definitely could not forget the memory card. I would consider a week not the rest of my life. I was really, really amazed by the stone carvings of the Indian inhabitants, what a proof of human ancient history.

We were not the only tourists in the cave and it became very obvious that the other boat had a German tourist on board. I had a very brief chat with the German and his girlfriend from Mexico. They were travelling by car as well during their visit in Venezuela and would go back home to Cancun in a month where they lived on a sail boat.

Final destination of the tour was the island Cayo Sal. It was Sunday and the island was full. I am sure that during the high season probably two or three times more tourist would be on the island, actually in the water, a different way to hide from the heat and the intensity of the sun. I walked the island from one end to the other and walked diagonal back and force through the salt lake in the center of the island.

The way back with the boat to Chichiriviche was just a short drive and the way back with my car to Tucacac as well. I wanted to stay in Tucacas tonight, I wanted my favorite dinner and be early at the cyber tomorrow morning.

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