6/9/09 to 6/12/09

At sunset, we departed Prickly Bay & started a new facet of our journey that would lead us west through the outer islands of Venezuela, then on to Bonaire & Curacao. For company, as well as for safety considerations, we were traveling with Linda & Mike (S/V Casa del Mar) whom we had recently met via the Grenada ‘Cruisers Net’.

Our first stop is a small group of islands, Los Testigos (‘The Witnesses’), which lie 93 miles southwest of Grenada & 41 miles north of mainland Venezuela. After a beautiful moonlit crossing, we arrived at Testigo Pequeno & anchored off the beach at Playa Real.

The following day, we made the wet 2-mile jaunt across the channel to Isla Iguana Grande, in our dinghies, to check in with the Guardia Costa (Coast Guards.) The officials were very friendly & tolerated our limited Spanish with a smile.

Isla Iguana Grande

Once formalities were completed we were free to explore the island. First on our list was to climb the sand dunes bordering Balandra Bay.

The Sand Dunes

Discovering Turtle Tracks

The Anchorage at Playa Real

Happy Hour on the Beach

Los Testigos Underwater (What are you looking at? L to R: Flamingo Tongue Snail on Purple Seafan, Spotted Moray Eel, Scorpion Fish, Reef Ecosystem 1, Schooling Fish, Reef Ecosystem 2)