Tortuga Island...on a yacht!

I abandoned this blog right before leaving Venezuela. There were many reasons for doing so such as being too busy packing and moving, facing an intense 13 months of grad school at Pepperdine, and feeling like the blog was not really serving any "real" purpose other than being sort of a personal travel journal. Now that I am settled in Bogota and finished with my grad program, I am re-thinking all of that. Lately, I have been looking at where I might move for my next international teaching adventure, and I have found that the blogs of people living in the places I am considering have given me a valuable glimpse of what my life might look like if I moved there. Reading these blogs inspired me to return to my own blog...to share my adventures with friends and family, and to provide a window into my world for people I may never meet but who are considering a move or visit to the places I have been.

So, when I left off, I had about 6 weeks until I left Venezuela. They were a busy 6 weeks, but the highlight of that time was a trip I took on a yacht. It all happened like this.

My neighbor, the one who had taken a fellow teacher and I out on his yacht for the day earlier in the year, proposed a weekend trip to Tortuga Island. This is an island that is only accessible by boat or private plane. There is one little hotel and a long runway of packed sand...and nothing else on the island.

 Megan (a fellow teacher who also went on the trip) and I planned the food and packed coolers for the trip. Cesar took care of the rest. His yacht has Cable TV, air conditioning, a kitchen, and he even has a captain to drive it so we can relax.

We left early on Saturday morning and traveled for over three hours without seeing any sign of land. My first glimpse of the island took my breath away. The turquoise, clear water of the ocean met with the pristine white beach for as far as my eye could see. There was not another boat or human in sight and no sign of civilization. We anchored the boat and started to explore. Over the next 24 hours we swam in the beautiful waters, walked around the island, played on the beach, snorkeled through the extensive reefs, ate amazing meals and slept (the yacht is so big, we each had our own air conditioned room). It was as close to paradise as I have ever been.

The trip home was a little rough due to winds and a choppy sea, but we arrived safely right at sundown on Sunday. I will always be thankful to my friend and neighbor, Cesar, for his generosity in giving me such an amazing adventure as a parting gift.