Venezuela - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 908

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By bus Buses operating the coastal highway between
Puerto La Cruz, Santa Fe and Cumaná all pass through
Playa Colorada. Shout “¡parada!” at the driver to alight
when you see the red sand. Buses from Puerto La Cruz
depart from beside the liquor store on C Demoncracia
outside the terminal. To get out of town, simply hail a
passing bus (every 30min) in the direction you need.

(Calle Cochaima) after dark. At the far
end of the beach, Santa Fe's bright-blue
market makes for entertaining wandering,
as well as a good spot to shop for fresh
produce for your posada's kitchen.
The area's best attraction is a day's
island-hopping in which you'll cruise
alongside dolphins, snorkel in coral reefs,
visit island fishing outposts and barbecue
your lunch on a secluded beach. You can
also hop across to popular individual
destinations such as Isla Arapo and La
Piscina from the lancheros (return trips cost
around BsF60/person) outside the market.
ARRIVAL AND TOURS
By bus The terminal is a 500m walk from the beach on
C La Plata. Busetas come and go regularly from 5am-7pm.
Destinations Cumaná (half-hourly; 1hr) passing via
Mochima 30min away; Puerto La Cruz (half-hourly; 40min)
passing Playa Colorada 10min away.
Tour operators You can arrange island-hopping through
your posada; one excellent guide is Jhonny ( T 0293 808
0793) at Posada Bahía del Mar (see below), who does full-
day trips for BsF70 per person. Local guide Sergio ( T 0293
231 0058, E [e-mail]) offers tours of the
land behind Santa Fe for around BsF70/person. He takes
tourists to coffee, mango and cacao plantations as well as
visiting local Indians and swimming at a beautiful waterfall.

ACCOMMODATION
Most of Playa Colorada's accommodation consists of purpose-
built posadas that rent budget rooms and apartments for
longer stays.
Ì Jakera Lodge On the main highway across from the
beach T 0293 808 7057, W jakera.com. Resembling the secret
retreat from The Beach , Scottish-owned Jakera Lodge looks
and feels every centimetre the backpacker accommodation.
There are hammocks (BsF175 with a private locker), dorms
and doubles are clean, and mosqutio nets are provided. Prices
are per person and include b reakfast and dinn er. Span ish
courses are also on offer. Dorms BsF210 , doubles BsF350
Posada Jaly C Marchán T 0293 808 3246 or T 0416 681
8113. French-Canadian owner Jacques, who speaks French
and English, is running this posada in his retirement. The
house is surrounded by a big garden, with a shared kitchen,
boo k exchan ge and five spacious rooms, all with en suite and
a/c. BsF250
Villa Nirvana C Marchán T 0293 808 7844, E rita.pascal
@hotmail.com. Straight-talking owner Rita built this
beautiful posada after moving from Zurich. She offers the
cheapest rooms in town, with apartments, roomy doubles
and two littl e units w ithout a/ c for thos e on a tight budget.
Apartments BsF400 , doubles BsF200

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ACCOMMODATION
Camping on the beach is discouraged for safety reasons.
All listings below are on the C Cochaima beach road. Café
del Mar also runs a posada (see opposite).
Hotel Cochaima T 0293 642 0728. Matriarch Margot
runs the town's first posada, which has cheap rooms and a
family atmosphere. Numerous white-tiled rooms (a/c, en
suite) are faded but spotless, while the upper floor has
excellent sea vie ws. Disco unts negotiable for multiple
nights and guests. BsF180
Ì Posada Bahía del Mar T 0293 231 0073,
W posadabahiadelmar.com. Charming French couple
Mado and Jean (and their friendly pets) run this delightful
posada with its entrance right on the beach. Rooms are
nicely decorated, clean and spacious; ask for No 7 or No 8,
open-fronted doubles with fantastic views. Fast wi-fi,
delicious smells from the outdoor kitch en and th e laundry
service comes included in the room fee. BsF200
Posada Sierra Inn T 0293 231 0042, E posadasde
[e-mail]. The family atmosphere is infectious
in this colourful beach posada where chunky rocking
chairs are favoured. There's a communal kitchen below an
outpost-like beach lookout, decent rooms with a/c a nd TV,
and hot water when the electricity permits. BsF160

EATING
Other than the stalls lining the beach, there's only one
place in the village at which to eat.
Las Carmitas 3a Transversal T 0416 322 8887. There are
only five tables, so waiting for a seat is often necessary at
the weekends. Not that grabbing a beer and chatting with
the other waiting people is much of an inconvenience.
Serves pretty good burgers (BsF25), sandwiches (BsF20),
pizzas (BsF55) and the like. Daily noon-8.30pm.

Santa Fe
One of the best spots along Venezuela's
coastline, SANTA FE is thin strip of sand is
lined with good-value accommodation,
crystal-clear water and hordes of pelicans
whose signature fishing style is very
entertaining to watch. The atmosphere
is a little sketchier away from the
well-populated seafront, and you should
stick to the beach and road behind it