The Venezuelan islands of Los Roques are the most southern islands in the Caribbean, and they are not the easiest place to get to, which is why they are becoming the exclusive hideaway of the rich and famous.
To get there you need to fly from Caracas, in a small plane, probably a ten seater propeller plane, and so you get the chance to clearly see what is so attractive about Los Roques.
The sea is so shallow, it looks like turquoise glass from the plane, with several islands sticking out of this perfect sea, some absolutely tiny.
The aircraft lands on Gran Roque, on a very dusty airstrip, no real formalities or help here, you pick up your bags yourself, and literally within a couple of minutes you can be in your accommodation.
The first thing that will strike you is the wind, it blows all the time, and the second thing is the complete lack of motor vehicles, I think there might be a couple of trucks to deliver water and take away rubbish, and a few beach buggy type of vehicle.
Water is very precious here, the drinking water is desalinated.
There really is nothing to do here if you don’t fish, sail or dive, and added to that is kite surfing. This looks incredibly exciting, and it is a great place if you want to do that sort of thing. You could of course just pose; it’s that sort of place.
It’s impossible to say what is the best beach, because every island is surrounded by a beautiful beach, and often you will be the only person on the beach on the island you are visiting. Life here is simple, and it’s easy to get yourself a boat hire to take you pretty anywhere you want to go.
What is so lovely about Los Roques is the lack of development, lack of resort hotels, and lack of visitors.
The whole of Los Roques is a National Marine Park, and the only tourism is in the north east corner.
No building is allowed to be higher than two floors, so no resorts, just Pousadas, which are converted family homes, and some are very small, luxurious, with a fantastic level of personal service.
In terms of the feel of the place. It isn’t really Caribbean, more southern European, a mixture of Portuguese and French, and in fact most of the Pousadas being run by southern Europeans. The main square on Gran Roque is French; you almost feel there should be a game of boule going on!!
This is a place to be seen now before, as it inevitably will, mass tourism hits the tiny Islands of Los Roques
Over the course of the past decade, a significant number of men and women from different parts of the world have taken up gardening. In this regard, these people have found themselves interested both in creating magnificent flower gardens as well as in cultivating thriving vegetable gardens.
A majority of gardeners still rely on what might be considered “mainstream methods” when it comes to the care and maintenance of either their flower or vegetable gardens. In other words, these gardeners tend to rely upon various commercially availabable chemical treatments and products to care for their gardens. Various types of garden-related chemicals — from pesticides to fertilizers — are available readily at garden supply shops and discount retail stores. More often than not, these basic products can be obtained for a fairly reasonable cost.
As a person becomes more involved in the care and maintenance of his or her garden, such an individual tends to become more conscious and aware of how the materials he or she utilizes to tend a garden space actually effects the environment and the plants being grown (particularly vegetables). Consequently, many experienced gardeners (and, in reality, an ever growing number of novices) have turned to organic gardening practices.
Organic gardening practices actually have been around and utilized by people since certain ancient tribes gave up hunting and gathering and settled down to grow their own crops and to maintain their own domesticated animals. In their most basic form, organic gardening practices consists of the use of naturally occuring materials (organic materials) in the care and treatment of a garden patch — vegetable or floral. No man made chemicals or any type are utilized in true organic gardening regimens.
For example, when it comes to providing nutrients for an organic gardening, two resources normally are relied upon: compost and manure. Likewise, when it comes to the issue of pest control, natural steps are taken to rid a garden of offensive bugs and insects. In this regard, benign insects that do not damage plants but who prey upon bugs that harm foilage are placed in a garden or patch to deal with a harmful infestation problem or situation.
In the final analysis, people who espouse organic gardening practices and techniques maintain that the goal or such natural programs is to nourish and protect the soil well into the future rather than providing a quick, seasonal fix for one planting period. Through organic gardening, soil and water contamination is reduced significantly. Additionally, when it comes to the production of vegetables, the food generated from an organic garden is free of harmful chemicals and deemed to be far healthier for human consumption.
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