Venezuelan shake down

Today we attempted to check in to Los Roques. Although not an official port of entry for Venezuela, the Doyle cruising guide and Noonsite both advised that it was possible to stay for 14 days by visiting several government offices and paying some fees. The fees would come to about $130 and be paid to the Los Roque authority to help with the preservation of the area as a marine park.

However, when we went to the Guarda Costa office to check in, we were told we could only stay for two days. After some further discussion they explained that it might be possible to stay for a week and that they would come by the boat in a few hours. True to their word, they did come by the boat a few hours later and advise us that for $500USD they could grant us a "special" permit to stay for 7 days. We declined to purchase the "special permit" so they told us we had to leave by Friday.