Margarita, Venezuela (1950s)

[Music] it's the kind of Island you can dream about no hustle and bustle no problems every day is a perfect day and every night the island is bathed in Starlight the lives of its people are key to Eternal things the sea they love the incoming and outgoing of its ties it's Margarita Island just off the northern coast of Venezuela up until a few years ago you couldn't have reached Margarita except by a little boat since then quite a few changes have been made however they haven't altered Margarita's way of life and they're not likely to or nobody can change the sea but change has made the island more accessible to get a better idea where Margarita is located let's look at this map showing Venezuela's position on the Northern tip of South America Margarita's just 2 hours flight from Caracus you'll find plenty of taxis in Margarita's larger towns this is pamar its name means by the Sea and streets here are much wider than in most Spanish Colonial towns Venezuela is turning Margarita into an exotic vacation spot the big game fishing offshore is probably unequaled in the Caribbean and as you can see the islands's handicrafters are now catering to the tourist trade [Music] you just couldn't be seen in a hand me- down hat not in Margarita these hats are made of Cel grown on the [Music] island you can't say Margarita without thinking about pearls the span ards and their descendants have fished for pearls in Margarita's waters for over 400 years they're still known as among the richest beds in the world Venezuela's government has very wisely outlawed any mechanical means of gathering the oysters anything less selective than human hands can destroy thousands of potential Pearl bearing oysters in a single scoop they look casual these Pearl Seekers but there's an excitement in opening carefully chosen oysters that's shared by everybody in town a pearl that sold for $50,000 was found some years ago the yield in any one year runs about half a million dollar yes you can dive for pearls it's one of the big attractions of Margarita and if you've got a skin diving rig and a good pair of lungs you could end up with a [Music] necklace collecting pearls isn't too important when there's so much fun in just hunting for them well they haven't found that Oyster Bed this gentleman has his own way of finding pearls he digs them up right out of the sand that jug which he found in the ruins of an old Spanish Town held 9 lbs of pearls and some were already drilled for necklaces he's Dr Joseph krent A Venezuelan archaeologist thousands of glistening Beauties freshh from the sea you could buy the lot of them on Margarita for about $150,000 not too much if you don't like to dive for them old forts some with highly romantic histories are still standing on Margarita they were built as a defense against Pirates later when Venezuelans were fighting for their independence they were a defense against the fleets of the Spanish crown [Music] Margarita was several times ransacked by Pirates one of them Pierre Doan finally retired there and built a home which is still standing he was the richest Buccaneer in the Caribbean and is said to have buried an enormous treasure an old French Cannonball makes a nice souvenir you never lose sight of the fact on Margarita that you are on an island it's only 41 M long and 20 wide one of the many old towns that dot its 200 mil of beaches is juang GGO anyone for water skiing the bay at juang grigo is perfect for all water sports the climate has an invigorating desert likee gas Margarita's sheltered water is crystal clear with very little [Music] surf other parts of the island have a wild beauty that seems alien to its quiet towns the sea captured by Rock angrily shows its teeth robins and cruso would have felt at home on this stretch of beach nobody within miles and what do people do when they're playing Robinson cruso well they look for [Music] food she says she wants that one the big one [Music] the problem now is how to open it there's no zipper better try a machete there's no end of things to see and do on Margarita hidden Bay reveal strange sights rock formations curiously sculptured by the [Music] sea seabirds Roost on that rock and for a very good reason the waters beneath it team with fish there's a fishing boat coming in now they've stopped the motor mustn't disturb the schools of fish fishing is the number one industry in Margarita it's even bigger than the Pearl industry here the whole town turns out to net the hall men women and children all to hand when the strike is a big one the waters off Margarita fairly boil with fish red snapper Spanish mackerel Blue Fish pompo Lobster any morning at the colorful fish markets in pamar and juang grigo you can have your choice of at least 20 varieties of fish for the Sportsman there are blue marlin sailfish Tarpon Bone Fish and other sporty varieties these are [Music] tuna it's a great day when a catch like this is made they'll bring a good price in karacas and other Venezuelan cities and in scores of fishermen's homes the latch string will be out and there will be feasting and music and dancing [Music] this dance grew out of the fishing industry it tells an eternal story of the fisherman and the fish a story of Thanksgiving a story of people whose lives are key to the Sea they love and the gifts it brings n