Isla Margarita in the Caribbean was once the pearl of this country's domestic and international tourism industry - as well as a budget travel bonanza, which is why I was sent by my then magazine Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel to cover it way back in 1998 - and this has always been its most popular beach. But this photo dates from 2008, during the ¨good old days,¨ and the island has fallen on hard times thanks to the dire economic and security situation under the ¨Chavista¨ dictatorship which has had Venezuela in its grip since 1999, the year after I visited. What a tragedy...


Antoniofermin