There are bus lines for different areas. For example, if you want to go to Punta de Piedras (where the ferry that runs between Puerta la Cruz and Margarita docks), you can get a bus in Porlamar. The Mercedes line is located at the corner of San Nicolas and Mariño. Walk down Mariño a few more blocks and you can take the Union Tubores line.

They load one bus at a time. When that bus is full, it leaves and they bring in another bus to fill. If you prefer to sit near the front, you can wait till the bus leaves and get on the next bus right away. In the early morning and during siesta, the bus does not fill as fast. In the evening, the bus fills fast and sometimes picks up passengers along the road besides.

Some of the buses are nice and some are shabby. It costs a lot of money to maintain a bus. Most of the parts are imported from the United States.

It is not wise to talk loud on the bus. When people want to get off, they call out to the driver and if there is a lot of noise, he cannot hear them. If you want to get off at the next bus stop, just call out, “La parada.” If you want to get off at the corner, say, “La esquina.” If you want to get off at Sigo, you can say, “Sigo,” but since that is also a verb that means, “I follow,” it might be wiser to call it what the locals do, “La provedeeria.” If you want off at the road that goes to the airport, “Rayado.” However, this is pronounced more like, “rye ow oh” and said very quickly. You can always just get out of your seat and work your way to the front of the bus and they get the idea.

Most buses have a money collector. Once the bus is well under way, he will go to the back of the bus and collect the money from the passengers. You can tell him where you are going when you pay, if you are getting off sooner than the end of the line. If they don’t have the change, you may end up paying an extra hundred bolivars.

There are also buses that go to La Ascuncion (the capital), Juan Griego, Playa el Agua, San Juan, Villa Rosa, etc.

There is a plaza in Porlamar. Calle Gomez and Calle Guevera are closed to traffic and what we Americans call, “walking streets.” There are lots of interesting stores along these streets and vendors set up along it also. If you need a restroom in this area, you will have to go to a restaurant and buy something so you can use their restroom. There are no public restrooms available in this area other than in restaurants. It is not unusual for a clerk to follow you around the store. They are watching for shoplifters but also are there if you have any questions. They might even hold something up and say, “Grande, grande.” People here do not seem to think anything if you are overweight. The diet, skinny thin, concept like the US has, is nonexistent here. They just want you to know they have clothes that will fit you. If you wear skin tight and your gut shows, it is no big deal.

On Calle Igualdad, you can catch a bus to other areas. Look on the front and side windows and they have written where they go. Sambil is a large mall and is as nice as a mall in the US. They have public restrooms and a food court, McDonalds and Subway along with lots of other restaurants. Criolla is the word for local food and it is very good. Unicasa is a grocery store. Hilton is the hotel, of course. Sigo is a grocery store.

There is a large brand new one right next to Sambil. The older one is more out of town and has an enclosed mall like area. It costs 10.000 bs for a taxi from the old Sigo to the airport. It is 18.000 bs for a Sigo taxi from the new Sigo to the airport. Rattan Hypermarket is on 4 de Mayo and has groceries, housewares, furniture, music, dvds, videos, office supplies, and much, much more. They accept US dollars. Rattan Depot is a lumber type store.

They also have a mall like area next to it where you can buy a ferry ticket, eat at McDonalds, go bowling, buy clothes, buy Häagen-Dazs ice cream and much, much more. When you are ready to go you can catch a bus that says centro back to the plaza area. DO NOT CHANGE MONEY ON THE WALKING STREETS! There will be men walking along, telling you a great exchange rate. You could either get shortchanged or robbed. There are a lot of nice people on Margarita but there are scoundrels too. I still feel safer here than in the good old USA. So, come on down and take a gander at the island. I think you will like it. It will be an experience if nothing else. The locals seem pleased if you ride the bus with them.

This article was posted on July 07th, 2005

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