adonna once sang of "La Isla Bonita. " She may have had Margarita in mind when she wrote the song, but not because it is a particularly pretty island. Like the other islands in the Lesser Antilles, such as Bonaire and Aruba, it's very arid and scorched. Brown is much more prevalent here than green. The beaches are okay, but not great. The ocean is a greener hue here, not turquoise as it is farther north. The main town of Porlamar is a dump - a haphazard mix of high-rise development, urban and commercial buildings, and suburban sprawl. There are billboards everywhere. And trash - it's not a clean island. (You'll see wealthy, supposedly educated people in their brand-new SUVs toss beer cans and trash out the window; it boggles the mind how!) The bottom line is, the picture we're painting is not all that lovely.

So why do we (and maybe Madonna) like Margarita so much? It's the people. The Venezuelans are so much fun! They transcend the island's lack of beauty and cleanliness with their own beauty, spirit, and friendliness. (Remember, Venezuela has had more finalists and winners in the Miss Universe pageant than any other country.) And they love to party and have fun (see "Focus on Margarita," in the book). The other reason is that it is still cheap here. The U.S. dollar has never been stronger. A standard room at the top hotel on the island, the Hilton Margarita & Suites, is well under $200 a night (a rarity in the Caribbean), and a good meal at a good restaurant will cost you around $25 per person.

Most of the visitors to Margarita are from Caracas - called caraqueños - or from Europe (mostly Italians). There aren't a lot of Americans here, although you will run into a few on package tours at hotels and in town. They'd look at us in the elevator, trying to figure out if we spoke English or not. We pretend we don't. "Lo sentimos, no hablamos Ingles." It's cruel, we know, but it's so much fun!