Isla de Coche (''Coche Island'') is one of three islands forming the Nueva Esparta State of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, located in the Caribbean between

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

and the mainland. The other two islands are Isla Margarita, the main island of the state, and

Cubagua Cubagua Island or Isla de Cubagua () is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Margarita Island and Coche Island. It is located north of the Araya Peninsula, the closest ...

, the smallest. Coche is coterminous with the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Villalba, with the

municipal seat A municipal seat or ''cabecera municipal'' is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a municipality or civil parish with other villes or towns subordinated. The term is used in Brazil, Colombia,San Pedro de Coche, the largest town. Moreover, Coche Island has continue to sustain the fishing tradition. It covers an area of ( long by ), with a population of about 8,200 (1999 census). The highest elevation of the island is above sea level. The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

is tropical, with an average temperature of approximately . Other towns on Coche besides San Pedro de Coche are

El Bichar EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, Guinima, El Amparo,

El Guamache EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

and

La Uva LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. The economy depends mainly on tourism.

History

The island was discovered in 1498 by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, populated by the Waika Rio indigenous people. First efforts to settle Coche was made in the early 16th century. There was previous population of refugees originating from the city of Nueva Cádiz which was destroyed by a tropical storm on

Island. All settlers, mostly the

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

daughters, abandoned Isla Coche in 1574. The next successful settlement took place in the 19th century, and from this date Coche is still inhabited. El Amor Beach, Coche Island (4)

The island is contained as the municipality of Villalba, with both having San Pedro de Coche as their capital. Escudo Villalba Nueva Esparta

Airport

Location City: Isla De Coche, Venezuela
Name:

Andrés Miguel Salazar Marcano Airport Andres Miguel Salazar Marcano Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Andrés Miguel Salazar Marcano) is an airport serving Isla de Coche, an island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta. The airport has been under the regional administration of the state ...

ICAO: SVIE

Details
Type: Airport (Aerodrome, Airfield)
Latitude: 10°47'40"N (10.794406)
Longitude: 63°58'54"W (-63.981589)
Datum: WGS 1984
Elevation: 10 ft (3 m)
Runways: 1
Longest: 3937 × 98 ft (1200 × 30 m)

Tourism

Coche Island is uniquely positioned for quality selective tourism (not massive). To the west of the island the conditions for

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

and

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

(strong winds over 50 km/h with a sea without waves) and trucks candle can be cited among the best in the world. It can see the effect of strong winds and continued in the sparse vegetation of the island, as seen in the image of San Pedro de Coche. On the road can be practiced the cycling, naturally with sunscreen to prevent sunburn, given the absence of clouds over the year. The temperature, though high, is pleasant in the fresh sea air, considering that breeze rages precisely in the hottest hours of the afternoon. On the island, there are good quality hotels that offer tourists all the necessary facilities for a pleasant stay. It also offers rides and tours both aquatic and terrestrial. Tourist purposes, Coche Island maintains close communication with

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...

and the Venezuelan mainland

Sucre State The Sucre State ( es, Estado Sucre, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Cumaná city. Sucre State covers a total surface area of and, as of the 2011 census, had a population of 896,921. The most important river in ...

In fiction

The story of the Polish writer

Arkady Fiedler Arkady Fiedler (28 November 1894 in Poznań – 7 March 1985 in Puszczykowo) was a Poles, Polish writer, journalist and adventurer. Life He studied philosophy and natural science at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and later in Poznań and ...

's novel "Robinson's Island" (''Wyspa Robinsona'', 1954) took place in Coche Island. The protagonist Jan (John) Bober, a half-Polish half-English Virginia pioneer, fled from government pursuit by a pirate ship. However it ran into heavy water and wrecked near the island. Jan and his two

Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Great ...

companions Arnak and Wagura (former slaves from the ship), the only survivors of the shipwreck, lived in 1725–1726 in the island. Later they received in the island a group of fled slaves from

and with combined forces defeated Spanish slaver pursuers and seized their ship. Fearing Spanish revenge, Jan and his followers left the island on the captured ship. Their adventures continued in the two next Arkady Fiedler's novels "Orinoco" (''Orinoko'', 1957) and "The White Jaguar" (''Biały Jaguar'', 1980).

References

External links

*
Airport information
{{authority control Geography of Nueva Esparta Venezuelan islands of the Leeward Antilles