Introduction

Back in the end of 2015, I took a family trip to this little desertic Island just south of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela, called Isla de Coche. Apart from having some of the most beautiful coasts, and a perfect combination of winds for Kitesurfing, it was once home to a very famous salt company. Now in ruins, the island makes most of its money from tourists and related services. But I wasn't really interested about tourists, or salt companies.

ENSAL, a dead salt company

I thought about this journey as a passage to a new self. This island, with its desertic landscape, somehow bridged two epochs of my life: I had never been to a place this lonely before. Isla de Coche was a mysterious door I eventually crossed (barefoot, for the most part). And so, after enjoying its silence and the long, almost unending beaches, I decided to take a closer look into the island's past; a look at the surface of people's lives in the Island: their houses, their stores, and their abandoned buildings.

A look at the doors of Isla de Coche.

I hope you enjoy this humble work.

Doors of the Caribbean

Doorway in an abandoned building. In the center, the remains of an unfinished church

A door leading to a room full of rubble

A graffitied door leading to a now roofless bathroom. To the right, a destroyed warehouse

Turquoise house with two electricity meters, likely stealing electricity from street lamps

A man rests in what seems to be a living room. A PDVSA oil barrel sits in a rough backyard

A house with curtains for a door. Two men rest on the porch, one cutting a wire with a knife

The unfinished front door of a house with satellite TV

An abandoned lottery agency, its door still holding a faded political poster

A mother and her child eating in the doorway. A white bucket, likely for gathering water, is in front of them. In the window, a sign displaying items for sale. In the wall, the signature of Venezuela's deceased ex-president Hugo Chávez

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If given the opportunity, I would go back to this lonely Island. A peaceful sensation, hidden in its silence and calmness, embraces you as soon as you set foot in its shore. I would go back, yes. But not to take pictures. Perhaps to walk and ponder about the true nature of this place.

-SA

If you liked my pictures, make sure to follow me! I'll be posting another series of pictures, also taken here, about a couple of Kitesurfers I met. If you like sports photography, you can't miss it! You can also find these pictures, and many more, in my Instagram account @zickpic

Remember to leave a comment below to let me know what you think of my pictures :) And, if you like them, consider leaving an upvote to make my day nicer.

All pictures were taken with my trusty Nikon D90 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G, except maybe the first one, where I used my 30mm f/1.8G.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.