Ciudade Boliver - Caracas - Maracaibo (4th May)
WOOPA farewell Ciudade Boliver!
After spending a stressful (not to mention claustrophobic) 24 hours in a hotel we, with much relief and spring in our step, sauntered to the airport and caught a flight to Caracas this morning.
We happily soared above the clouds and relaxed into the ride...arriving 2.5 hours later at Maiguetia Airport (26 kms out of Caracas).
As we descended faces pressed to the window soaking in the blissful view of crystal blue sea, white sand coastline and soaring mountain excitement and elation overtook the fear and paranoia of the past 3 days.
Without a hitch we collected our baggage and proceeded to book a connecting flight to Maracaibo where we would catch a bus to Cartagena! ahh bliss - Carribbean coast and fishing were dominating our thoughts.
We found a corner possie and spent the day (and a fortune) playing cards and laughing (hindsight being a blessed thing) at the adventure (at the time hellish nightmare) that we had just experienced.
Our flight to Maracaibo left at 6 and a cool 40 minutes (approx 1.5 games of cards and a bread roll later) we landed! (so much for a 10 hour bus ride! we were extremely smug and it was 'high fives' all round).
A quick (and well negotiated) taxi ride to the bus terminal and we were set (feeling like we were coursing through a back of beyond Mexican shanty town complete with every early model American muscle car relic, pot holed roads, delapidated brick shantys and gutteral drunks) - surreal doesnt begin to describe it!Happily safe and air conned in our modern cab we were still smugly relishing our successful day and the adventure that awaited us ... but, as we have encountered thus far, things are never quite as easy as we first think (or are told! Lonely Planet is definitely NOT the Bible!)
In my broken Spanish I asscertained that there was in fact NO bus to Cartagena, but a two hour taxi ride to Maicao (just over the Colombian border) and then a bus to Cartagena. This might not sound like much of a mission, in fact, most people (no doubt) would (assuming all cabs are warranted, registered, road worthy and post 1991) think that this was a more comfortable option!
NOT SO! We were ushered to a car (a pre 1950 derelict Chevy relic, literally held together with duct tape) and assured it was NO PROBLEMO! just a 2 hour saunter to the border for a cool 240 Bolivers (80 NZ dollars for all three of us)...
NOt to be fooled (or killed in a car crash) I leapt into the throng of gathering hustlers, perverts, nosey locals and tour guides all eager to sell me a ticket (or something) and got my tough face on!
Sure enough, for the first time in Venezuela, it appeared we werent being lied to and after putting heads together we decided that a taxi was clearly our only option, however, a midnight entry into Colombia wasnt.
Thanking them all for their input we lugged our packs across the road to a 'hotel' (if you can imagine some Central american street with dust roads, crammed sidewalks and nervously stacked buildings bulging and shuddering with rot and mould) you would be bang on!Not to be disheartened, and in the throes of excitement we checked in...$12.50 each for the night seemed a bargain, until we were shown to our room! One bed and a mattress on the floor and, on further inspection, non water
dispensing taps and shower - instead a bucket and scoop in the corner! Managing to semi soap and rinse ourselves we are settled in for a night of snatched excited and nervous sleep ready for our 4am wake up and 5am mission to Colombia!
BRING IT ON!
