What a ride it was, getting from Colombia to Venezuela to catch our return flight to South Africa for some well deserved downtime.
Our five day’s of transit involved:
· Dingy ride
· Taxi ride
· 24 hour bus ride
· Taxi ride to hotel
· Taxi ride to the airport
· 6 hour flight from Caracas to Brazil
· 12 hour delay in Brazil
· 12 hour flight from Brazil to South Africa
This adventure kicks off with an early morning dingy ride from Moonjoos to the mariner, a manic taxi ride from the mariner to the bus terminus and then a 24 hour bus ride from Cartagena in Colombia, on Express Brasilia, which is a luxury liner, comfortable and apparently safe. This leg of our journey home should take us 25 hours, if all goes well.
We depart Moonjoos at 06h00, really early thanks to me simply because I was done with life on water and I was craving solid ground. The four bags we had totaled 70kg’s which was quite a weight to lug around but it is our entire life, so no complaining allowed. We load up the taxi and we are on our way to the terminus. The elderly, nervous acting taxi driver insists on talking and texting on his mobile while driving. Driving is not the driving you and I are used to, it’s the manic drivers around you that are totally unnerving, moto-taxi’s (motor bike taxi’s), busses, cars and pedestrians all jammed into one lane and of course our driver who assumes he is multi-skilled and able! Just 15 minutes and we arrive and bale out of the taxi and into the parking lot. Phew, relieved to be one step closer to home.
We have a cup of coffee at one of the take-aways and we proceed to join the queue for the bus. First you queue to get your bags labeled and then loaded up while a mug shot is taken of each passenger. Weird I think. Next queue, body and hand luggage search. Then we were allowed to board the bus. No delays and we are off, saying goodbye to the beautiful Cartagena but no looking back.
My excitement is growing and I can hardly contain myself. In just 5 days we land in South Africa. Nothing could possibly cloud my excitement I think to myself. Funny ha ha!
The toilet on the bus was horrible at the start of the journey and by the time we arrived in Caracas the toilet was in a scary state with used loo paper lying all over the floor, sticking to your shoes when trying to escape! No one on the bus spoke a word of English which resulted in a very unsociable journey as our Spanish is limited to the formalities but not a good healthy conversation. This was a killer considering I like to chat to anyone and everyone.
The road from Cartagena to the border is uneventful and long. At the border we are all asked to leave the bus and report to immigration on the Colombia side, then a 2 minute walk to immigration on the Venezuela side. It’s sunset, there are old American cars parked randomly, the air is smoky from the cooking by the local vendors, people shouting “offering” money exchange, stray dogs everywhere, litter all over the street. And there we were, the only three white people in site. Joshua being the only blonde haired, blue eyed child around. Saying that though, we didn’t feel unsafe which was odd but we were super aware of our surroundings and the people keeping a close eye on our movements. We grab a local bake each and we are off. More excited now knowing we are in Venezuela and only another 13 hours to go until we arrive in Caracas.
Just 20 minutes into the next leg of our journey and SMACK, a rock hits the window of the bus. The conductor shouts for us to close all curtains and the lights are turned off. My eyes are the size of dinner plates but still calm and excited. Next minute the bus comes to a halt and the driver climbs off the bus, leaving the passengers all wondering what the heck is going on. He is back on the bus and the instruction is that the Venezuelan soldiers want each passenger to pay a 50 Bolivar bribe or the soldiers will haul us all off the bus along with all the luggage and they will take their time searching. Barry and I stand our ground and say no to their request so they did as they promised and hauled us all off the bus and conducted an hour long search. After repacking and settling we are off!
mmmm…. This happened four times! Which was a little frustrating because deep down I knew our journey was being delayed by and hour each time. Finally as the sun begins to rise we realize we are only 3 hours outside of Caracas. This last part of the journey was breath-taking and without incident. The mountains rose high above us and the valleys deep below us. Everything green but the amount of litter lying around EVERYWHERE was just so appalling! What should be a beautiful country is actually a sight for sore eyes.
Finally we pull into the very same bus terminal that we started out journey at 11 months ago. It was so cool! We jumped off the bus, loaded up our luggage and made our way to the entrance, found a taxi and we were on route to our hotel. Well as we approached we realized that the hotel hadn’t given us the correct address, no problem, the driver took us to exchange cash and also took us to a very cool hotel called, Hotel Luna. Inexpensive, clean, airconditioning, a hot shower, a restaurant and bar downstairs and WIFI. Whoooohooooooo finally some internet access!
We splurged! We booked in for the night and the following day until 4pm. We indulged in as many showers as we could possibly handle, we drank ice cold beers and creamy cuppacino’s. We walked the streets and did lots of window shopping.
The exchange rate legally is 1USD = 6 Bolivar. We exchanged 1USD = 60 Bolivar! So for 20USD (R200) we stayed in a hotel, drank, ate out at restaurants and I bought a new bikini! What a blast!
Caracas was awesome! There are jungle gyms and climbing walls throughout the streets for the children. The most amazing wall art decorates the city. The people are friendly and able to speak a little bit of English, which made buying my bikini easy…lol.
After a fantastic 24 hours of luxury we were back in a taxi and on our way to the airport. The toughest part of our journey was over. We are two hours early so we neatly stack the luggage, climb onto them and we chill. Very aware of the possibility of someone sticking something into a bag, we take turns on guard. Finally the TAM Airlines counter opens and we join the queue. Joshua of course makes friends with most of the queue to the wait was cool.
Exit tax is 140 Bolivar per person, no special rates for children under a certain age. So we had to cough up half of our last money (put aside for dinner), with another hour and a half to go until the boarding gate opens. Baz and Joshua are hungry by this time so the boys grumbled along the way. A sub to share with a cup of coffee and a water each, we make our way to the gates and we get through customs and immigration in 10 minutes. We take our seats and wait another 30 minutes, PING boarding gate is open and quickly the three of us are excited.
This time around the plane is clean, new, smart air hostesses AND they are serving DINNER! Oh thank goodness for that! Joshua gets busy, seatbelt on, click, opens up his pillow and blanket, his headphones are on, his sleeping mask is placed strategically on his forehead and the music is playing with eyes closed and a look on his face of pure comfort and satisfaction. After 11 months of hardcore travelling, this was heaven! So I followed suite and got comfy too. Soon we were up in the air and the movies are available to watch and it’s time for drinks and dinner.
Red wine and fruit juices, dinner was delicious. Thankfully the airlines don’t serve rice and lentils because that would have sucked! Barry indulged in a number of glasses of red wine, eventually the air hostess told him to help himself. A comfy six hour flight and we land at Sao Paulo, Brazil and 5am in the morning. Our connecting flight is at 18h00 that evening. Eish and I though the 24 hour bus ride was manic. Thankfully Joshua slept from 7am to 11am but when he woke he was full of energy and hungry! Our last twenty dollars and we can only pay for food in Pesos, with the exchange rate being 1USD = 2.2Pecos and the forex desk takes 25Pecos. Oh dear. We can’t actually afford to buy anything to eat and it’s lunchtime.
A plan is made and Joshua and I spend the 20 USD in the Duty Free shop. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the money and we walked out gleaming with a chocolate lunch. Things we would never buy in normal circumstances. We enjoyed a delicious picnic in the waiting area while the rest of the world buzzed around us.
Barry nursing a hangover discovered the plugs under the chairs and so got our devices charged up and we accessed wifi so we were able to communicate with everyone along the way. After a pretty stressful and long day we are called to the gate to board our final flight back to South Africa. We stepped into comfort once again and took full advantage of the drinks, food and attention from the hostesses. Eleven hours later we touched down at OR Tambo airport in Jozi, South Africa. With a sigh of relief, a smile on my face and an excited soul we said our goodbyes to those we made friends with on the flight. We load up our heavy bags and we leave the airport….
WOOOOSH back into daily life in South Africa but this time with a wonderfully view on life, South Africa and the future. More exciting times ahead! Next stop, Uganda! My first adventure, spending time with the Gorillas high up in the mountains. I am super uber excited!
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