Venezuela

I was warned along the way by other backpackers not to go there… but I did anyways… Was very curious to see it for myself… Venezuela was intriguing to me…. A few years ago I saw this really cool Venezuelan movie “Kidnappings Express”, violent, bloody and shot in Tarantino style. I remember being affected by this movie and could not believe that kidnappings portrayed in the movie were for real.

So here I go, leaving all backpackers behind, bought my bus ticket to Santa Elena, the Venezuelan border town, 16 hours away from Manaus, Brazil. Right away I could see that things in Venezuela were a bit different… the bus that took me to Venezuela did not have light, no light even in the bathroom, no movies, just pitch dark and quiet. So that you have no choice but put yourself asleep… at least till the morning... The next day I was on another long 16-hour bus ride to Caracas… Same thing, no light, no movies, peeing in the dark on the super speedy moving bus… Plus the bus driver was very unhappy and would not even look my way when I asked him to let me off at specific terminal in Caracas… Miraculously, in the morning, the driver decided to play a movie for us, the scary movie about kidnappings in Mexico City… The next thing I know, in the middle of the scary scene, the driver opens the door and announces “Caracas” … Welcome to Caracas!

Caracas is not for backpackers! The cheapest and only hostel (at about $20) is in the dangerous area called Savana Grande… with pimps, prostitutes, crime and next to hotels that charge by the hour.

When I arrived to the hostel, I realized it was really nasty and scary… So, I left my backpack there to see if I could find anything else… Nope, everything was either double the price or rooms by the hour… I had no choice but to come back…

Then, it was like scenes from a scary movie for me… The cocky nasty owner was soo pissed that I went to see other places, that he refused to give me a room… and basically kicked me out with all of my belongings on the street. That was not good at all, I was scared… We, tourists are such targets there …. We have things, electronics and cash… lots of cash… The thing is that in Venezuela , the official exchange rate is 1 to 2, while the black market rate is 1 to 5… SO, all the tourists who are aware of the black market bring cash with them… Then, don’t know how that happened, but I was so pissed and fearless and angry… and mostly scared. I guess, as some sort of defense mechanism, I absolutely lost my head, I kicked the metal door with my feet 3 times and repeatedly called out the “F” word … I was obnoxious and was lucky he did not kick me back…

In tears and scared, I went to the expensive hotel across the street and asked them to let me stay in the lobby to recompose, make phone calls and find a place to stay. When the bell boy told me that I had to go back to that hostel to buy my phone card, I burst into tears.. so he had no choice but to lend me his phone card J. The bell boy became my buddy afterwards and was quite nice to me… I left all of my things in this hotel, and went around looking for something more affordable.

I felt a bit safer to walk around without my bags… but still got lots of looks… Brrrrr…. After some time, I found a decent place, far over my budget… $35 .. but had no choice , had to sleep somewhere that night… Even tough the new hotel was only 2 blocks away, the bell boy suggested I take a taxi… The greedy cab driver wanted to charge me 8 dollars to drive me 2 blocks.. I refused… so they suggested that I run!!! Real fast!!! Because I was unsafe there… SO, I ran..!! I don’t know what it was really, a true danger or just paranoia, but I ran! Once I got to my nasty but expansive hotel, I turned my AC on… and then I heard machine gun… shooting outside…. .. Wow, then it was just like in that movie… Finally, I had a place to sleep… but I was so ready to abandon this city early in the morning!

To be alone and scared in Caracas is not cool… and to be poor in Caracas is also not cool. I still had to exchange my dollars to Bolivas.. but was too shocked by the whole experience and did not want to go outside… Besides it was not like I could just go to atm, I had to find street husslers to change my money on black market. Unfortunatly, the hotel was demanding that I pay for the night upon check in… I told them they need to wait till I go to the bank…

In reality, I had a friend in Caracas, but I could not reach him all this time, so I was about to leave Caracas early in the morning… but luckily he found me and took care of me there. My friend ended up finding me a home with his friend, who was actually former Miss Venezuela in the 90’s, in the suburbs of Caracas, where I was safe and could get to the coffee shop if I wanted to. I turned out to have a great time in Caracas afterward.. when being taken care off by local. But the truth is Caracas is not a random tourist friendly or backpacker friendly. It’s the only country that I know of that does not have the Tourist office and does not have any tourist information or maps even in hotels.