HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
July 22, 2008 I spent about 3 months in Caracas , Venezuela this year, and because of good luck rather than any intrinsic virtue of Venezuela , I had a fine time, with excellent accommodations in an upper-middle-class neighborhood. Caracas has both an elevated crime rate and exasperating inflation, but I managed to work around these bad points. On expiry of my visa, I opted to go to Barranquilla , Colombia . Several people had told me that Barranquilla was tranquil, and that I would have no problems there. Inexperienced with local transport, I went in an Ormeño bus to Cúcuta , Colombia . I had to buy a ticket all the way to Bogotá though I was going only a mile over the border. This stupid ride cost me $163. It should have been $40, but that’s Venezuela for you! Once in Cúcuta, where my Venezuelan currency practically vanished at the money-changer’s, I had to cab to the terminal. There I caught a microbus for Aguachica , Colombia . Since I was the only passenger left when we got to Bucaramanga , I was sent in a cab from there to Aguachica. This route was exceedingly beautiful. We were in the green, green Andes all the way, with picturesque villages dotting the landscape. In Aguachica, I caught an Expreso Brasilia bus for Barranquilla . The road deteriorated on this leg of the journey, with dirt surface here and there, and stretches of one-lane ‘highway’, monitored by policemen. My stay in Barranquilla would have been prosaic in the extreme, but for a double murder that I witnessed right on the corner of Calle 39 and Carrera 27 one morning as I was on my way to the store. This vicious assassination by five men on motorcycles, who surrounded a compact car occupied by two retired policeman, made me anxious for the remainder of my stay in Colombia . The murders took place on May 28. In mid-June, I decided to move to Cali , Colombia , although several people told me Cali was far wickeder than Barranquilla . My reason for moving was that I am making my way slowly back to Argentina , figuring that a series of 500-mile bus rides would be the most convenient way. I enjoy sitting on buses, except that, in South America , they almost invariably play obnoxious music, like rock-and-roll and rap, all day long. Despite Cali´s reputation, I did just fine there. Downtown Cali is a slum, but I dealt with it. Anyway, my visa was to expire July 22. So I went to the Terminal de Transportes of Cali , where I was told that Flota Magdalena, an international bus company, would have a bus for Guayaquil , Ecuador and points beyond on July 16, at 5 AM, but it wouldn’t be known whether there were available seats till the bus arrived. I had no phone in my room and I was reluctant to wake the landlady at 2 AM to have her call a cab for me. Not knowing whether there would be any cabs on the street at that time and chary about being out in Murderville in the wee hours, I decided to go to the terminal on July 15, at 10 PM, and sit it out till 5 AM. I did so, but the Magdalena bus was hours and hours late. At noon on July 16, I finally learned there would be no seats. I had waited for 14 hours for nothing. I went over to Flota Bolivariano, a domestic line, and bought a ticket on a bus for Ipiales , Colombia , and this bus was 3 hours late as well. I arrived in Ipiales at 3 AM and had to put up there for the night. In the morning, I took a cab to Rumichaca, a natural bridge right on the Colombia-Ecuador frontier. Departure and entry customshouses flank the rushing torrent that flows in a chasm beneath the bridge. I made the stupid mistake of letting a Colombian money-changer swindle me of about $75 at Rumichaca. From Rumichaca, I went by microbus to Tulcán , Ecuador , a town of 50,000 that is the capital of Carchi Province . Carchi is supposed to be a very dangerous area, but being on a bus with a dozen locals in mid-day seemed safe enough. This region is very beautiful, though, with farms sprawling over the gentler slopes of the high Andes . Most people who live in Carchi and environs wear coats or sweaters. In Tulcán, I bought a ticket from Linea San Cristóbal for Guayaquil , and at about 2 PM on July 17, I was finally rolling. We passed through Quito at about 8 PM. I had considered staying in Quito , but, at an altitude of 9,350 feet , Quito is always cool. I arrived in Guayaquil , which is about 100 miles north of the Peruvian frontier, at 4 AM on July 18. At sea level, Guayaquil is always warm. I got a room right downtown, and in the morning, I went out to find a very stately, clean, orderly city, seemingly safe and secure. The Guayas River , flowing into the Gulf of Guayaquil , an inlet of the Pacific Ocean , is 6 blocks away. Greater Guayaquil has a population of 2,500,000, the largest metropolitan center in the country. Ecuador uses American money, so I’ll be able to replenish the dollars that I spent in Venezuela buying bolívares on the black market. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
