Getting close to the boarder again.

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We tried to make it to the Venezuelan boarder but time and the heat prevented it. We found a hotel, near to where the collectivos leave for the boarder. The earliest one left at 6 am so planned to be on that one.

We went for a walk around town and found the ocean. We walked out onto a pier that went out for ages. There were boats tied up at the end and kids fishing. It was like Tologa except it was made of wood, it was much cooler out at the end. Looking back at land the beach was covered in coconut trees and really looked beautiful.

Walking back to the hotel we came across something going on. It turned out to be a funeral so we walked through the crowd into a plaza that something was going to happen. Eventually a band got up on the stage and gave a concert and a beauty queen came in a fire engine with the siren going and then she danced on stage. Lots of people came to watch and there were kids playing with bubbles. The funeral was still going on while the concert was going as well.

After a really hot night we got up early and left on the first collectivo of the day. This was a really nice comfortable car. The car dropped us in Maicao, a very confused town, very dirty with lots of rubbish. When we were dropped off we were unsure what to do because we were just dropped on a corner. Paul sort of asked for Maricaibo and we got pointed to a car down the road. This was another collectivo, a large old American car the size of a limo with plenty of room, with 3 other passengers that was to take us over the boarder to Venezuala. The boarder crossing was also very confusing as only Paul and I had to get the passports stamped, everyone else just had to wait for us. This car took us over the boarder to Maricaibo bus station. We were stopped 9 times between the boarder and bus station, for passport checks and identity card checks for the others. Maricaibo is holding a football competition so I think it was security for that, that we were stopped so often. There were police everywhere. Between the boarder and Maracaibo we passed salt flats and it was hot and dry with cactus being the main plant.

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