Last hours in Venezuela

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I booked a flight from Merida to Caracas, to get further from there to Ecuador. From the city in Merida I had to take a taxi to the airport, which is a two hours drive. Everyone told me to be careful in choosing a taxi, because there are taxidrivers who are more interested in robing your things than bring you to a certain place. The man from the travelagency where I booked the flight offered me to bring me to the airport to the same price as it would coast with a taxi. I agreed and thought that would probably be safer. I appeared on time in the travelagency the day of my flight. But there was far and wide nobody who would give me a ride to the airport. Half an hour later appeared a man in a suit and sunglasses and a very posh car (a model you barely see in Venezuela, where they usually drive the old american cars). He turned out to be my driver and I entered the car with a strange feeling. He was talking and talking about business with me and after a bit he told me that his wife is going to be on the same flight and we would pick her up in some minutes. I was already nervous, cause we were on a delay, but he told me that we had more time as we actually need. So we were driving to a very modern neighbourhood and finally to his house. I felt so uncomfortable as he drove through a big portal which was closing automatically behind us. He parked his car and offered me a coffee. But I was actually not at all in the mood to drink a coffe now. I just wanted to go to this airport and not hanging around in a strange place with a strange man. I already thought I wouldn't make my flight and he would have quiet other interests than bringing me to the airport. But in this minute his wife and kid came out of the house and after an other half an hour we finally drove further. I was reliefed. But then they told me to pick up friend of them, which brought us an other delay. Then the wife started to worry as well, so this sunglasses-man made a call to the airport and managed anyhow that we would get the flight for sure.. I was really wondering in what business this man actually was, which brought him this connections... Well I finally made the flight without problems but I still wished I just had taken a taxi from the begining!

I arrived around eight o'clock in the evening in Caracas. There I got my backpack from the baggage claim and wandered around the airport, searching the best place to spend the night. I asked an employee at a desk there where she thought would be the safest place. She showed me a hidden corner and came back after around an hour to check on me. Therefore she invited me to a glass of water in her office and introduced me to all of the security men who worked this night, so everyone knew that a young "gringa" (expression for a white person) was spending the night in the airport. I don't know if this made me acutally feel safer ore not.. I guess I just didn't think about it. I was spending the night wih reading, listening to music, playing games on my i phone, makeing regular toilet visits and staring holes in the air. At around four o'clock the first passengers were starting to queue in the hall i was sitting in. I still had to wait 6 more hours till it was my turn for the check-in. When I think back I actually don't know what I really did to make the time pass... But what I remember is, that I was soo hungry and didn't have any money left. At one point i was sooo starving after a long night that I asked in a arepas bar (arepa is a very common corn bread which they normaly fill with different sauces) if they had anything for me. They showed mercy and gave me a plane arepa.

Finally I made it to the plane to Bogota, where I slept as soon as I sat on my seat. From Bogota to Quito I had a very talkative neighbour who didn't let me in peace for a single minute.. But at least he kept me off from oversleeping the served food in the plane...

Yes, it was a very long and sometimes a bit uncomfortable journey from Venezuela to Ecuador. But I finally landed safe and happily in Quito.

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