Why I hate Venezuela

Perhaps its a bit pre-judgemental to judge a county based on my first 12 hours in it, but given my current mood, I´m going to anyway.

Maybe it´s because I had to pay $65 dollars to get here on the bus from Columbia. Maybe its because I had to pay $35 for a taxi ride from the Bus terminal to a shithole of a town near the airport that is conveniently located 45 minutes outside of Caracas. Or maybe its because the cheapest hotel i could find anywhere is $30 a night, in an area that is innundated with prostitutes, street thugs, drug dealers, and any other dispicable walk of life you could imagine flooding the streets. It could be because I found out I have to pay a $48 departure tax leaving the airport, that the beach sucks, or even because the food is shit and its becoming oh so temping to end that 7 month ´McDonalds free´ streak and go for a Big Mac. But most likely, Its because i just realised that I got robbed of $40 US by a customs official at the border. And to think, I almost made it through South America without getting robbed. So close...two more days to go, and of all people, a fucking customs official.

What makes me the most pissed off about the situation is how he did it, which blows my mind. After waiting 2 hours in line to get my passport stamped, the customs officials select three people from the bus to get searched. Oh, you choose the three Gringos? Thats Convienient. Is it because they are most likely to be the ones smuggling drugs? Of course not, its because we have money! So buddy takes me into a room and makes me empty all my pockets, and searches me only to find no drugs. Nuts, he can´t take a bribe from me then. So then he asks if i have had my yellow fever shots. I show him my vaccination card and he expresses a dissapointed look on his face. Nuts, nothing to pin on me for a bribe. Then he goes through my money belt, and begins to act like its not allowed for me to have $100 US in cash on me. Apparently, thats enough to warrant a bribe. He keeps going off about how i have to give him $40 so that there is ´no problem´ and everything will be fine. To which i Reply, no, there is ´no problem´, and you´re not getting any money. Finally he gives up, and realises that he´s got nothing on me and lets me go. I gather up my shit, and go back to the bus to laugh with all the people around me as I tell them how he tried to intimidate me into giving him $40 and Didn´t fall for it. A person behind me who spoke good english told me that they do that to all the tourists, trying to intimidate them into giving up cash if they are scared or intimidated. But i wasn´t at all. He wasn´t getting any money from me. Or so i thought.

Which brings me to an hour ago when i Just realized that I´m Coincidentally $40 US short in my money belt. Now would be a good time to mention that this is hard to type cause i think my pinky finger is broken from punching the wall.

The bastard was so smooth in however he got the money that it boggles my mind how he did it. It never even crossed my mind to count the money after i left the room because it never seemed suspicious at all. He found the cash, counted it, and gave it back to me. thats when he said i wasn´t allowed to have the cash on me, and tried to get me to give him $40 to take care of the 'Problem', and i say no. From this point on, i was holding it in my hand, and before that, I was watching everything really closely. He had to have somehow taken the money before he gave it back to me and even before he told me to give him $40, possibly knowing that i would say no and not count the money again. Bastard.

The thing that stings the most is not the loss of the actual money itself, but the fact that getting robbed in that sort of way leaves a real sour taste in your mouth. You feel so stupid for falling for it, to the point that you would almost rather be robbed straight up where you knew there is nothing you can do about it. And now that I've jinxed myself by saying I'd rather get robbed straight up, you can check the blog again in a few days to read about how i get robbed straight up on the streets of my passport, money, and everything else i need to catch my flight home.

By the way, for those of you who don´t know, I get home Boxing day and am going straight up to squamish for a few days before heading off to Victoria to try and find a place to live for January.

The Lost World

Welcome to the Jungle.

If you'd have told me two years ago that I'd find myself trekking through the Columbian Jungle at this point in my life, I'd have probably said you were crazy. But, after what has pretty much been the most exhausting 6 days of my life, I can now say that I have been there, and done that.

The reason for such a trek through the dense Columbian jungle: Ciudad Perdida, literally translated to `The lost City`. Unlike Macchu Picchu, which is easily accessible by train for the lazy old white package tourist, this lost ancient city is only reached by foot, 6 days of foot. Wading accross rivers, climbing up mountains, climbing down mountains, slashing through dense vegetation, passing by cocaine farms and laboratories, sleeping in hammoks, and drinking beer with Paramilitary soldiers....this trek had it all. My ankles hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurts, my shoulders hurt, I'm covered in mosquito bites, I'm sick, my clothes are filthy, I haven't had a decent sleep in 5 nights, I'm exhausted, and I'm just generally bunged up. But it was worth it.

Covering an area of 2 sqare kilometers, the city is essentially in the state now as it was 30 years ago when it was first discovered. Taking off on my own and getting lost, I felt as though i was the first one discovering it. Stone paths led in a laborinth of a maze through the jungle, from one stone platform to another, where the houses of the ancient tayrona people once stood. There were no sounds around me other than those of the jungle itself, which has reclaimed the city and buried it in vegetation. Macchu picchu and its 3500 tourists a day is overrated. This is the real lost city of south america as far as I'm concerned. 6 days of serious sweat and hard work to reach the city and suprisingly, no package tourists there.

9 Days Later...

So i finally made it to the Caribbean Coast. Only about a month and a half late. After flying into columbia, I planned on spending about a day or two in bogota, before leaving for the coast. And, well, 9 days of binge drinking later I finally motivated myself to get out of the city. Its a real shame that i don't have more time here in columbia, and that I took so long to get here. The travellers scene is awesome, the people are super friendly, the girls are beautiful, and the beach...well the beach is everything you'd expect the caribbean to be.

My plan is to spend my last two weeks trekking into the jungle, scuba diving, and lying on the beach. However, with time rapidly running out, I've been toying with the idea of postphoning my flight and not coming home for a while. Oh, how tempting that idea is.

Anyway, I don't really have the motivation to write anymore. So, thats all i'm gonna say today. Tomorrow i'm off on a 6 day trek into the jungle to see a lost civilization that wasn't discovered until 1975. After seeing machu Picchu and how hyped up and raped by tourism it is, I'm really excited to see this lost city. there's only one trip a week into it, so i'll only have to share it with the 7 other people in my group. should be amazing. Won't be checking email or posting for a week, don't think there will be internet access deep in the jungle.

Things to Accomplish Before I die

#23 - Attend a live South American Football (Soccer) match......Check!

#18 - Dance with a Really cute Latino Girl.....Check!

#377 - Spend a night getting wasted in a Columbian Gay Bar getting hit on by Guys all night Because it is the only kicking discotheque open on a sunday night......check!

#52 - Emerge from the dark atmosphere of a South American Stip Club to the bright rays of the rising morning sun shining down upon my face......Check!

Land of the El Dorado

Chapter three of my journey officially began the other day, as I departed from the land of Incas, landing in a place better known for its drug production, civil wars, and Guerilla insurgents. As I stepped off the plane in Columbia, I felt lost. Gone were the familiar sites of peruvian women dressed in traditional clothing and the Cold mountain air. I had no clue how much a Columbian Peso was worth, how much i was paying for a taxi, or where i was going. I couldn't find an enchalada or any anticoucho to eat. It was pissing down rain, i was hungover, running on one hour's sleep, and I just felt lost.

Its funny how so much can change in such a short plane ride. Not that columbia is really all that different from peru or bolivia relatively, but when you spend day in day out in a place you really begin to feel comfortable. You know what you're doing. You just 'feel' the country, for it has become your home. You know how much you should pay for things, you know what food you like... you're secure. You travel for twelve hours on a bus and one thing may change from one town to the next, but on the whole things remain essentially the same. Then you switch it up a bit and you have to re-learn ever little aspect of life.

Along with the confusion, however, comes a great deal of anticipation and excitement. Landing in the airport, going through customs, waiting for your bag...You just can't wait to get out on the streets. Its a feeling thats tough to describe. A part of you is nervous, landing in a city of 8 million people and third world chaos, where you can't communicate because you don't speak the language and you have no idea where you are going. At the same time however, you know there is a whole new country just waiting for you to explore. New people, new customs, new traditions, new history....its all there, waiting for you to get to know and love, or perhaps hate. Only time will tell.

So, I'm now presently hanging out in Bogota, the capital city of Columbia. Though the first part of my journey seemed to go on forever, the days are now rapidly beginning to fly by. I know that before I know it, I'll be back home in school dreaming up another scheme to escape reality and take off to a different corner of the globe. 25 days to acomplish all the paragliding, trekking, scuba diving, and lazing on the beach i plan to do is not nearly enough. Man, life just isn't fair.