The Great Escape

Last post I promised you the story behind our adventure getting out of Venezuela. As I sit here on the eve of leaving the United States for our new home in South Korea I thought it would be a good time to share this. The story will hopefully shed light on just how important it is to be prepared for any situation abroad.

Now I must first give you a little background before our story begins. We went into quarantine in Venezuela in March, our contracts ended in June and we were stuck in there until August. From March until June we pursued different avenues out but it wasn't until after our school year that things really got serious. The U.S. tried to arrange flights out via a third country for us but Venezuela stopped each plan they came up with. We tried multiple ways to leave the country on our own from humanitarian flights to private flights. Each attempt was met with the same response of either Maduro or Delcy Rodriguez blocking our flight permits.

During this time we had always joked about crossing the border until one fateful day it became a reality. With Maduro openly stopping Americans from leaving and the U.S. Embassy doing nothing to help us we decided to take our fate into our own hands. We knew the border between Colombia and Venezuela was closed but there were ways to cross it and they were dangerous.

Our adventure starts with first shelling out 700 U.S. dollars per person to the Venezuelan National Guard to take us to the border. We were picked up early in two vehicles and taken to two National Guard vehicles where two men waited fully outfitted in their uniforms and armed. I can still remember seeing the pistol strapped across one of their chests. When we switched cars we were given explicit instructions that we should not talk in the cars, follow all their directions, and when crossing the border to not look back.

The car ride to the border was the fastest it had ever taken us. Every time we pulled up to a checkpoint, the car we were in honked and the soldiers there saluted our driver and opened the barricade. It was then I realized we were riding with someone high ranking. Although the drive was a little unsettling I have to admit that soldier who drove our vehicle was very nice.

As we rolled up on the border we caught glimpses of what looked like refugee camps with sheds and barbed wire on the tops of fences. I tried not to stare much. These turned out to be the camps they kept Venezuelans returning across the border in for quarantine. It was unsettling to see to say the least.

When we finally reached the border we were taken into their station/base. We were allowed to get out and stretch our legs until they would tell us it was time to cross. It was here that it kicked in that we were finally almost out of this hellish situation. We stood around quietly chatting counting every minute. We were finally told it was time. We would cross in twos, we were not allowed to look anywhere but straight ahead, and our luggage would be brought over by someone.

As we walked toward the border my heart started to race and my head was filling with all these awful situations that could go wrong. When we finally got to the border we had to squeeze through some metal grating and then were in Colombia. They had military personal here who were heavily armed everywhere but they did not seem to bat an eye at any one of us crossing the border illegally.

One would think at this point we were home free. That was not the case. Although we were finally across the border and out of Venezuela we had more issues come our way. We were taken in two vehicles to one of the drivers houses and had no clue why. Apparently the drivers we had hired wanted more money. The negotiations began and went on for what felt like hours. All the while we were there immigration was stopping by and wanting more money as a bribe because we were gringos (Americans). Once this was all sorted out it was smooth sailing to the hotel we were staying at in Cartagena.

We stayed at our hotel for a few days which was on the ocean and allowed us to walk the beaches during select times allowing us time to process and mentally rest. When the day came to fly out on our humanitarian flight it was filled we anxiety over wondering if we would be fined or even detained for entering Colombia illegally. Our check in went smoothly but when going through immigration they caught us. We had to fill out a form, get a copy of our passports, and then were told a lawyer would contact us. At this point we just did not care and wanted to get home. We filled everything out and they let us go and board the plane. A few hours and we were finally back on U.S. soil.

This is just a condensed version of our great escape but I hope it gives you an idea of just how crazy our experience leaving was. For anyone who thinks that this does not sound that stressful has never had to deal with anything in Venezuela. Moral of the story here folks is that whenever and wherever you travel make sure you have access to a embassy and know the risks/consequences of staying somewhere without one. The U.S. State department does not really help you in times of need and our story is an example. If you want to know more about this experience of have questions please do contact me. Here is to hoping we don't have anymore experiences like this in our next location!