Venezuela

17.02.2018 Total: 9769 km
Santa Elena: 208 km

In San Cristobal we took a bus to Puerto la Cruz. Once there, we met a friend of our host's who drove us to Ciudad Guyana. From Ciudad Guyana to Santa Elena we took another bus, which was in very bad condition. The bus ride was a bit of an adventure. The bus was very rusty and stunk of petrol. On top of that, somebody was playing very loud music. Although transporting our bikes cost a fortune, there wasn't space for them so we had to put them in the bus aisle.

Periodically, the bus stopped and all men on the bus had to get off to be patted down by soldiers. We had to put up our hands against the bus for them to search us for weapons.

There are now three different courses in Venezuela. One is 1 USDollar = 10,000 Bolívares Venezolanos, the second one is 1 US Dollar = aproximately 70,000 BS and the third one is 1 US Dollar = 178,000 BS. We got the second course, that is 1 US Dollar = 70,000 BS which is quite convenient but as the rate of inflation is so high, Venezuela is more expensive than other countries.

In Santa Elena we went on a three-day cycle tour in Gran Sabana.

Puerto la Cruz

Crazy ride from Ciudad Guyana to Santa Elena

Gran Sabana

08.01.2018 Total: 9561 km
San Antonio- San Cristobal: 45 km

Today my friend and I had cycled 3 km in Venezuela when the police stopped us. They checked our passports and were very friendly and helpful. The told us which was the best way to San Cristobal. So far so good.

San Cristobal

07.01.2018 Total: 9516 km
Cucuta- San Antonio, Venezuela: 13 km

I entered Venezuela today. First we stood at the end of a queue that must have been 500 metres long but after a while somebody came up to us to offer to go ahead in the queue in exchange for 20 US dollars. We refused but offered 20,000 Peso (5 Euro) which he accepted. So we had to queue for 3 hours instead of 7. Funnily enough, there were just 5 people waiting in immigration.

60 Euro