Day 111 - Venezuelan Consulate

The border official I talked to this morning informed me we would need a tourist visa for Venezuela and could obtain one at the Consulate in Maicao.

So, we drove back to Maicao, where I stood in line for an hour while Ursula and Wally waited in a restaurant keeping an eye on the camper. When my turn was up, a policeman led me to the consul’s office.

He was an intimidating figure dressed in a highly decorated uniform, sitting behind an enormous desk. He told me I could leave our passports and return the next day to pick up the visas. He required that I bring along cash to prove we carried sufficient funds for the time we intended to stay in the country ($25 per person per day). I explained (in my broken Spanish) that we didn’t carry such large amounts of cash with us for security reasons. Instead, I would present a $6,000 letter of credit from Citibank. He wasn’t familiar with such a thing and insisted on cash only.

This seemed very strange to me. Thus, I thanked him and left without leaving the passports. After discussing the situation with Ursula and Wally, we decided to try a different Consulate further south.

We didn’t want to waste more time and left via Route #6 in the direction of Valledupar. It was a gravel road, partly in lousy shape, leading through mountainous terrain. On the way, we stopped by a creek for a refreshing dip. Ahh, so lovely!

We found an Esso gas station on the outskirts of Valledupar that allowed us to stay for the night. That was convenient because it had restrooms and showers. Gasoline in Colombia costs 17 cents per gallon, and we love the great-tasting coffee!

Stats: Miles 137, Expenses $6.70Read more