I'm Ben

Valencia International Airport sounds like a serious airport but in reality its a single runway and you disembark on stairs then walk to the terminal. They must not handle more than a handful of flights per day. We got some Tylenol while waiting at customs from one of the other parents and that seemed to help Mila’s earache a bit. Customs was the part of the journey that I was dreading the most. I had gone through waves on nervousness and anxiety over the past few months regarding the trip. I worked my way through

- Going to Mexico City by myself
- Negotiating with Venezuelan Embassy to get the Visa
- Rational and irrational worries about being robbed, kidnapped and ransomed, arrested by the Venezuelan Government for who knows what
- Losing my papers and not being allowed out of the country.

Some of these were partially alleviated by watching Bald and Bankrupt’s journey with the caminantes through the Darien Gap and across Mexico to reach the US border. I knew if things really really really went down I could at least make it to a US Embassy in Colombia and then get a flight back home. He also had a video of himself spending a day in Caracas and going to the worst neighborhood he could find, talking to people and just getting a feel for the country while speaking highly questionable spanish and in general not being discreet in the least. These really instilled confidence in my own ability to handle communicating and overall what the vibe of the country would be like when I arrived.

This will be a series covering my month long trip to Venezuela. It will be full of culture shock but I intend to be honest and open while I learn as much as I can about the country and the people who live here. I do not intend to disparage the Venezuelan people or culture in any way. All people have different priorities and preferences, and we are largely a product of our environment.

We left for the airport with about 3.5 hours of leeway. Very shortly after leaving we realized we left the bag with mila’s snacks and snacking tools (bib, placemat, utensils). As far as I can tell that’s the only thing we forgot, luckily its relatively inconsequential and the food wasn’t going to last long anyway. I decided that was the bad thing that would happen to us for the way down and took it as a sign that everything would be smooth. The first leg of the trip was an overnight in Panama City. The flight was about 5 hours long and we didn’t anticipate the time change so with brief delays and the time change we wouldn’t arrive until about 9pm. I asked the flight attendants at the gate if they had any room since we were traveling with Mila and only had two tickets but they said the flight was completely full. We had tickets on either side of an aisle from eachother so we could try and utilize that extra space if we needed. Genesis was the last one to board the plane and with nobody behind her the seat remained empty. Increidble luck. We swapped so Genesis and Mila took the open space which was incredibly useful for the long flight. Mila slept for almost the first two hours, even through the meal service. Even after she woke up she remained calm for almost the entire flight. Changing a diaper in the airplane bathrooms was a challenge and she didn’t like the confined space but it was quick and we put her in pajamas before we landed in Panama.

The Panama airport was a much bigger airport than I expected as I didn’t realize its the main hub for flights going to and from South America and the Carribbean. The first thing we saw after gathering the stroller at the gate the first thing I saw was an Olive Garden. The airline had offered to pass our luggage on to the next flight but we didn’t want to take the risk of our suitcases not making it to a Venezuelan airline and picked it up at baggage claim. Customs was relatively fast but since Genesis is Venezuelan she had to either have a Visa or a Green Card, the latter of which she did have. That added a little extra time since they had to verify something with someone who looked more important than your general customs agent but by the time I got the luggage she was done. The shuttle from the airport to the hotel was ready very quickly after we arrived. We gave them our flight number when we booked the hotel so I think they tried to time it although they said they were following a schedule. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Aiport which was about a 5 minute drive from the aiport. The staff was very nice and helpful with the bags so I felt obligated to give them all a small tip. Check in took like 20 minutes so I browsed the gift shop while Mila ran around the hotel entrance. Genesis wouldn’t let me spend $10 on a Panama hat which is an epic tragedy but carrying as many suitcases as we had I can’t aruge with keeping things out of the load.

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