Viaje hacia Bogotá 🚌 | Trip to Bogota 🚌 [ESP-ING]

En esta oportunidad voy a contarles una de las experiencias que más me han gustado en los viajes que he podido realizar en el 2019.

Mi viaje comenzó en un España - Caracas, por motivos familiares. Un viaje que tenía pensado durar 1 mes terminó durando 3 meses.

Después de estos 3 meses en familia, amistades, decidí que no podía devolverme a España sin visitar de nuevo y mejor Bogotá, Colombia.

En Venezuela, yo soy de Maracaibo, Zulia. Por lo cual, la frontera Colombiana queda bastante cerca, aproximadamente unas 3 horas de viaje por carretera. Elegí este método de transporte principalmente para ahorrarme dinero y para conocer la ruta Maracaibo - Maicao.

No solo conocer la ruta era mi prioridad, si no también vivir la experiencia y ver la realidad que se vive diariamente de miles de Venezolanos cruzando la frontera de las maneras que puedan en busca de un mejor futuro.

El proceso de cruzar la frontera, fue muy rápido para mi. Probablemente por la hora, cerca de las 5:00am. Los agentes de Migración Venezolana muy amables conmigo al igual que los de Migración Colombiana, pese a llevar 3 maletas a reventar, pase como quien dice “ Como Pedro por su casa” .

“Pedro por su casa” - Se usa para indicar que una persona o animal
actúa o se mueve con gran familiaridad y soltura, especialmente cuando
se trata de un medio que no le es el propio.
Oxford Dictionary

Una vez allí, en la frontera, zona conocida como “La Raya” que se ubica entre Guarero ( Troncal 6, Zulia, Venezuela ) y Paraguachón ( Vía Principal Paraguachon, Guajira, Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia ), fue donde comenzó la real travesia.

A todas estas, en estas zonas nunca me arriesgue a sacar el teléfono debido a que venia con muchos comentarios en mente sobre la alta delincuencia que existe en todo ese sector y al viajar con tantas maletas y solo, preferí evitar hacer uso del teléfono.

Conseguí un carro donde íbamos 4 personas para el Terminal de Maicao, el que abarcó toda la maleta del carro fui yo por las maletas, todos iban hacer compras para devolverse a Venezuela. Llevarme desde La Raya hasta El Terminal de Maicao me salio en 18.000COP / $5 ( Dólares Americanos).

Una vez llegue al Terminal de Maicao me sentí tan perdido, ver tanta gente, todos corriendo, gritando, vendiendo boletos a sobreprecio para salir el mismo día, un completo descontrol para mi, pero para todos los demás era lo normal. Esto fue un “ Bienvenido a Maicao”.

Adjunto aquí foto de Terminal de Maicao

Si, lo se. Pude haberme ido en Avión desde Riohacha, Colombia, pero no iba a perder la oportunidad de ahorrar cerca de $50 y ver desde la ventana por 24h toda la vía hasta Bogotá. Además de que ya había comprado un pasaje en Autobús a un precio más bajo que el que me ofrecían en la taquilla para salir el mismo dia.

Lo peor estaba por venir. Eran las 7:00 am y mi autobús salía a las 11:30 am. Yo venía con poco efectivo porque todo lo tenía en tarjeta. Mi sorpresa era que por toda esta zona no había ningún cajero, ningún local con punto de venta, solo era yo con 1 botella de agua y 15.000COP / $4 y un viaje de 24h hasta Bogotá.

Logre comprarme un refresco Postobon y 2 empanadas. Aunque eran pequeñas, fueron mi salvación.

Una anécdota muy cómica de este viaje fueron mis compañeros de asientos. 2 chicos y 1 chica.
Luego de unas 8 horas rodando, sin dirigirnos la palabra yo solo veía que hablaban entre ellos, ya que estaban en los asientos de al lado.

Uno de los chicos se me acercó y me sacó conversación, no recuerdo de qué estábamos hablando, recuerdo que eran preguntas como ¿De dónde vienen? ¿A dónde van?.

Yo luego de decirle que venía de Maracaibo y que iba para Bogotá, empezó a contarme que venía de Caracas y que iba para Medellín y de allí para Ecuador pero que su destino era Perú .

Yo asombrado porque era un tramo demasiado grande y con muchos días se lo comento y me empezó a contar cómo comenzó su viaje desde Caracas.
Todo hasta aqui super bien, hasta que dijo

“Hace 1 semana salí de la cárcel”🤡.

¿Cómo reaccionaría alguien al escuchar eso y saber que te faltan 16 horas para llegar a Bogotá donde cada quien seguiría su camino?

El chico, muy gracioso el me dice “Tranquilo, estamos reivindicados”.
A lo que le respondi “Asi dicen todos jajaja pero no te preocupes, somos los mismos y si quisieras hacer algo ya lo hubieses hecho”.

El me seguía contando sus anécdotas en la Cárcel de el Rodeo en Caracas. Cómo fue que llego ahí. Como salió de manera legal. Entre otras cosas que no recuerdo.

Su compañero se presentó, nos pusimos hablar los 4 durante horas, todo se centraba en sus anécdotas que eran bastante complicadas de entender porque algunos terminos no los comprendía pero decían que era para evitar decir las cosas como son porque la gente se iba a pensar mal.

Pense al susto que me dieron, fueron excelentes personas conmigo porque decidieron compartir de su comida y unos refrescos que tenían para su viaje conmigo.

Yo pensé, bueno, pues si tiene algo pues no pasa nada, que sea lo que dios quiera.

Creo que siempre recordaré ese buen gesto que tuvieron conmigo, pese a todo lo que me contaron, sus pasados, se detuvieron a sacarme conversación y a compartir de su comida.🙏

Al llegar a Bogotá, nos despedimos y en cuestión de segundos ya no estaban por todo el Terminal El Salitre.
PD: No se me perdió nada.

Aqui dejare algunas fotos hechas por mi en la Plaza de Bolívar y en sus adyacencias.

Sin duda alguna, este fue un gran viaje. Es un viaje que recomendaría, un país que sin duda es una maravilla con sus calles, su gran cantidad de zonas verdes, comida, me he ido de Colombia pero una parte mía se quedo alla. Espero volver pronto.

Greetings to all of you who pass by!

In this opportunity I am going to tell you about one of the experiences that I have enjoyed the most in the trips I have been able to make in 2019.

My trip began in a Spain - Caracas, for family reasons. A trip that was supposed to last 1 month ended up lasting 3 months.

After these 3 months in family, friends, I decided that I could not return to Spain without visiting again and better Bogotá, Colombia.

In Venezuela, I am from Maracaibo, Zulia. So, the Colombian border is quite close, about 3 hours drive. I chose this method of transportation mainly to save money and to get to know the Maracaibo - Maicao route.

Not only to know the route was my priority, but also to live the experience and see the reality that thousands of Venezuelans cross the border daily in the ways that they can in search of a better future.

The process of crossing the border was very fast for me. Probably by the time, about 5:00am. The Venezuelan Immigration agents were very nice to me as well as the Colombian Immigration agents, even though I had 3 suitcases to burst, I passed by as if to say "Like Pedro at home".

"Pedro por su casa" - It is used to indicate that a person or animal
acts or moves with great familiarity and ease, especially when
it is a medium that is not its own.
Oxford Dictionary

Once there, in the border, zone known as "La Raya " that is located between Guarero ( Troncal 6, Zulia, Venezuela ) and Paraguachon ( Main Road Paraguachon, Guajira, Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia ), was where the real crossing began.

To all these, in these areas I never risked taking out the phone because I came with many comments in mind about the high crime rate that exists throughout that sector and when traveling with so many bags and alone, I preferred to avoid using the phone.

I got a car where 4 people were going to the Maicao Terminal, the one that covered all the suitcase of the car was me for the suitcases, everyone was going to do shopping to return to Venezuela. Taking me from La Raya to the Maicao Terminal cost me **18.000COP / $5 ( US Dollars ).

Once I arrived at the Maicao Terminal I felt so lost, seeing so many people, all running, screaming, selling tickets at a high price to go out the same day, a complete lack of control for me, but for everyone else it was normal. This was a "Welcome to Maicao".

Attached here is a photo of the Maicao Terminal

Yes, I know. I could have gone by plane from Riohacha, Colombia, but I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to save about $50 and watch from the window for 24 hours all the way to Bogota. Besides that I had already bought a bus ticket at a lower price than the one offered at the ticket office to leave the same day.

The worst was yet to come. It was 7:00 am and my bus was leaving at 11:30 am. I came with little cash because I had everything on my card. My surprise was that all over this area there was no ATM, no store with a point of sale, it was just me with a bottle of water and 15.000COP / $4 and a trip of 24h to Bogota.

I buy a Postobon soda and two empanadas. Even though they were small, they were my salvation.

A very funny anecdote of this trip was my seatmates. 2 boys and 1 girl.
After about 8 hours rolling, without speaking to each other I could only see that they were talking to each other, since they were in the seats next to each other.

One of the guys came up to me and got me talking, I don't remember what we were talking about, I remember it was questions like ***Where are they coming from? Where are they going?

After I told him that I was coming from Maracaibo and that I was going to Bogota, he started to tell me that he was coming from Caracas and that he was going to Medellin and from there to Ecuador but that his destination was Peru.

I was astonished because it was too big a stretch and after many days I told him about it and he started to tell me how his trip from Caracas began.
Everything up to here was very good, until he said

* "I got out of jail a week ago "*🤡.

How would anyone react to hearing that and knowing that you're 16 hours away from getting to Bogota where everyone would be on their way?

The guy, very funny, he says to me, "Relax, we're vindicated."
To which I replied, "They all say that, but don't worry, we're the same and if you wanted to do something you would have done it by now.

He kept telling me his stories in the Rodeo Prison in Caracas. How he got there. How he got out legally. Among other things I don't remember.

His partner showed up, the four of us talked for hours, everything was centered on his anecdotes that were quite complicated to understand because some terms were not understood but they said it was to avoid saying things as they are because people would think badly.

I thought about the scare they gave me, they were excellent people with me because they decided to share their food and some refreshments they had for their trip with me.

I thought, well, if you have something, then that's fine, let it be what God wants.

I think I will always remember that good gesture they made to me, despite all they told me, their pasts, they stopped to take me out of conversation and to share their food.🙏

When we arrived in Bogota, we said goodbye and in a matter of seconds they were no longer all over the El Salitre Terminal.

PD: I didn't miss anything.

Here are some pictures taken by me in the Plaza de Bolívar and its surroundings.

No doubt about it, this was a great trip. It is a trip that I would recommend, a country that without a doubt is a wonder with its streets, its great amount of green areas, food, I have left Colombia but a part of me stayed there. I hope to come back soon.

Logo and images were created by me in Photoshop 2020
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