After several delays and a few other obstacles, we arrived in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela yesterday, Wednesday, at nearly 5 pm.
Pancho and I got up at 5 am to make final preparations to leave. We finalized the suitcases and double-checked the hotel room to be sure we were leaving nothing behind. I had woken up at 4:15 and stayed in bed, praying for many things. I prayed specifically that we would find favor with the airport staff in both curaçao and Venezuela. You see, in our 11+ years of experience traveling from Venezuela to the States and from the States to Venezuela, we have frequently found that upon leaving US soil, problems surface very quickly and our patience is tested in ways we are not familiar with.
We left the resort at 6 am with all three kids awake and smiling (thank You, Jesus). We made it to the curaçao international airport by 6:25 to check in for our 7:30 flight. Upon arriving at the check-in counter, pancho was greeted in a very unfriendly fashion by the attendant with some disappointing news. The flight would be leaving at 10:30 am due to "maintenance issues." Only by God's miraculous grace, we took the news in stride. We checked our bags and proceeded into the airport through security, which is more of a formality outside of the US than anything. We found some breakfast and waited nearly 4 hours for the flight to board and leave.
We were supposed to get on a flight to PO leaving Caracas at noon and we were pretty sure we'd miss that connection, which made both Pancho and me really sad. He texted his mom to tell her the status and she set to work figuring out another flight from Caracas to PO. Some dear friends of the family own a travel agency in PO and they made a reservation with another airline for a 1:00 flight to PO.
So, we began to line up to board the plane in curaçao. We followed the line downstairs. Joel was asleep in the stroller so Pancho carried the stroller by himself down the steps while I helped Katrina and Samuel down and a friendly passenger grabbed one of our carry-ons. We got to a bus where we were directed to board and Pancho asked me to take Joel out and get on with the kids. He waited for someone to get him a luggage tag for the stroller and then got on the bus. It was standing room only and the bus drove us to the plane out on the runway. Again we separated so Pancho could deal with the stroller and on our way up the metal stairs of the aircraft Samuel fell and broke open a cut on his knee from the swimming pool from the day before. He began to scream. The people did not want to stop boarding so I had to grab him as best as I could while holding Joel and Samuel's backpack and usher him onto the plane. We found our seats through the tears and asked for a bandaid. They didn't have any bandaids so they brought a wet napkin. Pancho boarded and sat by Samuel and calmed him down.
The flight to Caracas was 30 minutes. We arrived and did our best to hurry through customs and baggage claim. The only place we have seen the luggage claim tickets checked is in Venezuela. Guess what? The ornery attendant in curaçao failed to give Pancho the baggage claim tickets. Thankfully we found favor with the señora and she simply took off all our luggage tags from the airline. She said, "This will do." We thanked her and ran out.
Running with four suitcases (one of which lost a handle en route making it really tough to strap to another suitcase) all close to their 50 pound weight limit and a stroller built for one with two children in it (Samuel's knee was sore so we slid him in the under storage area) and another nearly 7 year old is quite a sight! Many men offered their assistance for a mere 50 bolivares but we only had 35 so we struggled from the international to the national airport outside.
Pancho got in the line ...
Ok, here I must explain that upon arriving in Venezuela, should you ever travel here, you will quickly discover that there is absolutely no sense of order anywhere. Lines and making lines are literally a joke. Thankfully, Pancho is familiar with this life and remembers how to work the system, if you will.
He got the attention of an attendant who had just shared with a woman that the 1:00 flight was closed (it was 12:20). He told her we had reservations and she verified our name and printed our tickets! I was so overcome with gratitude to the Lord for giving us favor with the woman from the airline I cried! We were informed the flight was delayed until 3, which have us plenty of time to get arepas for lunch (Pancho's dream lunch!) and rest a bit.
At 2:30 we made our way to the gate where the plane had not yet arrived. Eventually the plane arrived and we waited again to be able to board. Finally it was our turn and we gave the attendant our tickets. We were happy. Finally on our last leg of the trip and excited to see our family. Then, we were stopped in our tracks when we were told that Joel had no ticket. Pancho explained that he was included in my ticket, but she didn't want to hear it. He remained calm while I felt the anger burning in my eyes. He said, "well, the gal out at the check in desk told me it was all set and they allowed us through security with him with these same tickets so you can resolve it with her." She was clearly upset and threw out the only recourse she felt she had, "then I need a copy of his birth certificate." Again, thanks be to God that Pancho knows his country. He had in his carry-on a copy of each passport. He pulled it out, said, "this is what we have" handed it to her and we walked into the plane.
We landed in PO one hour later, at nearly 5 and were greeted by family and friends.
We are so thankful to God for giving us favor and bringing us here safely.
Well, I'm off to get breakfast going!
