Be Prepared

Yes, I was a boy scout in my youth. I took that slogan very seriously and ended up making my living with that mindset.  My job was to tell manufacturers how their hardware/software might fail and suggest ways to prevent those failures.  But there are no absolutes.  The methodology requires that the system keep working even if one thing goes wrong.  If two things go wrong, the system is to degrade gracefully.  But, if three things go wrong, the system will also surely go wrong.

  On top of all that, there was the possibility of the dreaded UNK-UNKS (unknown unknowns).  An example is the destruction of the World Trade towers by the 9-11 events.  The designers of that building never considered such a scenario.

            Enough of that nonsense.  I just wanted to warn you that I am going to tell you about a trip I made by myself to Venezuela.

            I had previously travelled on short excursions to Mexico, Belize and Costa Rica by myself, so I had some idea of what would be required for a two-week trip to Venezuela.  I had to be especially careful because I am not a fluent Spanish speaker.  I have some basic knowledge, but I did not expect to find many English speakers in the out of the way places I planned to visit.  Rather than list what I did I will tell you about each precaution as I go over my planning for the trip.

            My goal for the trip was to see as many new birds as possible in a two-week period.  So, the first items were about birds.  Why Venezuela you ask?  In all of South America at that time, there were only 2 bird guidebooks focused on a single country-Colombia and Venezuela.  Colombia was in political turmoil at the time and Venezuela was calm.  Easy choice.

            Having a guidebook with pictures of all the possible birds is very good, but when and where can you see them.  Venezuela is a large country.  These were the days before the internet.  I needed to find some information about the locations in Venezuela where various birds could be seen.

Figure 1: Venezuela Bird Guide

Fortunately, I was a member of the Audubon Naturalist Society, a Washington DC based chapter of the National Audubon Society.  They maintained a parcel of land together with an historic house in Chevy Chase, Maryland.  In that house they maintained a bookstore that had birding books as well as trip reports that various individuals provided.  Trip reports are written descriptions of actual field trips to specific places at specific times together with lists of the birds seen. 

I went to the bookstore to buy the Venezuela Bird Guide.  Magically, there was a specific trip report that laid out all the major birding locations in Venezuela.  It was written by Mary Lou Godwin.  It turns out that she was the manager of the Audubon Society Chapter in Venezuela with an office in Caracas.  I bought a copy of her guide.  In addition, they had a copy of another guide to birding in Venezuela by Dennis Rogers.  I needed a map which I easily obtained at a bookstore in Chevy Chase. These two publications plus the map were enough for me to plan a detailed itinerary.

Figure 2: Birding in Venezuela

Figure 3:Dennis Rogers Guide to Birding Venezuela

Now came the practicalities. First, I already had a passport.  Living in the Washington, DC area it was easy for me to go downtown and get a tourist visa

at the Venezuelan embassy.  Now came the issues of how to get there, how to get around and where to stay.

            Booking a flight was no problem.  There were regular flights on American Airlines from Washington to Caracas.  I chose one coming home with a stop in Puerto Rico so I could do a little birding there. 

            I know this is boring, but things were not so easy in 1990 before cellphones and the internet.   It really did take a lot of time to get anything done.  And remember, I was going alone with a poor knowledge of Spanish.

            I forget which US rental car agency had an outlet in Venezuela, but I did find one with pickup near the airport. There were no counters at the airport.  I had to be picked up at the airport by the agency and taken to the local office.  It was tricky.

            The big deal was where to stay.  This was the days before there was a Lonely Planet guide to Venezuela.  By searching around bookstores, I was finally able to order a guide in English.

Figure 4: 1989 Venezuela Travel Guide

            Unfortunately, it was clear that I was to be going to places that had no accommodation.  My camping experience to the rescue.  I already had the necessary gear-Tent, air mattress, sleeping sheet (no cold weather), small gas stove, headlamp, water bottles, cook kit, powerful flashlight, etc.  I also packed some basic foodstuffs. I knew I was prepared.

            I next addressed the medical requirements.  Malaria was endemic to the regions I would visit.  I had to get anti-malarial tablets to take while there.  There were also many immunizations required.  I took care of that using the Fairfax County Public Health department.

            Then, I needed a stash of my own emergency medicines.  EpiPen for allergies, Albuterol for Asthma, Lomotil for Diarrhea, Pepto-Bismal & Imodium for stomach upset, as well as usual first aid medicines.  And of course, a First Aid Kit.

            Lastly, money.  I did have an American Express card that had international acceptance, though I suspected that many places would be cash only.  Fortunately, there was not much tourism in Venezuela at that time, so prices were very cheap by US standards.  I knew I could exchange money at the airport.   The currency was the Bolivar, but I do not remember the exchange rate.  Furthermore, the more recent political turmoil in Venezuela has caused several currency collapses with reissue of something still sounding like the Bolivar but really a completely new currency.

            I exchanged a lot of money at the airport.  I also carried lots of American Express travelers checks issued in Bolivars that I understood I could cash in any local bank.  There was also an AMX office in Caracas.  Finally, there was the issue of how to carry all that cash.  First, I had a passport carrier that was hidden under my shirt.  I put a stash of money into that as well as the travelers checks.  Then I also had a money belt that held up my pants.  Of course, I also carried cash in my pocket.  The final safeguard was to carry in stash of cash in my shoes.

            Communication was to be difficult.  While there were cell phones in 1990, they were hardly portable and really had not made it to the third world.  I did not carry a phone.  I did maintain a phone list of emergency numbers that could be reached if I got to a place where international calls could be made.

Figure 5: Hidden Passport Carrier

Figure 6: Money Belt for Pants

Enough.  Let’s go to Venezuela.  Before I departed, I informed the Embassy of my itinerary and made a hotel reservation in Caracas.  I arrived at the Simon Bolivar international airport in Venezuela which is at sea level on the northern coast of Venezuela.  I wandered around a bit after getting my baggage and getting through customs and passport control.  I was able finally to find the pickup point for the rental car.  There was a car waiting. Off to the office where I got the paperwork done, paid with my AMX, got a map and was off to find my hotel.

Caracas is in the mountains at about 3000 feet above the airport and about 15 miles from the airport.  Getting to town was no problem as there was an expressway connecting the two.  Once in town, I followed the specific instructions of the man at the rental car office had given me.  He spoke broken English, better than my broken Spanish. 

I do not remember the name of the hotel that I used but it was a high-rise like the one shown.

Figure 7: Typical Caracas Hotel

            I parked the car, settled in, got something to eat and hit the hay.  In the morning, I found my way to Mary Lou Godwin at the Venezuela Audubon office.  She was super helpful.  We went through the itinerary I had planned in detail.  She made constructive comments for each location and provided me with a number of other trip reports that offered further information.  Thank you Mary Lou.  I spent the afternoon birding at the city park and headed back to the hotel for the night.

            In the morning, I was up and off at the crack of dawn to bird in the mountains around Caracas.  After a great time in the mountains, I headed off to the West on another major highway headed to the city of Maracay that was close to the internationally famous Henri Pittier National Park.  I show a makeshift map of Venezuela to give some idea of my travels.

Figure 8: Venezuela Makeshift Map

            On the way to Maracay, the drivers side window broke and would not close.  I went first to the Hotel Maracay and booked in for 4 days.  They gave me directions to the local rental car service where I was able to exchange cars.  Good luck was running with me.

            I spent 4 wonderful days birding the mountain sanctuary of Henri Pittier.  I then headed off south through the llanos (prairies) of central Venezuela.  I birded the whole way.  After a night in a motel in Calabozo, I headed further South through more llanos and more birding to the town of San Fernando de Apure. I spent a night in another motel there and then headed off first thing in the morning to Santos Luzardo NP still further south,

            I wanted to spend 2 full days at this important park.  There were no close accommodations, so this was to be my first camping in Venezuela.

Figure 9:Santos Luzardo NP Landscape

            After a great day birding, I set up the tent and made a little chow.  I had picked up some easy eats in Santos Luzardo, so meal prep was easy.  I went to sleep as the sun set. 

Figure 10: My Pup Tent in the Grassland.

            I was awakened by the smell of smoke.  It was dawn.  I opened the front of the tent and stuck my head out.  To my horror I could see that the dry grassland that I was camped in was on fire.

Figure 11: Grassland Fire Headed Toward Me

            The fire was headed toward me and my car.  I quickly broke camp, got the tent and stuff into the car, and hit the starter.  Nothing.  There was absolutely no response.  I was not going to get the car and gear out of there.  I jumped out of the car and headed for the dirt track that I had followed to get to this campsite.   I got there.  I would be safe. I could run faster than the fire along the road.

            And then, oh shit.  I had panicked.  I did not take time to get dressed or pick up my passport or money.  That is definitely three strikes.  I am screwed.  First the fire, then no car, and now no resources.  I am truly screwed.  It is 20 miles to the nearest village-here I am practically naked, with no money.

            At this very low point, the powers of the universe (or God if you prefer) decided to change their mind despite the three-failure rule.  Magically, the fire extinguished about 30 yards from the car.  So now at least I could get dressed and get my passport and money.  I returned to the car and set about getting everything organized.

            Having done that, I pondered how I was going to get to town.  Twenty miles is a long walk.  Then what?  How do I get back to this car?  How do I get it fixed or replaced so I can continue my trip?

            As I contemplated the mess I was in, magically, as if I ordered it, a young man on a motorbike appeared. Wow.

Figure 12: My Savior

            He stopped.  We somehow managed the language difficulties.  He came to understand that my car didn’t work (no funcione).  He understood that I needed help (ayuda me por favor).  He indicated that I should get on the back of the motorbike.  I did.  He took me back to town where he took me to a garage.

Figure 13: The Garage that Saved Me

            The proprietor (call him Jose) quickly understood what my problem was-the battery was dead (bateria no funcione).  I thanked my savior and offered to pay him.  He shook that off completely.  From the garage, we jumped in Jose’s truck and sped off to my car.  On arrival, he pulled out his jumper cables, and we soon had my car running.  I followed him back to town.  When we arrived, and I shut off the car, it again had a dead battery.  Jose opened the hood and pointed at the alternator.

            “No funcione. “He said, “Necisito reparar.”  I understood that he was going to fix the alternator.  Amazingly, he did.  We jumped the car again, let it run for a while, turned it off and bingo it started right up.

            I asked Jose what I owed him (Quanto cuesta?).  When I paid him, I doubled what he asked for and thanked him profusely (Mil gracias, Jose).

            I was able to get back to Calabozo that night and sleep in a motel again.  There were other adventures on the rest of the trip as I moved to more Eastern Venezuela, but nothing so hairy.  I saw 258 species of which 219 were new to me (lifers). The entire trip was a resounding success.

            The moral of the story is very simple.  You can prepare all you want, but you still need good luck (or God’s grace), however you want to think about it.

            I am an extremely lucky blessed man in many, many, many, many ways.