It’s a good job that the hero of our story was an open-minded soul because, if not, Caracas would have torn him a new one!
Luckily Paul and Pablo were waiting at the airport to whisk him away before the vultures descended (more on that to follow), so with an arepa and Polar beer in hand they hit town…
… or they would after they’d braved the lunacy that is the Venezuelan traffic system. Imagine a land where lanes are a forgotten memory, where traffic lights are merely a suggestion, where the horn is as integral as the tyres and where motorbikes rule supreme! No my friends, this was not some futuristic, post-apocolyptic, anarchic wasteland… this was Caracas!
Such a city (and quite possibly Country) of extremes Fray had never witnessed.
Arepas and Empanadas quickly because staple food stuffs… meaty pastry goodness is where it was at! It took him mere milliseconds to realise just how turgid Greggs and the like really are, and never again would he foul his mouth with their offensive processed filth!
The ‘romance hotel’ saw much action over the next 3 days due to the car breaking down. Stranded in the madness they fought for their survival (and sanity). Frantic phone calls were made, prices quoted, batteries bought, keys turned, hearts sunk, beer drunk… the chaos could easily have engulfed lesser mortals but not so our champions!
Intertwined with the carnage were moments of true peace and tranquillity: an afternoon in the park relaxing to the frenetic beats of a nearby carnival:
The peace however did not last. During an impromptu beer stop Paul’s spidey sense began to tingle. With great haste they fled back to the ‘romance hotel’ and the defunct car. With great trepidation the key was turned and by the beard of Zeus it started! “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”
Plans were remade… the journey to Barquisimeto was on! After a frantic drive around the block for petrol plans were reremade… the journey was off. The Caracan gods of mischief had crept into the oil tank and brought with them an unhealthy water leak… and not even in this topsy turvy country do those two mix.
“Could anything else go wrong?”
“Well yes actually, you’ve got a flat tyre”
“Seriously?!?”
So with weary bones, the 3 amigos retired to the ‘romance hotel’ for a final nights sleep before hiring a tow truck. And so began the journey to Barquisimeto………
Love this so far! Highly amusing. X
I’m so drawn into the narrative that I just wiki’d Barquisimeto!
As I read it the dramatic American voiceover guy in my head was saying “Next week on Allaboardthefraytrain…” 😀
XXX