Seasoned globetrotter Geraldine Joaquim has explored a staggering 60 countries, taking in some of the world’s most breathtaking sights along the way. However, there’s one destination she’s vowed never to return to again.
The 54-year-old’s travels began while working in international marketing, and she’s continued to jet-set since transitioning to a career as a hypnotherapist and wellness coach. In the past year alone, she’s embarked on a skiing holiday in Andorra, safari in South Africa, a villa holiday in Italy, a week diving in Sharm el Sheik Egypt and she even squeezed in time to visit a Christmas market in Mons and Bruges, Belgium.
Despite feeling fortunate to have experienced different cultures, Geraldine admits that one place left a lasting, unfavourable impression. During a work trip, she spent a night in Caracas, Venezuela, before heading to Isla Margarita the next day.
She recalled: “It was probably one of my worst travel experiences. It felt pretty normal until I started waiting for the transfer, and waited and waited. I was there for hours and, as the small airport emptied, I realised I was alone.”
Her optimism was short-lived, as her transfer to the hotel finally arrived, only to be replaced by unease: “My phone wasn’t working, it was 1pm and there was no-one else around,” reports the Express.
“So when a man showed up and said in broken English that he was here to take me to the hotel I was relieved. But as I got in the car, there was another man sitting in the front seat and my stress response went through the roof.
“I would never normally get in a car with two strange men but I had no other options, so I got a tiny pen knife from my hand luggage and spent the 30-minute journey on high alert with it clutched in my hand.”
After finally reaching her hotel for the night and returning to the airport the following morning, her already distressing trip to the South American country seemed set to worsen. Upon arrival at the airport, she found herself chasing after a young man who had swiftly taken her bags, only to later discover that he was offering a paid ‘check in service’, which she subsequently found out she had to pay for.
Geraldine said she grudgingly handed over some money and checked in for the onward flight – fortunately, the return journey only involved a brief lay-over at Caracas airport before flying back home to the UK.
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