We visited the embassies. Got the injections [yellow fever and meningitis] and photocopied all our documents. Feeling a bit stressed about not knowing anything about what we are walking into. But I guess that’s the point of it. Life isn’t supposed to be easy, but is this the wrong choice?
The following day, we got into the Ghanaian Embassy at around 11am. The difference in formality, security and everything between the British Embassy building and the Ghanaian is remarkable. I had expected there to be more security at the British Embassy, but this was just ridiculous.
The British Embassy was on the 32nd floor, we entered the building and were told to immediately identify ourselves, our bags were scanned and we had to walk through a scanner. On the 32nd floor we were asked to leave all electronic devises in the foyer in a locked compartment, while we waited to be served. Before entering the waiting area, which was divided into 4 parts, we were security scanned again. We waited for about 15 minutes. To be honest we didn’t really have much need to go to the Embassy, we needed to know where to get the injections and any other help they could provide. I guess in a small way I was hoping for some sort of consolidation on our plans. If we rocked up, and they said “Africa, why would you want to go there, and travel through all those countries, we really don’t recommend it, blah, blah, blah, reason, reason, reason” or if they said “oh cool, Africa, I just came back from there, there is nothing to worry about, beautiful place.”
Is that really so much to ask for? Well, we didn’t get that. We got blank looks, they were friendly enough and quite helpful, but just a small validation of our [my] fear would have been nice.
Well, we got lost on the way to the Ghanaian Embassy. We had a pretty crappy map, that had different embassies we needed circled on it. Pretty funny really, James’ bag has camouflage clothing, climbing gear, and a shabby map with a whole heap of African embassies, and the British and Australian embassy’s details on it.
The Ghanaian embassy was nothing like the British, it couldn’t have been less similar. There are 4 high rise buildings in Madrid, D, the forth houses all the Commonwealth country embassies, well not all of them, but quite a few. So it is quite pronounced. The Ghanaian Embassy is on the 3rd floor of a non-descript building, in a non-descript street. There is one security guard for the whole building, who just waved us over to the elevator. We got to the Embassy, and there is no security, just a receptionist with a buzz lock door. She handed us the Visa Application forms, and we were on our way.
After filling out the forms and getting our ugly mug shots taken, we headed back to the embassy the next day. The receptionist had her hands full. When it came to our turn in the queue, 10 minutes of waiting, tops, she asked us why we were there. We asked to hand in our applications, and she asked for our mobile phones. Neither of us have one, so she buzzed us through to the waiting area out the back. No ID check; no security scanner, nothing. I don’t understand it.
I’m not going to lie. It was pretty stressful. Number one- we aren’t Spanish residents, they almost turned us down because of that, saying we would have to go to Australia to get the visa, umm shit! Then we asked if we could go to London, as we are British passport holders. That was a maybe, but as we are not residents, what’s the difference between London and Madrid right? Then he asked us to fill out our residential address in Australia, and previous employer.
I don’t know what happened, but we came back and he offered to have it ready for us by the end of the day. CRAZY. There is an option where you pay double for same day. But I was not prepared to pay 200Euros. So we now have to wait the 4 working days. Had we handed it in on Monday, we would have got it back yesterday, but we weren’t prepared enough, so we handed it in Tuesday and as the office isn’t open Fridays, we now have to pick it up on Monday. Which is good, for me. As I am petrified of what Tuesday brings.
It’s slowly setting in! Considering we haven’t even been planning this for 2 weeks, and we leave after 16 days of planning, it feels so far out of anything I can control. In that sense, this is an amazing lesson to learn, I hate not being in control, which is why I haven’t jumped out of a plane, and I hate roller coaster rides. We took our first dose of malaria tablets today. It’s ridiculous really, I mean, the side effects are intense. Nightmares, anxiety, paranoia; just to name a few. How will we know if it’s the extreme heat, travel exhaustion, a bad day or what? This is the experience of a lifetime and I am petrified.
There is a line when travelling, and crossing it can create silly expectations and ruin any amazing surprises. But at the same time, not coming close enough to the line can deem one to be unprepared. A quick example- I had no idea what Edinburgh would be like, I hadn’t seen photos or researched it, we pulled in on the train and it was absolutely spectacular. Had I seen photos, the wonderful surprise might not have been there, or so strong. Not knowing what to expect is great, except if we should be prepared for a dangerous place.
The research is a bit like that. We found a website, and a series of you tube clips made by a couple of guys from Australia in 2010. They were travelling over land from Morocco to South Africa for the Soccer world cup. Their experiences have been inspiring to us, and have quelled quite a few of our fears. Check them out www.amateursinafrica.com
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