88 pages • 2 hours read
The Motorcycle Diaries
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Chapters 43-45Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 43 Summary: "On the Road to Caracas"
Guevara and Granado arrive at the border, and after enduring the usual questions and suspicions, cross the bridge into Venezuela. They are detained in San Antonio de Táchira, and again at a customs post halfway to San Cristóbal. The knife that attracted police attention in Bogotá becomes an object of interest in San Cristóbal, too, but the friends manage the encounter "with an ease mastered through dealings with people of such high culture" (129). For the first time, Guevara mentions "the revolver" (129), which the customs officers do not discover because it is hidden in a stinking bundle in Guevara's pocket.
The men leave San Cristóbal in a crowded van. Along the way, the van has a flat tire and Guevara's asthma begins to act up. Guevara notes that the poor state of the roads and the resulting tire punctures, along with the many police stops, slowed their travel. However, one woman held a letter of recommendation that kept the police from searching the luggage in the van and discovering Guevara and Granado's weapons.
The friends skip meals to save money, but the driver eventually pities them and treats them to a meal. Guevara arrives in Caracas "absolutely wrecked" (130) by an asthma attack.
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