Noble Trenham writing his daily notes inside “Roadrunner”, 1959
GLOBAL NOBLE PART 5
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eparting Panama aboard the Reina Del Mar bound for Venezuela, Noble notes that he and Dean “were ready for some adventure” – some people may think just the concept of the trip is adventure enough and if you’ve been following this series, the trip so far has been all about adventure. But nevertheless, they were seeking adventure, and they certainly found it on this leg of the trip. The three-day voyage from Panama to Venezuela went off without a hitch, or as Noble says “all with little fuss.” “We had made it to South America, our second continent, and Dean and I had to make a decision as to how we were going to spend our time,” said Noble. Remember that detailed itinerary Noble had prepared and distributed to all his stateside friends before they left? Well, that was now a bit off track. “Departing Panama, we were already a month behind that very precise schedule,” said Noble. “Not because we were slow guys, but because the world had embraced us so much by inviting us for tea, for dinner, to visits that were not on our schedule. That was fun and that is what we hoped would happen and it happened in spades. So I threw away the itinerary and made a pact with Dean. We would concentrate our time in the parts of the world which would be most to difficult to return to in the future. And that meant Africa, and Asia and Australia, so that’s what we planned”. To that end, they “hustled through Venezuela” because of its proximity to the US. “So there we were attempting to enter Colombia without a visa, which turned out to be a mistake,” said Noble. “We had checked out of Venezuela and could not re-enter that country again without a new visa and Colombia did not let us enter so we were caught in no man’s land between the two countries. Thank goodness we were self-contained.” Making dinner, bedding down for a good night’s sleep, and figuring out a plan to talk their way into Colombia without a visa were on the agenda that night! As it turns out, the pair was able to enter Colombia without a visa but that’s where the adventure begins. “I think the Colombian officials at the border got a good look at our unique vehicle and came to the conclusion that we were not a threat to their country,” said Noble. “We were permitted to enter with the scolding that we go to the capital city of Bogota and obtain a visa permitting us to exit, which we did.” As they headed to Ecuador, they stopped for dinner in Tunja, a Colombian town with an elevation of 10,000
feet buried in the Andes Mountains. “After dinner, we asked a fellow for directions who said he would show us the way if we could provide him a ride home,” said Noble. Noting this gentleman had perhaps had a bit too much to drink at dinner, Noble and Dean chose to find their own way but were surprised at the next turn of events. “As we got into the Jeep, this man stepped in front of the truck and pulled a gun on us,” Noble said. “It turns out he was Colombian Intelligencia and did not believe we were on a good will mission around the world, but rather that we looked like Cuban Communists (thanks in part to the 4-month beard growth each man sported).” Keep in mind that it had only been six months since the Castro regime had taken over Cuba and the South American world was still rattled, to say the least. While Dean stayed behind with the Jeep, Noble was carted off to be interrogated. “There I was being interrogated in Spanish, being asked many questions I could not understand,” said Noble. I began to introduce the letters of reference I carried from Vice President Richard Nixon, from California Senator Tommy Kuchel, from the State Department, all to no avail.” Thinking he had struck out, Noble pulled out one last letter – and again, those ties that bind, and these being the ties to USC, came through for him. “I had the letter from Dr. Rufus B. von KleinSmid, and since we were buried deep in the Andes, I thought they’d have no idea who that might be, but what did I have to lose?” said Noble. Turns out two young people from Tunja were currently studying at USC. “If you are from USC you cannot be all bad,” said the gentleman, ultimately, letting Noble go free. “You can imagine all the fun I have with that story with my friends from UCLA. If I had been a Bruin, I’d still be in a Tunja jail,” chuckles Noble! On to Ecuador… ■ AUGUST 2012 | TRAILBLAZER
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