Arrival

Aside from being muggy, the airport at Panama City was just about like any other airport: crowds, chain food and beverage choices... Oh, and a random booth halfway between terminals was giving out samples of oak-cask-aged Absolut Vodka at 6 in the morning. Surreal, but pretty cool. I felt justified chowing on a Cinnabon after that, because we really don't have those in Ocean Shores, so it was kind of a cultural experience. We hunkered down on an area of carpet in amongst the chairs full of people waiting, and I got the wi-fi to connect just as our flight was called. See - an airport!

Then we flew to San Andres Island. We made some friends and potential fellow World Vetsians on the plane and waiting in line for customs. It took about a jillion years to get through customs because the airline was supposed to have given us a form that they didn't give us, and we had to have the forms to pay the fee to enter Colombia. Depending on who you talked to, the fee would have been anywhere from $22-28, but the final official who told us we didn't have the forms couldn't accept US cash. So it's a good thing that half of us had gotten some money exchanged in Panama, since the rest of us were just planning to hit up an ATM once we got out into San Andres. So we ended up paying in the neighborhood of $28-worth of Colombian pesos each (except Dee - for some reason she only had to pay $27, and she paid a different guy, and he was fine with American dollars). So we finally made it through and out into the WARMTH. Oh, it was lovely. Then we met Collette the vet and our driver Mitchell. Collette and Lesley had made their travel arrangements separately, so they both stayed in different hotels than we did, but we still managed to hang out most of the day. We piled into Mitchell's van and, first stop, our hotel to drop off luggage and get into beach gear. Our hotel is a house that's split into apartments. It has this awesome terrace-y staircase up to the owner's apartment.  

 

After a quick change, we headed to the Caribbean Sea for some wading/snorkeling/whatever. Yes, it really looks like this. That little brushy thing is the Rocky Cay (shockingly so named because it is a cay, or tiny island, that is very rocky) and the blocky thing behind it is part of a rusty old shipwreck. Most of us waded out to the cay, and some adventurous "other people" climbed on the shipwreck. I didn't want to tempt fate, even with my 100proof sunscreen, so I started the wade back, only to be picked up by a kid on a jetski. My hat flew off halfway back, so we had to turn around and snag it from the water indiana jones style as we rode by. 

Here's a group shot: me, Dee, Collette, Mitchell, Stacy, and Woofie (of course) 

Touching story: The wheelchair belongs to an older lady - you can see her in the water, being supported by her two grown-up kids. How awesome is that! 

 

Next stop - we headed down the coast to drop off Collette at her hotel - where we will stay starting tomorrow. We checked out the grounds and made a friend right off:

 Then it was about dinner time. We found an ATM to get mor Colombian pesos, and then Mitchell took us to Miss Celie's restaurant - where they assured us we'd get real, local food. And we did, except for the french fries. Fried plantains and breadfruit were served with rice and beans for me, or with meat or fish for everyone else.

 There was an awesome drink made of coconut milk and lime juice.

 Sandy "dropped" some of her kingfish, and made another new friend.

 After dinner, we headed to the supermarket to pick up breakfast supplies, as this hotel doesn't serve food. While there, we found some fun cat food:

And, because I am me, and because it was there, I purchased a Happy Piu. It was super yummy.

I'm sure there was more (and more photos) but I'm exhausted, so that'll do for tonight. Blog at you tomorrow!