Getting It On

Sergio flew to Cartagena Friday lunch time. Shortly thereafter he was shouldering the burden of our air conditioner. 

He brought his wife and two daughters on the flight from Panama and he had a hankering for roast suckling pig known as lechon. So he picked up the unit off the bed and walked it up the rickety step ladder. Done and dusted. 

And that was that. He did it all on his own, slid it in place, wired it up and bolted it down. No new padding needed as the whole thing seems to fit in place.  We kept his sheet of acrylic so next time we have what we need to plug the hole. I’ve learned a lot from watching him but I’m still going to hire some experienced truck a/c installer  to check it out for me and muscle will be needed to lift it up and down. Ours now has new bearings and should be good for a while longer. Next time…I just cannot wait for our next container trip. 

It’s hot here but we decided to stay Sunday to give us time to clean GANNET2 up do laundry, fill the water tank, stock the fridge and store the contents of our cases. We will both be very happy to be at home with our routines and away from hotels, taxis and other peoples’ schedules. 

And on top of that I got a head cold which I’ve now passed to Layne which is why this post is published a couple of days after I intended it. The rooftop a/c was in place by mid afternoon Friday and here we are…

I screwed up while I was sick and allowed myself to be pickpocketed, obviously I don’t know how exactly but I suspect a cab driver…he got my drivers license which actually is no big deal. It was my old one, still valid but with my Cudjoe address. After we left the Keys we put our mailing address on our new ones so I have my new license in my pocket now and I’m still good to go. It’s annoying I let my guard down but as I say I wasn’t myself. 

One of my French container buddies lost his vital passport and car papers in our Uber on one of our trips from the port. I’d paid for that ride so I was the driver’s contact and sure enough on Saturday he contacted me and returned the papers which I will return to Martin when we meet in Medellin in ten days. That’s another reason to use Uber and not a cab! 

But we did end up with an after installation gathering as a candy seller came by with assorted fruit flavored concoctions. Sergio, his family and all stood around chatting and munching silvered her wares:

Our plan is to leave today to meet some friends in a campground in the hills above Cartagena where hopefully it will be a little cooler and I can get my Kindle back that I left in a hotel. Hugh and Sue kindly picked it up for me saving us a six hour detour…I tell you living out of a suitcase is a special skill and my hat’s off to all of you. I have really missed living aboard GANNET2 I can tell you. 

Tomorrow I’ll post my final set of pictures from Cartagena and I hope we will be back on the road. I feel like we haven’t been traveling properly since before Christmas with all the reissues and shipping and failing to tour like tourists. 

I’m ready for the open road as soon as Layne feels ready to go. It’s her turn to stay awake all night coughing and spluttering but as she’s a lot tougher than me she whines a lot less.

I’m ready to drive. 

Rusty The Flying Dog

Riding the cab to the airport was a piece of cake and Rusty enjoyed that:

Our flight was at 9:30pm from Panama’s Tocumen airport and we arrived a couple of hours ahead of take off as required for an international flight. We had three seats reserved on COPA Airlines flight 202 to Cartagena in Colombia. 

Rusty had his own seat though he had to fly on the cabin floor. It turned out the 70 minute flight must have had a tail wind as we took just 45 minutes to reach South America. So much the better. 

The check in clerk got a panicked look in her eyes when she saw the dog coming in but we had reserved our seats and confirmed he had Emotional Support Papers from the vet in Panama. COPA allows dogs to fly in the cabin if you buy an extra seat for him which seemed reasonable to me. The clerk’s supervisor helped her do the check in paperwork and we chatted amiably and then they checked our two bags. 

No one asked to see onward tickets which has been an issue for some overlanders who when asked for tickets out of Colombia offer their vehicle shipping papers to show they are traveling by land, and that can cause confusion and delay. To avoid this we bought onward tickets for $16 apiece except they aren’t tickets but just look like real tickets. It’s amazing what you can get online. 

Could you tell it’s not real? In the event it turns out no one asked to see proof of onward travel so our slick precaution was unnecessary. And that basically was how Rusty Layne and I arrived in Colombia last night. 

He settled into his spot on the floor in row 26 as we waited to leave the gate. Take off freaked him out a bit but he settled down. After about half an hour he’d had enough and then the engine note changed as we started to descend to Cartagena. 

He was sitting up and panting as we came down to land and he did not like the bumpy landing one bit but I held on to him and reassured him as best I could. 

We were the last off the plane and wasn’t I delighted to see a patch of grass as we walked across the tarmac to the terminal building. Rusty took full advantage and had a long heartfelt pee. The watching employee smiled broadly. The grass is just outside the door in the hurried photo below. 

We got in the special line at immigration with the crew and some other passengers. The officials ignored Rusty as they processed our passports and gave us the standard 90 days renewable for another 90 if we want. As we walked toward luggage pick up and Customs a guy approached and said he was the agriculture agent. We collected our bags which were already on the carousel and I followed him to his office, past customs who waved us through without a second glance.  

We had all the papers necessary of course. He made copies, charged my Visa card 64,000 pesos ($16 roughly) and that was that. We were in Colombia. And Rusty had survived his first flight. What a dog. 

We changed some money (about 4,000 pesos to the dollar) and the agriculture guy came back in his car and said let me give you a lift as I’m going past your hotel. Amazing! Layne had met a cop as she was looking for an ATM while I had been getting  Rusty’s papers processed and she said he couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. 

We were using the hotel as our address in Colombia for Rusty’s entry papers which was how the agriculture guy, Eduardo, knew where we were staying. It was an amazing act of kindness by a stranger and an official. Colombia promises well. I’m looking forward to this and in two weeks we should have GANNET2 back. 

 For now we’ll explore with a rental car. Welcome to Colombia the agriculture agent said as he handed me Rusty’s papers. Welcome indeed!