Thursday, June 23, 2011

Day 18 - Taganga/Santa Marta (Under the Sea)

Soo today is my last day in Santa Marta and the big day because it's my last two dives before I become certified. It was (and did) end up being an intense day because everything needed to go like clockwork to ensure that I could be back from Taganga in time to catch my shuttle to Cartagena for my flight to Medellin. There was noo room for error, lol.

However, how quickly I forget, lol, that I'm in Colombia which works on a different kinda time. So expecting to be picked up at 7:30am does not happen. It gets close to 8:00am and I ask the front desk to call and see what's going on. Welll the taxi they paid to come and get us never showed.. soo they sent another one and we arrive about 25 minutes late. Okay, no worries! I'll just go to the ATM up there and be able to shave off lost time.

Soo today is a great day for diving. The sun is shining, we are hoping the visibility on the bottom of the ocean is clear, and we get started! Today's challenges were just that, lol. We had to take off our scuba diving equipment underwater and put it back on, lol. I did that one okay. However, when they told me to take off my weight belt under water, I almost floated away twice, but eventually got it! We also had to use a compass to navigate back and forth to ensure we could get back. I did it, but I sure need some practice. My absolute favorite was when Felipe told us to sit on the edge of the boat, all of us, now get out and swim to the shore. WTH?! I wasn't expecting it to happen like that, lol. It would have been nice to have some sort of warning. Some sort! Well I swam and floated and kicked and made it. I was already ti'd from the mornings activities and now this, lol. 

But now I'm officially certified. Whoo-wee!

Sooo the fun of the day.. I go to the ATM and it doesn't work.. Not sure why, so I figured I'll run quickly to the one by the hostel. Still no workie. Well to make a long story short.. I had to call the bank and the fraud alert people several times for them to tell me my account was blocked. Now my question is why in the hell do you call the banks and tell them you are traveling if they are going to block your account anyway? Now time is a ticking and it took forever for someone to give me some good information. I'm sweating and dayum near tears of frustration and liable to cuss someone out. It wouldn't be soo bad if I ain't have to dial them like a regular number because they don't have a collect number and if it wasn't close to my departing time. SONOFAS!

Then I find out that my transportation is unable to pick me up from the hotel, but they send a cab, so fine. However, I'm late and don't leave until after 5pm, which means I'll be later to Cartagena. Now I'll give credit that the driver was like a bat out of hell. Like he was trying to make up for lost time.. Swirving around cars, flashing them to move over so he can move ahead. It was pretty intense, but we finally made it. Oh, they had that runaway train movie with Denzel on too.

I get to Cartagena and since it's soo late, I find out that my "reservation of sorts" at Casa Viena has been given away and that I needed to find another place to sleep. Okay, fine. He offers to send me further down this road for more for less and I'm like don't worry about it.  I'm trying to do this and talking to some of the other guests that are there and this man is steadily chatting in my ear about how they don't do reservations and this that and the other and if I could have cussed his azz out, I think I would have, lol. Maybe that was Divine Intervention.

Soo anywho, I decide to walk around and end of at Hostal Holiday. Trust me when I say it's no holiday, but its borderline-sufficient since I'm leaving early in the morning. I slept fully dressed and was glad I had already showered right before arriving Cartagena.


I guess the perk is that I have the place to myself and it's kinda cool in here with the fan, but maan! I would have loved to stay at my first choice. Bastids!

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations on the certification. You're well on your way to being the next Jacques Cousteau

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