So that’s what I did. First was a monster shower though. The last of its kind. And its kind is the sort that you use crappy shampoo and conditioner that was available at Target in travel sizes. The sort of shower that feels good when you turn the water off, but merely seconds after that you are already sticky from the humidity. The kind of shower you take in a tropical foreign country. It did feel good this last time…when the water was turned off. And really not that bad after when then stickiness set in, because I was heading home today… home to my own shower and central air conditioning!
Don’t get me wrong, my week in Costa Rica was fabulous.. As I hope you’ve read about. But I was reaching my tipping point where my comfy bed, the English language, American dollars, my family, and even my desk in the Capitol were all calling my name loud and clear, even above the sound of the crashing waves and Spanish music.
So I got to packing. And unlike most trips I didn’t really over pack this time, so packing it all back up was pretty easy. My muddy and still damp tennis shoes were the biggest concern, but a plastic bag and the empty outside zip of my suitcase fixed that. Within minutes of starting I was ready for the trek to begin.
But we didn’t need to leave for another two hours. So McGruber and I headed into town for one last lap through the Tamarindo shops and to grab breakfast since the others were still packing and making sure we had all the paperwork needed for Tammy the Tico dog to be successfully smuggled back into America.
When McGruber and I returned from town it was just about time to head out. We grabbed all the last minute things laying around the house including a bottle of vodka and orange juice. I figured if there was any hold up at the air port with Tammy, at least we could drink ourselves silly.
And that is pretty much what it came to….
Whoa, I’ll back up.
Doc the official adopter of Tammy had jumped through several hoops already getting shots and flight reservations for the dog. And I’m not going to lie either and say everyone was on board with her decision. She may be successful in getting this puppy to America, but her marriage might need to be her focus once this adventure is over. Her hubby wasn’t thrilled about the whole thing and that is understating his opinion about as much as possible.
Anyway, we were running late to the airport so we drove like James Bond the 40 minutes or so to the Rental Car place. This would be the first checkpoint. A few things could go wrong here. 1. No deposit returned because of the dog hair that we did pay to have vacuumed. CHECK, deposit returned (and a good thing because it was 1500 bucks) 2. We wouldn’t all fit in the shuttle, thus requiring a few to stay behind until it could return to get us. This wouldn’t be a deal breaker but could delay the international travel plans, and that is never fun. Fortunately we smashed 4 of us girls in the very back, the dog crate and two others in the middle seat and Coca Cola Bill riding shotgun. Crisis #2 averted.
When we arrived to the airport I had my big bag, my carry on and the vodka orange juice. I was ready and so far, so was everyone else. We paid our exit fee (such a racket) and headed to the American Airline Check In counter. My bag was a solid 50lbs, the allotted amount, and everyone else fell under the weight limit. So far still good.
Then Doc got up to the counter with Tammy. They asked for all the required papers and everything seemed to be a go. Then the supervisor came out and told them about the temperature restrictions. No dogs over 85 degrees. And because it is hotter than hell, literally 105 in Dallas today, the dog could not fly. Time for the vodka.
But wait! Doc was prepared and had a vet in Liberia on stand by to fax a letter waiving that restriction for Tammy. The letter would simply say that the dog was healthy enough to withstand that kind of heat. We were good to go again. Put the vodka away.
But then Ivan the Terrible, the American Airlines counter attendant said unfortunately those letters must be obtained 24 hours in advance. That’s when we took our first swig of the liquid therapy OJ.
Doc haggled with him for a bit and finally got him to agree to a post dated letter. Boom, back on track. So the waiting game began for the faxed letter to arrive. A couple more drinks out of the community water bottle of happiness.
Then here came the witch supervisor again who said she didn’t care what letter came through on the fax, she would not allow it. No joke. This girl was on a serious power trip and after her appearance, Ivan the Terrible wouldn’t even accept a bribe. Total BS…and the OJ was almost gone.
Plan B called for a taxi driver at the airport (one of the paparazzi bunch from the Day 1 post) to be paid to stay with the dog until the vet, who Doc would also pay, could come get the dog. She would hold Tammy until Doc could arrange another flight, through say a cooler climate city like Miami, or shipping through Fedex or DHL. We executed that plan, and headed to the security line.
Doc was visibly upset but I’m not sure at this point if it was because we had to leave Tammy behind or because she had now spent such a ridiculous amount of money on a stray dog in a foreign country that she may not ever benefit from being the owner of. For me if would definitely be the second, but Doc is a lover, and I can tell her heart is just sad to leave her new buddy.
Once inside the glorified hangar of a terminal it was crazy hot. We were all pouring sweat waiting to board our flight and when we finally did I could not be more excited to be headed for American soil.
Now I’m 30,000 feet in the air and have my music so loud it is deafening to mask the screaming baby sitting right behind me. No joke.
When we land we plan on getting through customs quickly (ha, yah right) and getting some dinner before heading for the ATX around 9pm….. More from that flight….
Well we made it to Dallas. We got off the plane, while the baby was still crying, made it through customs, and headed straight for the golden arches. That coupled with the Cowboys game on TV was probably the most American welcome one can get after being out of the country for a week.
Now I am back on another plane and headed for ATX. I could not be more excited either. Outside of losing my luggage, not much else can happen so it is ADIOS from dia ocho!
If something does happen it will go here tomorrow, and if not I will still share the email we just received from the vet back in Liberia, Costa Rica who loves Tico Tammy and is excited to ship her to America!
xoxo Sara Marie
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