After we collected our luggage, we stood around in the airport for a nearly unbearable amount of time while we waited to find out how we'd actually get to the hotel. We finally caught a series of cabs to get to our hotel. The driver crammed six people into our vehicle, which was, fortunately, a Cadillac, and our trip to the Nassau Beach Hotel was speedy and frightening, considering we were driving in a US-type car on a UK-type road. Julie said she got to sample the vegetation along the way, as we came quite close to the side of the road. Neil and Liz got to ride in the SUV limo with a few of the professors and were subjected to watching Michael Jackson videos on DVD (apparently the driver's choice).

After we'd found and visited our rooms to refresh ourselves (and found some of the beds unmade), we met to eat dinner. All the biology people were going to Johnny Canoe's, so we decided it would be crowded there and didn't go. We instead decided to go to a restaurant called the Black Angus, and ended up wandering aimlessly for another nearly unbearable amount of time. We walked from our hotel to the one next door, up the escalator and right back down the escalator, around a maze of shops, past the casino, and finally up the elevator to our restaurant, only to find that a) we didn't have $50 to spend per entree, and b) it was closed on Sunday. After some discussion, we eventually decided on Johnny Canoe's.

Once in Johnny Canoe's, we were seated (thankfully on the terrace) and ordered our drinks. Katie and I ordered Coke, and were served Diet Coke instead. Once we ordered our food, we again waited an almost unbearable amount of time for our food to arrive, and when it did, it was slightly wrong but thoroughly delicious.

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach, and ended up playing rummy until we retired for the evening.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Today I had a conversation with the Nassau airport X-ray lady that went something like this:

"Do you have a computer or laptop?"

"Yes, it's in here." I indicate my 10"X 6" mini backpack.

The lady gives me a skeptical look.

"Where is it?"

"In here." I open my mini-backpack and pull out my Jornada handheld PC.

"Here."

The lady gives me a delighted look that totally made my day.

We board our prop plane and fly to San Salvador. When we arrive, we wait an almost unbearable amount of time for our baggage to appear. There is an old man playing the guitar and singing. One of the employees walks around talking to us, and stops by Katie. It is necessary to provide some back-story at this point.

With one exception, the English contingent is pasty white. Katie, who thought she'd try to get a jump on things, started tanning several weeks before the trip. The first day they put her in for a grand total of four minutes; at the time of our departure she was up to ten. She's a darker shade of pale now, and insists her stomach is the darkest part of her body.

The gentleman at the airport approaches her and comments that she's the whitest person ever. "You're damn white!" he says to her, ignoring her protests that she's been tanning. "You look like you're from New York."