On Friday, Dino, our Colombian Shipping Agent returned our passports and gave us our Clearance Papers. We were now ready to cast off our lines, pay our bills and head for Panama in the next day or so. But first, we had other important business to attend to as it was Maynard's birthday so we wandered into Santa Marta for a nice lunch on probably the hottest, most humid day we've felt. It was noon and the first thing we noticed was that the streets were practically deserted with no taxis, no motor cycles, no donkeys and very few people. Turned out that Colombia was to play soccer against Ecuador Friday afternoon in nearby Barranquilla and everyone in the country had either gone home to watch it on tv or were already in the local bars hydrating at a rapid rate. We dragged our already severely dehydrated bodies back to the boat as no suitable eating establishments were open. The weather was a precursor to a massive storm which hit Barranquilla before kick-off and the game was delayed while water was removed from the field by a bunch of guys stabbing the ground with pitch forks in order to drain away the water. How funny. This impressive storm also made its way up to Santa Marta and before we knew it, we were experiencing 30 knots of wind and drenching rain but it felt so much better.
We headed up to the Captains Lounge at the Marina to watch the game and sat with the most enthusiastic, noisy, excited Colombian marina staff and boat owners you could imagine. Then an Ecuadorian star mid fielder was given a red card and had to leave the field which opened up their back line allowing Colombia to make a quick score, the only score of the game. It was tense and exciting and then the lights went out on the field causing a ½ hour delay but the massive crowd sat patiently. There was much drama at the end of the game when Ecuador was awarded a controversial penalty shot. Their star striker slotted the ball just left of the goal and the 50,000 spectators at the stadium and all of Santa Marta erupted with cheering, fire crackers, and horn blasts. This win moved Colombia to No. 1 on the South America World Cup qualifying table and we were there to feel it and see it with the Colombians. We headed into town again for a late celebration dinner and as it was still raining we had to duck and dodge the flooded streets. Michael wasn't wearing his shoes when we walked through the small town park near the restaurant and while walking along the sidewalk suddenly received a shock from a metal cover sitting flush with the concrete. He jumped a bit and we thought we might have to crash tackle him but he was ok. He wore his thongs after that. There was only one other hiccup. Maynard's back tore again.
Maynard has been reading that prescription drugs are super cheap in these types of countries and as he was saving his last anti-inflammatory Mobic pill, we jumped in our $US 2 taxi the following day to visit the Drugueria at the grocery store called Exito. We showed the smiling attendant the packet and he checked under "M" in his drawer for Meloxicam and handed over a box for $US 2. (Everything seems to cost about $US 2, as even a packet of Marlboro cigarettes which we don't smoke also cost $US 2). In Australia, this exercise would have cost well over $100 after going to the doctor and paying for the prescription. Well, this was a tremendous win and worked like a charm so he bought 3 boxes and coughed up $ US 6 and crab walked away with the biggest grin on his face I've seen for a while. I am happy to say that he feels a lot better so we think we're clear to leave soon.