Puna at 5am

I am fully awake when we land because I am reading an article about the use of medication to make eyelashes "longer, lusher, and darker". What in the world? I am SO not down with the eyelash craze. I can feel the change in the temperature. Everyone is so polite or nervous. The ground crew person escorted us in the building. The woman at immigration was taking a really long time. Does she know I have meat products in my bag??? Yikes. She must be giving Customs the heads up. I get my luggage and it is sent through a screening machine. I make it through. I am so excited that I am officially a smuggler. The airport is deserted. Very few cabs, but tons of "Auto ricksaws" Yea ok. I am regretting I didn't arrange a cab ahead of time. Things are looking really suspect. The guy asks me "how much do I want to pay". I finally get in the cab. The cabbie drives worse than a NYC cabbie. It's 5am and the roads were empty, but he still almost took out two young girls. They didn't even flinch when he beeped the horn. I get dropped off at the wrong hotel. The sign was not in English, but when I arrived inside I see it is "Sun and Sand". Now I know I clearly said TAJ Blue Diamond. The hotel gives me a ride, luckily it is only 5minutes away.
Did I mention the security check to get into the hotel? They make cars open the hood and truck and then they take a cart with a mirror and slide it under the car. I have to go through a metal detector and they check my bags. Do I feel safe? Um..let me get back to you on that. I am escorted to my room by the front desk person and my bags come later. We wouldn't have all fit in the elevator. LOL. My plan was to shower and rest a bit because it was 5:30am, but somehow I slept until 4pm. Oops. I was exhausted. This is by far one of the nicest hotels I have been in. When I grow up I want my shower to look just like the one here. I will be accepting donations upon my return to the States. It is now 7:30pm. There is no iron so I am forced to use the laundry service. I suppose I shouldn't complain that I spent $3.00 for two outfits to be pressed. My plan is to catch up on emails and relax before going back to sleep. Tomorrow will be my first official day at the office and roaming the city. Wish me luck.