I traveled to Puerto Vallarta with some friends. In 2022, the age of Covid, the United States requires a negative Covid test within 24 hours of your return home or proof of the antibodies. If you happen to test positive, you have to quarantine for another five days before you're allowed to fly home.
A friend suggested using the SETAC community center as my Covid testing site. Apparently, the proceeds help fund HIV testing, or research, or support in the community. Something like that. Needless to say, I was very excited to find a convenient testing site which also supports the local community.
I made my appointment weeks in advance via their website. They use a Google dock which reminds you to bring your passport and allows you to select a time during their hours of operation (which their website advertises as 10 AM to 2 PM Monday through Friday.)
I made an appointment for 11 AM. I arrived a few minutes before 11 AM. There was a sign on the door, in Spanish, with a little clock on it. It looked like it said they would return again at 2 PM. But, the door was cracked, so I walked in and announced myself with an "hola".
A woman emerged from the back. She was Spanish-speaking. I am not fluent by any means, but I proceeded to tell her that I had an appointment for 11. She eventually pointed to the sign on the door and used her finger to rotate the plastic clock to tell me to come back at noon. Having made the appointment in Eastern time, I thought I had made a mistake on my calendar and wasn't accounting for the central time difference. So I think to her, and went on a walkabout around the neighborhood for the next hour.
When I returned 15 minutes before my supposed noon appointment, I found that the aluminum storefront gate was down and padlocked. Frustrated, I rechecked my email to confirm my appointment was at 11 AM local time. I then got on their website and attempted to call, but my phone didn't understand the country code so the car would not connect. I attempted to click on their WhatsApp app so I could message with them, but I couldn't get it to load on my phone. So I ended up emailing them asking for advice, then turned to Google maps to see if the phone number from there would connect. It did, but I got a voice message recording in Spanish and was then disconnected.
So now, it's almost quarter after 12 and I'm sitting on the stoop wondering when they will open and why she told me to come back at noon -- after making an appt for 11a well in advance.
I loved my walkabout around the neighborhood, and don't consider that wasted time since I was exploring a new city, but now I'm frustrated and in a pinch to get a Covid test today. I know there are testing places near the airport, but they are more expensive, and there's always the chance that I could test positive and will have to quarantine here.
I really wish the business was better organized, and that the woman had been bilingual. I would imagine most of the travelers Who need a Covid test to return home are English-speaking. Had we been able to communicate better, I may not be sitting alone outside the shop wondering where they are while my friends, who are staying longer, wait for me at the beach. read more
