Edgar: "What are you looking for?"
Jennifer: "My entrance permit .. the one they stamped and then inserted into our passport when we arrived."
Edgar: "Oh yeah .. I think I threw mine away at the hotel in Puebla. I didn't think we needed it."
Jennifer: "What? You threw it away? We'll need it when we leave México!"
Edgar: "Hmmm .. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." (Thinks to himself: 'silly girl .. so paranoid'.)
Jennifer: (Silence). "Ah, here it is. Got it. Now I can relax."
Edgar: (Silence). "Glad you found it. Now we can both relax."
...2 hours later, as people are boarding the plane:
Flight Attendant: "Sir, your passport is here, but your entrance permit is missing."
Edgar: "What?"
FA: "Your entrance permit. Stamped. It's not here."
Edgar: "Can I see the passport?" (Opens the passport to the stamped page). "Here. Here's the stamp."
FA: "That's just the stamp in the passport. I also need the sheet that states the date of your arrival and the length of your tourism stay. Your Visa. It was given to you upon your arrival to our country and should be in the passport."
Edgar: "Well, what you're holding is all I've got."
FA: "I'm sorry Sir. I can't let you get on the plane without the entrance permit. You'll have to go back to customs and get a new one. If you hurry you might still be able to make it back before the flight leaves."
...3 hours later, and I finally got my replacement entrance stub.
After a small fine, re-applying for entrance into the country, filling out police paperwork, arguing with two different customs agents, and going in and out of the baggage claim areas three times (I had to pick up my luggage, which was taken off the plane and then lost in baggage carousel hell), and then going through security again, I finally arrived at the same gate again.
Of course, by this time, Jennifer was long gone. She'd gotten on the plane without difficulty, and in fact, the plane was at this very time probably flying over Portland, just over an hour before landing back at home. And I was still at the airport in México, stuck, waiting.
And in case that wasn't enough, the flight that I would have to take would not take me directly to Vancouver. No, if I wanted a direct flight I'd have had to wait an additional 24 hours. Instead, my options of flight for the same day were via MONTREAL or TORONTO! I refused to fly via the US. I picked Toronto.
So, whereas Jennifer arrived in Vancouver somewheres around noon, I arrived close to midnight, almost 12 hours later.
Lesson learned. It's good to be attentive to detail. It's not good to make fun of others.
On the positive side, I did get about 5,000 airmiles more then Jen did. So who has the last laugh now, eh?
Jennifer: "My entrance permit .. the one they stamped and then inserted into our passport when we arrived."
Edgar: "Oh yeah .. I think I threw mine away at the hotel in Puebla. I didn't think we needed it."
Jennifer: "What? You threw it away? We'll need it when we leave México!"
Edgar: "Hmmm .. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." (Thinks to himself: 'silly girl .. so paranoid'.)
Jennifer: (Silence). "Ah, here it is. Got it. Now I can relax."
Edgar: (Silence). "Glad you found it. Now we can both relax."
...2 hours later, as people are boarding the plane:
Flight Attendant: "Sir, your passport is here, but your entrance permit is missing."
Edgar: "What?"
FA: "Your entrance permit. Stamped. It's not here."
Edgar: "Can I see the passport?" (Opens the passport to the stamped page). "Here. Here's the stamp."
FA: "That's just the stamp in the passport. I also need the sheet that states the date of your arrival and the length of your tourism stay. Your Visa. It was given to you upon your arrival to our country and should be in the passport."
Edgar: "Well, what you're holding is all I've got."
FA: "I'm sorry Sir. I can't let you get on the plane without the entrance permit. You'll have to go back to customs and get a new one. If you hurry you might still be able to make it back before the flight leaves."
...3 hours later, and I finally got my replacement entrance stub.
After a small fine, re-applying for entrance into the country, filling out police paperwork, arguing with two different customs agents, and going in and out of the baggage claim areas three times (I had to pick up my luggage, which was taken off the plane and then lost in baggage carousel hell), and then going through security again, I finally arrived at the same gate again.
Of course, by this time, Jennifer was long gone. She'd gotten on the plane without difficulty, and in fact, the plane was at this very time probably flying over Portland, just over an hour before landing back at home. And I was still at the airport in México, stuck, waiting.
And in case that wasn't enough, the flight that I would have to take would not take me directly to Vancouver. No, if I wanted a direct flight I'd have had to wait an additional 24 hours. Instead, my options of flight for the same day were via MONTREAL or TORONTO! I refused to fly via the US. I picked Toronto.
So, whereas Jennifer arrived in Vancouver somewheres around noon, I arrived close to midnight, almost 12 hours later.
Lesson learned. It's good to be attentive to detail. It's not good to make fun of others.
On the positive side, I did get about 5,000 airmiles more then Jen did. So who has the last laugh now, eh?
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