My Mexico Vacation, Or, The Government Didn't Like My Passport Photo

So, I have this timeshare in Playa del Carmen, which is 40 miles south of Cancun, on the Eastern side of Mexico.
Well, Katrina cancelled last year's trip as they had to repair the damage, so, I traded my week for a week in Puerto Vallarta, on the Western side of Mexico, and
my best friend, Pam, and I went for the third week in April of this year.

And, of course, I took a gazillion pictures, so this blog will be ongoing, as I continue to upload pix for a while.
Now, I've been travelling internationally for many many years, so I know how it goes.

However - I have been trying to get Unemployment, and one of the things I had to do was to register,

which meant I had to show them documents, one of which was my Passport.

Well, let me tell ya, it sure was fortunate that I'm trying to get unemployment, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have realised that my Passport had EXPIRED until I got to the airport! Fortunately, I saw that it was expired a week before I was to depart, so I went and got the info from the Passport office as to what I had to do to expedite getting it.

I had to send 2 photos, some paperwork, etc. and spend around $200 to get it done in 2 weeks (it usually takes 6) , so I fedexed it all to this company in Texas who would take care of it.

Well.

They called me the beginning of the week I needed it, to tell me that the Passport Office had

REJECTED MY PHOTOS.

They weren't clear, and the background had to be white.

So, I retook them (here @ home), again, in front

of a white door.

THEY REJECTED THEM AGAIN.

They didn't like the background being a door, no matter what colour it

was, and they still didn't

like the photos.

So, passport-wise,

I was screwed.

My next option was to use a birth certificate, so, I dug thru all my documents, and found the birth certificate my mom gave me from the hospital where I was born. It had a nun's signature

as well as my little baby

foot prints in ink.

So, I arrive at the airport, ready to get my

boarding pass, and, they ask me for my passport. I tell them I don't have one, and they ask for my birth

certificate, which I give them.

'This isn't a birth certificate," the

agent says.

"Yes, it is - look, it says birth certificate, right here, at the top." I say.

"No, this is only the keepsake they give out at the hospital," he replies. "Do

you have a Voter Registration card , perhaps?"

'Sure, I do, but I didn't bring it with me to go to Mexico with!", I reply, getting PRETTY FUCKING WORRIED.

'Can you go home and get it?", he asks.

Now, I had just been dropped off by my friend Theresa,

who is house/dog/cat/car sitting,

and is on her way back to my house, and IF I had brought my cellphone, I could have called her, and MAYBE

she might have been able to get to my house, find the voter registration card, and POSSIBLY get back to the airport in time, BUT,

without calling her immediately,

which I couldn't do (no cellphone, as I mentioned), well, I was basically fucked.

ALL WAS NOT LOST. In the end, the agent got another agent, who was also a Notary, to fill out a paper that said I was cleared based on my birth certificate.

That's how the vacation started.

TO BE CONTINUED