Travel Photography > Amazon Basin >
Coca, Ecuador
My backpack is packed so perfectly - nothing wasted, everything I need, that nothing can go wrong.
I wake up at three in the morning to get to the airport as early as possible for a long day of travel.
But when I get to the airline counter, I reach into my backpack and grab my passport, and the the clerk says, "sorry, you can't go. Your passport expires in less than six months."
No, this can't be happening. What do I do now? Okay, she says, we can book you to Seattle, you can get an appointment with the passport agency, and just maybe you can fly out the next day, you want to do that? Yes, I say, of course, recounting the months of planning deteriorating into chaos.
"Wait a minute," I tell her! I need to call my wife. How long do I have before it's too late? "Twenty five minutes. How far away does she live?"
"Thirty-five."
Ring, ring, ring. "Jane, I know you have the flu, I know you didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but I need you to wake up our son and be at the airport in twenty-five minutes with my other passport!”
Twenty-five minutes later with my German passport in my hand, the clerk says, “Oops, your itinerary has just been bought up by someone else. You should go standby, your flight is boarding now! I’ll get you through security…you owe your wife a big Valentine’s Day present!”
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Family crossing the street. Coca, Ecuador.
