alone , on a motorcycle , via a border under military control . I guess this is what Jed meant by “ looking the part ”.
But hey , at least I had a hotel reservation .
Before Jed can relay the intricacies of his current predicament with Customs , who in his words had spent the last few hours “ giving us all cancer with their giant microwave oven ,” the door once again flies open and a familiar face shouts , “ Whose motorcycle is this ?”
I raise my hand sarcastically , and my insistent friend acts surprised , as if we hadn ’ t already spent quality time together . Shaking his head ,
he disappears back outside . I don ’ t bother following .
“ Watch out for that guy ,” Jed chimes in “ he ’ s the one ‘ kept us here all day ”.
“ I haven ’ t even gotten that far ,” I responded . “ I just watched my passport disappear into the jungle .” “ Yup … that is unfortunate ” he responds dryly .
Baffled by the interaction , I excuse myself to make sure my insistent friend isn ’ t dry humping my bike again . But before I can close the door behind me , he ’ s back in my face , rattling off questions faster than my brain can translate .
“ Inspection Form ?” he shouts , shaking his open hand mere inches away from my face . I fight the urge to slap my second hand of the day .
“ I don ’ t have a form . I don ’ t have my passport . Customs will not give me .”
“ No , no , no , no , no …” he interrupts while angrily shoving past me through the door . Things have gotten heated , and I ’ m not entirely sure why . I continue to play my role in this horrible Groundhog Day sequel , and follow him back inside .
My new friend is already locked in a heated , one-sided conversation with the customs agent . Every
TRAVERSE 104